Whiting, IN - A Couple of New Complexes

Spent the day in Whiting yesterday. One word for the two new complexes, WOW!

First, let's look at Standard Diamonds Park.

Next, a couple of photos of the concourse. This area will be used for many non-baseball events in 2011 and beyond.

Next, a couple of photos from the field. This field has a 100% sand based rootzone with 100% Kentucky bluegrass sod. The infield mix is Dura Edge Collegiate from the Natural Sand Company.

The field is used by Calumet College and Whiting High School along with local legion teams. This is the nicest facility I have seen for high school baseball.

Next, a couple of photos of the Sports Complex in Whiting. These fields have 100% sand based rootzones with 100% Kentucky bluegrass sod. How many sand based little league fields do you see?

A photo from the entrance.

Softball field photos, notice the Amtrak line in the background.

Next, the little league field.

To learn more about the two facilities, click HERE.

To learn more about Dura Edge infield mixes, click HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

My Weekend in Omaha - Part II - Werner Park

Now, on to Werner Park, home of the Omaha Storm Chasers, and head groundskeeper, Mitch McClary.

Let's take a photo tour of this new facility:

Exterior view - as you can see, this is a rural area, Papillion, NE. The area is prime from development in the next 3-5 years.

Next, a couple photos of the press box and suite level, notice the logo stitched into the leather seats.

A shot of the dugout suite. This suite, down the LF line, has a full food and beverage menu along with a private restroom. A very unique seat.

A photo of the scoreboard and from the bullpens. The clubhouses are in LF. The players walk down a ramp in the LF corner and onto the field. It is a great fan/player interaction area.

The mowing pattern on Saturday night. Notice the lightning bolt in the pattern. The outfield is 100% Kentucky bluegrass while the infield and foul territory areas are a blue/rye blend. Also, the infield is conditioned with 100% Diamond Pro Professional Brown Infield Conditioner.

A couple of “field level” views.

Finally, the Werner Park logo and myself with Stormy!

What a great facility to serve the great Omaha area! Thanks to Mitch and his wife, Anna for hosting myself and the traveling party hosted by Brad Garrison and Tom Burns from Diamond Pro.

To learn more about Werner Park, click HERE.

To learn more about Werner Enterprises, click HERE.

To learn more about Diamond Pro, click HERE.

Go the j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

My Weekend in Omaha - Part I - TD Ameritrade Park

Visited Omaha this past weekend. I wanted to share a few photos of the two new parks in Omaha. TD Ameritrade Park, home of the Men’s College World Series, and Werner Park, home of the Omaha Storm Chasers.

Let's look at TD Ameritrade Park today.......

The first photo the statue in front of the homeplate entrance:

Next, the main entrance in the daytime and at night:

The new scoreboard

The view from section 111, row 17 - My seats for the afternoon game on Friday

The view from section 111, row 6 - My seats for the 13 inning game Friday night

The view from the outfield concourse

From any of you that attended the games at Rosenblatt, check out the new open concourses. What a welcome change!

Also, seasoned veterans at the CWS knows that beach balls are a common item in the OF bleachers.

Thanks to my hosts, Brad Garrison and Tom Burns from Diamond Pro. By the way, the conditioner you are seeing on television is a blend of Diamond Pro calcined and vitrified clay.

Look for photos from Werner Park tomorrow.

To learn more about Diamond Pro, click HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

Do You Want Ivy on Your Chain Link Fence?

A quick fun post this afternoon.......

I get this question numerous times over the year. Many coaches/grounds managers look to grow ivy on their chain link. I ran across a good stand of ivy the other day at Covenant Christian HS. Andy Gossel is growing Euonymus on his chain link fence. Why Euonymus? It leafs out quicker in the spring than Boston ivy (that is the ivy at Wrigley Field) so it creates a good hitters backdrop earlier in the spring.

Here are a few photos. This is 8 years of growth.

To learn more about Euonymus, click HERE.

To learn more about the history of Wrigley Field, click HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

DePauw University - Sprigs Have Been Installed, Here We Grow - Vol II

I made another stop by DePauw today. The field is coming along nicely. He are a couple of photos. The first looking east to west across the field and the second looking south to north. Notice the green up occurring in the rows. This is clearly seen in the first photo.

This is a great example of how to view a field from many different angles. Every angle will allow you to see the green-up differently.

The next two photos are close up shots. Notice the green-up on the nodes of the stolons.

Tomorrow will be two weeks since the time of sprigging. The first fertilizer app will be on Friday.

Thanks again to Rob Harper and his crew for allowing the SmartTurf blog to follow/document the progress.

To see the first two posts on this project, click HERE and HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

PTO Driven Aerifiers v. Drum-Type Aerifiers

A quick post this morning in regards to aerifiers. I get the question all the time, "What type of aerifier is the best?"

To be honest, there is a couple of right answers. First, I have never seen a field that has been over aerified. Frequent aerification will allow for air exchange, better water movement through the soil, and overall healthier roots and turfgrass plant in general.

So, the next question is, "Do I need to use a PTO driven aerifier, or will my drum type unit work?" Simply stated, I prefer to see every athletic field to be aerified at least once a year with a PTO driven unit. If necessary, the rest of the aerification events can accomplished with a drum type aerifier. What is a PTO driven aerifier? See a couple of photos below:

As you can see, the PTO driven aerifier pulls more plugs cleanly, deeper and quickly than a drum type unit.

A busy week is ahead, keep checking the blog frequently to view some interesting posts from all over the midwest and central plains.

Play on!
--Jamie

Anderson - Colts Training Camp Fields - June 10, 2011 - Aerified and Topdressed

On June 10, the training camp fields were core aerified and topdressed by the J&D Turf crew. 96 tons of sand were topdressed across 100,000 sq ft. Here are a couple of photos:

Close up of aerification holes:

Topdressing:

A photo of the hashmarks after the topdressing:

I stopped by yesterday to walk the field while I was in Anderson, here are a few photos:

Why aerify and topdress? Patriot bermuda grass grows very aggressively in warm weather. At times of rapid growth, a great amount of thatch is produced by the plant. To much thatch will cause poor footing on the surface when 300 lbs athletes are pushing each other around and receivers are running at full speed. Aerification and topdressing aids in controlling thatch as well as aiding drainage and helping to keep the surface as smooth as possible.

To see the earlier posts from this facility, click HERE and HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

DePauw University - Sprigs Have Been Installed, Here We Grow.

Back to DePauw. I stopped by yesterday. The Patriot bermuda grass sprigs were installed last Thursday. As mentioned in an earlier post, the crown was re-leveled before sprigging and the cool season turf was sprayed with glyphosate (RoundUp) and scalp mowed.

Here are two photos of the field:

No, the sprigs are not dead and the field is not being overwatered. For the first 10 days after planting, the sprigs need to stay extremely wet. Is is working? Here is an up close shot of a sprig I pulled out of the soil. (Click on the photo to enlarge the photo, and then click again to zoom in)

As you can see, there are a couple of white roots extending from the stolon and green plant tissue extending from the crown. We are well on our way to a warm season field.

I will be posting weekly photos of this field.

To see the earlier post on this project, click HERE.

To learn more about DePauw University athletics, click HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

A Day at Purdue - Football Fields

My final stop last Tuesday at Purdue was the practice field for the Boilers as well as the field at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The practice field is Patriot bermuda grass and the game field is Riviera bermuda grass. Both fields were in great shape for early June. As I have seen at Anderson, the Colts Complex, and now at Purdue, extensive fall traffic will thin out the bermuda the next spring. Below is a couple of photos of the practice field:

Next, a couple of photos from Ross-Ade Stadium. Both fields, under aggressive fertilizer programs will be ready for play Aug 1. What a great surface for football and soccer!

To learn more about bermuda grass at Purdue, click HERE.

To learn more about Ross-Ade Stadium, click HERE.

To learn more about Purdue football, click HERE.

To learn more about bermuda grass for the Colts, click HERE, HERE, HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learm more about J&D Turf.


Play on!
--Jamie