At least get rid of the weeds. Or wait and see what comes up through the mulch.

Hi Layneev,

If you plant over weeds and grass, you may save some time now, but you'll be spending time fighting them for years to come. With or without Roundup, it is SO much easier to do it now.

Good luck,
Skybird

I do not do chemicals. You could try sheet composting which is quick and easy. Chop off or mow your area close as possible without messing with roots of your trees. Use 1# bloodmeal or cottonseed meal per 100 sq ft. Put some manure, grass clippings, etc over this. Then put down several inches (2 - 3) of newspaper and or plain brown cardboard and make sure everything is wetted well. Do another bit of manure, grass, (this could also be compost stuff you buy for either of these layers but we have farm animals so its free), wet again and top off with pine needles, leaves, wood chips, etc for a "finished look". This kills all the existing grass and weeds, you can dig out a small area even with your hands, add a shovel of dirt, and plant transplants or seeds. Andby next year you have a nice layer of compost. Sometimes the plants don't get as big the first year while this is becoming compost.
If your tree roots are exposed, I wuld do this 'between". And yu could also set in pots of annuals right into this composted area - they do great.

Thanks, everyone, I needed that! It was good to be reminded that work now will save a lot MORE work over the years. And I'll definitely try the sheet composting,I've tried to do a little of that elsewhere in the yard, but actually, this would be a great place for it. Thanks again! (Of course, over the weekend, I slipped on a stair and banged up my neck and shoulder so I'm now experiencing ENFORCED laziness for a while. Maybe this is good for me, it really reminds you how good it feels to be out there working.)) Thanks again, everyone.