Question
My last child headed to college last August and I had been planning to pay more attention to the lawn.  I started by having 2 old leggy hemlock trees removed in the back where the grass was no good.  It was a bigger job than I was planning and one thing after another and then it was winter and too late to do anything more.  I have always been under the impression that fall is the best season to plant grass seed. What opinion do you have if any about this?  All I got to do was get the trees out.

Answer
You're right, autumn is the perfect time of year to put down seed.  If you have the budget for sod, that window's wide open - but you'll need to prepare the soil.

My concern is those "old leggy hemlock trees".  How effectively were these removed?

Because old trees that you can't see will alter the soil chemistry for YEARS - and I am talking DECADES.

You have to get the roots, every smidgen of lignin under there.  Or you'll have dieing grass for the rest of your life.

Sod won't help - the roots will still be fighting a losing battle with aerobic bacteria that are devouring wood down there.  Believe me, I have seen this happen.  And I am not exaggerating.  DECADES... the REST OF YOUR LIFE!

Please elaborate:  How exactly were these trees "removed"?

Meantime, get your hands on some Corn Gluten at the local garden center.  You will not find this at Home Depot or Lowes.  Not last time I checked, anyway.

You have a perfect opportunity here to re-invent your lawn.  Your neighbors will be watching.  Whatever you do, don't put ANY chemicals down - that includes fertilizer!  I'll go into more detail later but I need to know more about those hemlocks.  Any branches, twigs, roots, trunk parts that are still left down there.  Avoid wishful thinking here - find out what was done if you did not do it yourself.  rsvp