Tricks of the Trade - Mat for Pitchers Mound or Pitchers Area

Another trick of the trade.  In this post we go to the baseball field at IPFW.  They place a mat down the slope of the mound before placing the tarp.  Why?  This allows for the tarp to be removed for batting practice, etc while still keeping the mound clay moist.  Also, a basic pitchers fielding practice can take place on top of the carpet while not causing damage to the clay area.  This also works well in front of a softball pitchers rubber.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Indiana Green Expo - Just Around the Corner

As many turf professionals know, the Indiana Green Expo is just around the corner.  This year the event takes place Jan 21-23, 2015 at the Indiana Convention Center.  There is a sports turf specific track with a host of great speakers and topics.  Also, the Athletic Field of the Year award will be presented as part of the MRTF Green Awards.  Please mark your calendar to attend this great event.  Proceeds from the event goes to the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation.   The MRTF's mission is to support turfgrass research at Purdue University.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Snow Mold Preventative Applications - Make the Application This Week

As the month of December begins, snow mold applications are due.  In fact, with the cooler fall, some grounds managers have already applied preventative applications for snow mold.


A turf manager has two different types of snow mold to worry about.  Gray snow mold and pink snow mold.

Gray snow mold can be expected after 40-60 days of snow cover.  To be honest, this is not much of a concern to turf managers unless you reside in MN, northern MI, northern NY, etc.  To learn more about gray snow mold, click HERE to see a publication from Dr. Rick Latin at Purdue University.

Pink snow mold occurs at a greater rate across the US.  Why?  Snow cover is not necessary for pink snow mold infestation.  To learn more about pink snow mold, click HERE to see a publication from Dr. Rick Latin at Purdue University.

Also, HERE is a great recap of the 2013-14 damage from Dr Latin.

Bottom line, if you are concerned about snow mold, and you manage a stand of turf that cannot be exposed to damage, a preventative application of a turf fungicide may be warranted.

Photo credit - Sports Illustrated

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Installing Infield Mixes and Warning Track Materials in Cold Weather

I have received a number of calls the last couple weeks in regards to installing infield materials in cold weather.  Bottom line is the following:

• DO NOT install infield mixes or warning track materials over frozen sub bases.
• Only install infield mixes and warning track materials over sub bases that consist of at least 95% compaction.

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

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

Stop Layering Infield Mixes!

Another visit to a troublesome infield, another layered infield mix.

The issue:
"My infield was ok, I had a contractor bring in new material and laser grade my infield.  Since then it has been a mess.  Cannot take rains events, chips out and is almost unplayable when dry."

I took a shovel and dug a hole, here is what was found:

As you can see the infield mix was simply placed over the infield and not tilled/incorporated into the existing infield mix.

The solution:
The quickest fix would be to simply till and laser grade the material.  After that activity, test the material to determine what type of amendment/engineered soil is necessary to "balance out" the sand/silt/clay content of the mix.

Click HERE to see how to add new infield mix to an existing infield mix.
Click HERE to learn more about what makes up an infield mix

Be careful when pricing out renovations.  Not blending a profile will make the process quicker and the grading cheaper, but will leave an infield mix in worse condition that before the work took place.

What should a blended column look like?

Photo Credit - Wes Ganobcik - Columbus Clippers

Note - The top 3-4 inches of the profile is blended together completely.  If using an engineered soil, the top 3-4 inches of an infield mix is the critical material.  This photo as shows how you can amend an infield with removing any infield mix.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

J&D Turf Hires Evan Buckley

Last week, the J&D Turf team hired Evan Buckley as a new sales consultant.  Here is the release of the hire.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

NOW is the Time for Late Fall Fertilizer Applications

Across the midwest cool temps are arriving.  With the weather comes the best time to apply late fall fertilizer.  Cool season turfgrass is still green but no longer growing.  Make those applications of all mineral fertilizer NOW!

Why apply late fall fertilizer?  HERE is a link from Purdue Turfgrass explaining the benefits of late fall fertility.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer