Tricks of the Trade - Slope Board

Don’t have time to get a slope board?  Lost your slope board?  Here is a trick to the trade:

A straight 2x4, level, tape measure and a Jimmy John’s cup:

Take the 2x4, find the mid point.  Mark it with a Sharpie.  That is where the level is located.  Next measure out the slope and mark with a Sharpie.  Adjust the Jimmy Johns cup the make the board level.

Click HERE to see a proper slope of a mound.  (courtesy of Diamond Pro)

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

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

Bermudagrass Field in 70 Days - DePauw University

HERE is an article that I wrote for the November issue of SportsTurf Magazine.

If you are a frequent blog visitor you will be familiar with the field.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Tricks of the Trade - Wrapping a Tamp

Do you have issues with mound clay and infield mix sticking to the bottom of your tamp?  If so, considering taping a plastic bag to the bottom of the tamp.  The following photos were taken while two separate tamps were wrapped at Indiana Tech University. 

Tamp #1

Tamp #2

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

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

What is the Best Overseeding Rates for Patriot Bermudagrass?

Great question.  Depends on the goal of the playing surface.  Do you wish to have a little green while wrapping up fall field hockey, or 100% coverage for an NFL practice field?

Here are two examples from late last week.  Both fields are 100% Patriot bermudagrass:

DePauw University field hockey - seeding rate 10 lbs per 1,000 sq ft in mid Sept.

Indianapolis Colts Practice Complex - seeding rate 10 lbs per 1,000 sq ft every 14 days Sept 1 - Nov 15.

Bottom line, both applications work for the end user to achieve their goals.  So, the overseeding rate depends on level of play, amount of play, time of year for play and overseeding budget.

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

Play on!


--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Brian Wilson Field - Batavia, OH - IV

The fourth post from Brian Wilson Field in Batavia, OH.

This post will focus on infield mix construction.

Here are two photos of the infield pre-construction:

Due to the presence of stone in the infield mix, the decision was made remove the material.  After removing 4 inches of existing soil a "hybrid infield" was installed.  What is a "hybrid infield"?  Simply stated, using a local mix and amending it with FieldSaver 50 from Natural Sand Company.  The goal is to create a column of infield mix that has a similar sand/silt/clay with Dura Edge Classic.  In other words, using a local mix and amending it before play takes place.  This process allowed for UC Clermont to have an infield that will play well at a cost savings.  Moving forward, Dura Edge Classic will be the infield mix that is added to ensure that the correct and/silt/clay percentages are maintained.

Here are a number of photos of the process:

Laser graded "local" mix:

Local mix rolled ready for the addition of FieldSaver 50:

Blending in the FieldSaver 50:

Topdressing the infield with calcined clay:

The finished product:

Ideally, all new construction would have a four inch column of Dura Edge Classic.  There are times when the project budget will not allow this route.  In those cases, a "hybrid infield" should be considered.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Brian Wilson Field - Batavia, OH - III

The third post from Brian Wilson Field in Batavia, OH.

This post will focus on the infield grade and transforming an all dirt infield to a baseball infield.

The existing field was an all dirt infield.  Here is the surface before construction:

The infield mix was tested.  After the test results were received, it was decided that the soil was suitable for growing grass.  The next task was to lower the soil from the existing 1% grade to a .5% grade using a conical laser.  Here is a photo of the process:

The weather was challenging during the process as we battled wet weather every 3-4 days.  Due to this fact, we had to bring in temporary lights to complete the work:

After laser grading and a pre-plant fertilizer application, the sod was installed:

Look for additional posts this week as the infield mix portion of the project is discussed.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Brian Wilson Field - Batavia, Ohio - II

The second post from Brian Wilson Field in Batavia, OH.

This post will focus on the background information of the field.

The facility is located at the Batavia Township Community Park and Community Center.  The field was built in 2009 as a multi-purpose field that would host play up to 250 ft outfield fences.  For this project, the fences needed to be moved to college distances to support UC-Clemont Baseball.

Supporting college baseball created a number of challenges.  First of all was a parking lot draining to RF and a swale in LF.  Here is a photo of the field pre-construction:

Notice the new homeplate location in blue paint.  With the parking lot location in RF, a shorter distance for the RF corner had to be designed:

After all design ideas were discussed, a final decision was made to bring in an earth mover and grade the outfield to fall towards the outfield fence and the RF corner using a duel slope laser.  Here was the finish grade during seeding:

Look for additional posts this week as we detail the progress of the project.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer