You need to decide if the trees are valuable to you. Do they add value to your property in terms of beauty and shade?

Trees do not tolerate any more than 2 inches or so of top soil added to the grade during any one growing season. And you cannot till that topsoil in without doing substantial damage to your tree's root systems.

Oak tree roots (and other trees, as well) are very shallow. I am not just talking about those big ones. Very fine roots are the IMPORTANT ones....and they are also very shallow and should not be disrupted but protected. Yes, large surface roots are quite natural to many tree species.

I suggest that you establish large mulch beds in a wide area around your trees so that you don't have to worry about grass or roots. Perhaps you can add improved planting beds elsewhere, where you can remove the junk, amend and till the soil and get something good going for shrubs and other plants.

Hi Harmonyfarms,
If you can post a photo, maybe we can identify your oaks...an up close picture of the leaves and bark would be helpful.

You can cover the roots by a few inches with soil and/or mulch and it won't hurt the tree. The danger is having them exposed is hitting them with the mower, string trimmer, etc. They just need to be able to get water and air and a few inches of soil won't inhibit that. I would try not to till any closer than the dripline of the tree...most of a tree's roots are near the soil's surface.

I'll let a turf person help with the grass question.

Hope this helps.

Pam

My yard in Raleigh is also mostly tall trees with lots of surface roots. It is very difficult to grow things in the shade of these trees. Not enought light. Not enough nutrients. Not enough moisture. I have to water my hostas even if we get rain, the trees take all the water. My solution was to plant ferns and hostas in large plastic pots and sink those into the ground instead. The potting soil holds onto water better and the plastic keeps the voles at bay. I am now cultivating moss as a pathway through the woods instead of grass. I should have noticed that not even weeds were growing in the shade of these trees.

There are a number of grass blends for your situation. Mowing will be a problem with large surface roots.