preparing ground for grass?

th3 s1aught3r

I have a patch of ground in an orchard that I want to sow grass seeds in. There were a lot of weeds and scrub grass there so I gave it a few sprays with weedkiller over the past few months.
Most of the weeds are gone , however the ground is very difficult to dig I am not sure if this is bacasue it is close to the base of trees , there seems to be a lot of roots in the ground, so I was wondering what options I have now that manually digging may be difficult ?

De Dannan

Its hard to get grass to grow sometimes in shady areas and under trees, as well as the roots being a problem. It could help if you take away the dead grass and weeds as the roots may still be there, then try using a fork to loosen the soil a bit

Sonnenblumen

alternatively topdress (25-50mm) the area with a mixture of soil & compost and sew grass seed. Will be important to water area until seed germinates or prepare ground and sew during a prolonged wet period (early Spring or late Sept/early Oct).