How does one maintain grass in an area that is mostly shade?
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Do you follow a regular fertilizing program?How did you prepare the area for seeding?
I suspect the problem is not just the shade. There are many varieties of maple trees, and most (except sugar maples) have large, greedy root systems that are close to the surface. You will probably be better off finding a ground cover that will succeed under the maple trees rather than trying to grow grass.
A neighbor's maple tree makes it impossible for me to grow grass in one corner of my yard. Instead, I am trying out various ground cover plants like vinca, pachysandra, and sweet woodruff. None is a clear winner yet, though the neighbor has been successful with ivy, which I don't like.
Due to the sandy soil the grass is not retaining enough moisture, if you are willing to try again ,start by applying ultra light top soil.This may help amend the soil somewhat
just add the ultra light top soil and follow the last procedure you did
Stop tossing out the leaves that you rake up. Use them for mulch to help amend the soil. Mix the leaves with topsoil and spread it out under the trees. Unfortunately it seems as if the only thing you may be able to grow is some sort of ground cover as someone mentioned above.
Why did you use peat moss? If you want to protect the grass seed, most landscapers use straw to keep the birds away. Good luck.
Have you looked into Zoysia grass? We lived in the pine barrens in south Jersey and our property was shady with sandy soil. It was almost like beach sand. And zoysia grass grows great there. Keep in mind that zoysia grass is actually an invasive weed. Gardens and other places you don't want grass need to have a deep border, the roots travel underground. Zoysia grass doesn't need much water after it takes hold, doesn't need sun and stays green after other grass has browned and gets green before other grass does.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/lawn-care/specific/zoysia/facts-about-zoysia-grass-zoysia-grass-problems.htm
Thanks to everyone who gave me some advice. This past weekend I raked up some of the stuff that accumulates during the winter (sticks, twigs, tree bark pieces, leaves, etc.). It was still too cold to really spend a lot of time outside doing yard work, so I have more of that "fun stuff" to do. Once it gets warmer out, I'm going to tackle this thing and hopefully it will turn out nice. At this point "half-way decent" will be good enough for me! Thanks again everyone!
There are some ideas here: Home and Garden DIY Ideas | Hometalk