Help me grow grass?!?

[sgalvin07]

For a little background, recently bought a house with a smaller fenced in backyard, maybe 0.25 acres in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. It is pretty heavily tree covered, about 14 tall trees in that small area. The front side of the backyardyard has decent grass growing, its kind of thin but atleast there is grass growing. The backhalf, under the trees and just in front of them, have basically no grass. I'm not sure if this is due to the previous owners not trying to get anything to grow there, or if there is just simply no way to get the job done. Around there trees there are some shallow roots that I can see, and the area gets minimal sunlight, maybe 2-3 hours a day on a very bright day.

I've thought about aerating my entire yard and over seeding some sun/shade mix. I know it's hard for you to give good direction without seeing the areas I'm talking about, but hopefully you can atleast provide some direction on getting some hard to grow shady areas to get green and full. (My front yard is thin grass as well, so I'm hoping to bulk it up as well). I just know that if I'm going to do this I need to do it soon to get some growth before the first frost in October. Thank you for any help or feedback you can provide

 

[exotion]

I would start by thinning the trees, core aerating is going to be nearly impossible with the tree roots but will help other areas. Plant seed water a lot and fertilize often

 

[BlazNT]

If grass is not growing in that area it is not sun shade mix it shade only. Trust me on this I had to fix my mothers front yard. It need shade only grass.

 

[BlazNT]

This is what I used.
Amazon.com : Scotts 18341 Turf Builder Dense Shade Seed Mix for Tall Fescue Lawns, 7-Pound : Grass Plants : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[sgalvin07]

Definitely looking into the dense shade seeds. I actually looked for something that was a complete shade mix while shopping at lowes, but was unable to find any. Thank you for the link, I appreciate it

 

[jamie11]

For a little background, recently bought a house with a smaller fenced in backyard, maybe 0.25 acres in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. It is pretty heavily tree covered, about 14 tall trees in that small area. The front side of the backyardyard has decent grass growing, its kind of thin but atleast there is grass growing. The backhalf, under the trees and just in front of them, have basically no grass. I'm not sure if this is due to the previous owners not trying to get anything to grow there, or if there is just simply no way to get the job done. Around there trees there are some shallow roots that I can see, and the area gets minimal sunlight, maybe 2-3 hours a day on a very bright day.

I've thought about aerating my entire yard and over seeding some sun/shade mix. I know it's hard for you to give good direction without seeing the areas I'm talking about, but hopefully you can atleast provide some direction on getting some hard to grow shady areas to get green and full. (My front yard is thin grass as well, so I'm hoping to bulk it up as well). I just know that if I'm going to do this I need to do it soon to get some growth before the first frost in October. Thank you for any help or feedback you can provide

Do you mean the trees are blocking the sunlight? If that's the main problem, you could try pruning the trees without ruining their shape and size - just good enough to allow sunlight to reach the grass. Also, don't forget to put some fertiliser and water the lawn. But DO NOT over do it, it will do more harm than good.