Some areas may not get enough sun to grow grass. Most grass needs at least 3 hours of direct sunlight per day. I would also get my soil tested like you mentioned. I had mine tested this year.

Parts of our yard get quite a bit of morning sun and stippled evening sun. We grew grass once, I just don't think it was the right kind of grass and mature enough to survive our heat wave this year.

Seeding this particular spring was a bad idea, but no one could have known the heat wave was going to hit like it did. Seeding in spring is usually a gamble however, and you usually get a ton of weeds. Late summer is the best time to seed in NJ, September 1 give or take a week. You are a bit late to be seeding now, especially in an area with shade. Also with shade you have to pick the right grass type. I would advise against Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass, as those types require a good deal of sun. Tall Fescue might work but it won't show its full potential in shade. I have some in shady areas that is doing OK, but it isn't as nice as the stuff in sunnier areas. Fine Fescues are probably your best bet, as they do well in shadier areas and require less water than most grass. Another option would be poa supina and/or improved poa trivialis. Poa supina, also known as supina bluegrass is a variety that grows in high alpine locations and can withstand shade and cold. It spreads via stolons and is very wear tolerant. It is also expensive, but it looks like you don't have a very large area to cover. Improved poa trivialis is also a shade/cold tolerant grass. It is very fine bladed, but somewhat delicate. It doesn't tolerate traffic stress well, and prefers damp areas, so irrigation is necessary if mother nature doesn't come through with rain. I have a backyard of poa triv, and it looks good, but I did have to overseed this Sept. due to some losses caused by the heat this summer. It also struggles in dense shade, it needs 2-3 hours of sun to thrive. Again I think it might be a lost cause this year because all of the grasses I mentioned take a fair amount of time to get established. Hope this helps.

UGH. I think we are probably fighting a losing battle.

BTW, I forgot to mention that we have a Saint Bernard, so traffic is important.

I have been trying to get DH to do what we know works... plant/encourage a moss lawn. We already have a considerable amount of moss. Check out this moss lawn! Pretty!

{{gwi:120124}}

It looks idyllic.....have you considered keeping what you've got....the moss, is not all that bad. White clover should be not considered....it needs plenty of sun....as do most other grasses.
There are shade types....but which one.

I suggest you get in touch with your local Extension Service....your local STATE FUNDED UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE...
is the place to find such service. Or look in your blue pages of your telephone book under Government.
They can give good up-to-date-information on what kind of seed does best in your particular locale.
Shade of the trees does pose a problem....possibly you couold prune some of the lower branches of these trees to admit more sunlight to reach under them.
Then again, as you suspect, the soil with many acid-loving trees, the soil there will no doubt be the same. I have no idea what the average soil of New Jersey is like....perhaps a fair amount of lime can help the pH...but get a soil test done to relieve your mind.

Trees are always a nice landscaping theme.....maybe you ought to appreciate what you`ve got....and live with it.

But grass DID grow... :(

Gave DH info for our Coop Extension - hope he uses it!

But how long did it last? We had grass hydroseeded in our new lawn two years ago in the fall. We don't get a lot of sun behind our house due to trees, and we also have a raised deck that had grass underneath. It came up nice, even under the deck (though it wasn't as thick). But by the end of the summer, the back had thinned out, and the grass under the deck is almost non existent due to the lack of sun.

Grass generally doesn't need a lot of sun to germinate and grow. It is more of a water and soil temperature issue. A lot of what it needs to get started is in the seed. Keeping it growing and maturing is another story however, and it's sun requirements increase as it gets older. Also in the spring you generally have more sun until the leaves come in. Stick with the shade tolerant grasses I mentioned in my previous posts or get rid of the trees.

One word. Astroturf. Just kidding, the problem lies that if you kill off the moss and if what you do does not work, then you have a muddy back yard.

Botanicalbill - you joke, but I have been looking at synlawn products. They are amazingly realistic looking... Alas, I would prefer a REAL lawn.

I don't think we can remove all the trees that are causing us grief. A few are on our neighbor's property behind us. He has a massive Sycamore that shades much of our yard. We have already raised the canopy on the trees to 25ft. Maybe we need an Arborist to thin out the canopy.

Thanks for all the advice folks!

Here is a link that might be useful: SynLawn

I've been in my house for a little over 7 years and my yard has evolved quite a bit over the years. I tried to grow grass on 1 side of my house, it would come up and look great especially in the fall and spring(when there aren't any leaves on the trees), then it would thin out and die as time went by. I eventually realized grass was a waste of time and effort and I basically turned it into a shade garden consisting of mostly camelias. They do great in the shade and the blooms(from fall to spring) are beautiful. They bloom right on through the winter.

I ran into the same situation on the other side of my house, not enough sun. Now I have a Goldfish pond and some really nice landscaping on that side. My lawn is pretty much limited to the front of my house.

I guess what I'm saying is, you have to figure out over time what the issues are(lack of sun, or maybe you just need lime) and adjust accordingly.

Any thought given to removing half the trees?

As I said before, most of the trees that are causing all the shade in our back yard are actually trees in our neighbor's yard. The trees in our yard mostly just shade the house or because we have raised the canopy provide some full and mostly stippled sunlight.

Can't you spray your neighbor's trees with Roundup so he'll cut 'em down when they die??? :)

Hahaha HazyDavy! DH has already cut off any branches that were hanging into our yard. He's also sprayed a Roundup path of 2' out from our fence. Our neighbor has informed us that he's letting his yard go "natural"... meaning loads of poison ivy and non-fruit bearing grape vine... oh and WEEDS.

The neighbor might just like the idea of pruning back some of the lower branches on his trees....it would be also good for his lawn. What problems you have, I cant believe he doesn't.

He makes wine in his basement and is often seen out on his tractor going around and around in circles with a glass of wine in his hand and laughing at nothing. I'm not sure he cares.

This past weekend - we raked up all the leaves. DH, broke up the soil in the really compacted parts. We sprayed LazyMan's Soil Doctor. We seeded with Pennington Smart Seed - Sun and Shade - about 40 pounds of it, with 5lbs of MicroClover mixed in. Did a light raking and then a light water.

Hope it work. DH will be misting 3xday.

You really have a lot of shade. Have you looked into shade loving alternative ground covers? Down here we grow dwarf mondo grass as a grass alternative. It grows to about 4 inches long and curls over. It is very dark green all the time. That's just an example.

With the dog, I would strongly urge you to consider putting in several inches of mulch. Again down here, we have access to the mulched version of a pest tree from nearby. You probably have something similar in the way of a mulch. Mulch is great for the dog and great for the underlying soil. It requires no fertilizer or irrigation. You would have to keep an eye on new seedlings coming from the mulch, though. Otherwise the forest undergrowth will reclaim your back yard.

You can try to fight nature, but over time nature always wins. Based on having lived in a house with lots of trees, I predict that you will be able to put down grass seed and get it germinate and grow. But you will not be able to keep it alive over time. Too much shade, too many tree roots, and probably other reasons.

Similarly, you can grow a moss garden, but you can't walk on moss, and the dog is going to kill the moss.

The best you will manage is to find small areas that get more sun and grow small patches of turf. Think about putting mulch and stepping stones in the other areas.

I was wondering when someone was going to notice the dog reference. And we're not talking a Yorkie. St. Bernard - probably 50 lbs at least? What shade loving grass is that wear tolerant? I'm pretty sure fine fescue isn't - I know creeping fescue isn't (spreads well, doesn't root very well). I second the mulch. You have a great looking (and large!) deck, plus the wood fence may be providing an additional 4 feet of constant shade that you're not realizing. Not much room for a lawn. Maybe the fine fescues will work in the front (with no fence I'm assuming the dog doesn't hang out there?) - but the back yard may be a lost cause. You could probably create a nice garden with azaleas, hostas, caladiums and other shade-loving plants. Or just reduce you lawn area - plant sod, and focus on keeping it going with good watering and fertilizing practices - easier to keep track of than trying to grow a whole yard full of grass - and it may let you be more "aggressive" with the pruning in only certain areas.

In response to gags, no grass is shade loving. Grass prefers sun, but there are definitely some species that require less of it. I have a shade tolerant species that likes cooler weather and damp soil, but it does better in the sunnier areas I have. If the OP wants to grow a shade tolerant grass that is wear tolerant I think his only option is poa supina. It is fairly aggressive, and repairs itself quite well. As long as it gets 2-3 hours of sun and enough water it will probably be the best option.