I had a problem lawn, difficult to grow grass. I finally figured out that after construction not enough topsoil was added over the gravel that was used to allow heavy construction equipment to bring in materials. The house was at least 15 years old. I Brought in loads of topsoil, need a minimum of 2" for roots to grow, and was able to grow grass.

We're doing okay. We had a crap lawn with lots of shade. We did one round of weed killer on the lawn - so little was left that it looked like dirt. Then we fertilized and seeded with shade seed in the spring. Grew very well. Still get some weeds, but nothing worth bringing out the weed killer again - now we do by hand.

If the yard is full of moss and exposed tree roots, I think it's unlikely that you'll be able to have a nice lawn, no matter what you do, because it's too shady. And it will also be very hard to maintain, without mowing over the tree roots, which will damage the trees. Adding soil over the tree roots will also damage the trees.

Just bought a new house whose prior owners clearly hadn't cared for the lawn or general landscaping at all. The front yard in particular is a mess of weeds, moss, grass and exposed tree roots. There are several trees in front creating a lot of shade and competition for water nutrients, but there are certainly areas where grass should be able to thrive and I think there's enough dappled light to get some thin grass everywhere.

I plan to prep and seed everything this fall, but I would like to start doing whatever I can to be prepared. I would normally hand pull all the weeds, but it's a significant area (close to quarter acre in front yard) and it is really a mess.

What should I do to get the soil well prepped for seeding this fall? Is hand pulling the weeds the only safe option (both environmentally and to avoid hitting the trees)? Anything I should do to get the right nutrient balance in place? Anything I can do to build up some soil/turf above the exposed roots (I can just envision little knees nailing them now)?