Lawn & tree questions for y'all.
Hi this is my very first time in here... and I do have some questions.
Let me fill you in a little on the yard. It is 5 acres, and we mow every bit of it.
There has never been a dwelling of any kind here, it has always been pasture. And there are many full grown mature trees. A lot of these trees up near the house have exposed roots.. and no grass growing around them what-so-ever. It is horrible mowing around them... the dust is unbelievable.
We have about 17 varieties of trees in the yard... but up here close to the house are beech, tulip poplar, sassafrass, ash, hickory, oak, mulberry, maples, bradford pear (we planted) willow oak, water oak, pin oak, hackberry, a willow tree that I have a question about... and 6 big oaks down the 1500 ft. driveway... but just about all of these trees have bare ground around the base...
So, here with the questions:
#1. Is there anything I can put down around these trees... to help with this problem? Digging is out of the question... the roots are on top of the ground and very, very tough. Is there grass we could sow, and cover with mulch or straw, we have tried to rough the soil up using a rake, etc, but that too is a no-go.
#2. Our weeping willow tree has black spots on the underside of the leaves... it is only about 4 years old, and not very big... (full)... it was little more than a twig when I planted it.
#3. Our red tip Photonias had black spots all over them even the new growth... so we cut it back bare... and when it resprouted... the leaves looked okay... but now they are getting the spots. Again.
#4. Should we do anything to the grass in the yard for the winter. Our yard has bermuda grass, fescue, probably crabgrass... lots of wild onions, and dandelions.
Ans #5. We are overrun with moles! We are surrounded on all 4 sides by crops (corn and beans one year then winter wheat and sometimes cotton.
The other time of the year... it seems as soon as the farmers get in the fields, the moles head for our yard.
We tried putting out pellets and watering them so the pellets would kill the grub worms... but we were wrong to do that... the blue bird population got wiped out that year because they were eating the worms also...
I can post pics of these leaves, or I can post the URL to the album where I have pics of all the yard so you can get a general idea.
Thanks, I appreciate any help anybody can give me.