"Peggy Elliott" wrote in message
...
I'm in central Va and have an acidic read clay soil (Davidson clay). My
back yard has some sort of spongy soft grass that dies back right about
now and doesnt reappear until April. What can I overseed with to either
fill in during the mud season or eradicate it entirely? I've tried the
fescue that is recommended for this area with very limited success. I
am almost thinking that winter rye would get me by and at least fill it
in with *something*, but this is obviously not a permanent solution.
I do not want to lime my lawn, and I am open to low growing ground
covers that may or may not require mowing. My yard is surrounded by
woods but this part gets good sun. I do not need it to look manicured,
my yard is a semi-wild setting as it is, with me barely succeeding in
beating back the china grass. Any suggestions appreciated. (Oh, I have 2
dogs who will be walking/playing on it as well as a yardful of moles
that the cats are dispatching with admirable frequency)

Is there a reason you do not wish to lime your lawn? Few turf grasses will
succeed in very acidic conditions - the mosses usually win out - and liming
is pretty much the solution (temporarily) to that situation.

For groundcovers, you might want to consider Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos),
Contoneaster damerii, Rubus calcynoides, or St John's Wort. All will
tolerate acidic soil conditions, sun and are pretty darn hardy, although
they will need time to become established before the dogs run rampant :-))
If this is an area you need to walk through regularly, I'd suggest putting
in pavers or stepping stones - these are not exactly low growing "stepable"
types of groundcovers (at least for us clumsy humans).

pam - gardengal