Harris Park - Patriot, IN - Reds Community Fund

J&D Turf recently partnered with the Reds Community Fund to renovate the field at Harris Park in Patriot, IN.

Patriot, IN is the home of 202 residents.  The town is along the Ohio River in Switzerland County.  the playing surface at Harris Park is used by kids of all ages with uses from baseball to kick ball.  The project: clean up an existing infield, edge the surface, install 25 tons of FieldSaver 50, laser grade the infield and install 3 tons of calcined clay.  Here are the photos:

 
24 hours later, Harris Park has a renovated field with the correct sand/silt/clay ratios that will provide a great field for kids of all ages.

To learn more about the Reds Community Fund, click HERE.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Elizabethtown Sports Park - Opening in Late July

Stopped by the Elizabethtown Sports Park today.  Wow!  The park is coming to life.  Click HERE to see the schedule for the sports park.  

James Bergdoll is doing a great job overseeing the grow-in of the fields and common grounds over the 158 acre site.  Let's go to the photos:

419 Bermuda soccer fields (9 total natural grass fields) - Opening in late summer 2012:

Synthetic fields (2 total fields) - Opening in late summer 2012:

The Miracle Field (1 total) - Opening late summer 2012:

Tall Fescue/Bluegrass baseball/softball fields (12 total fields) - Opening July 2012:

One more photo of the entrance:

Simply stated, when this complex opens in July of this year, it will position itself as the premier site for youth sports in the midwest.  To learn more about the project, go to James' blog.  Click HERE to see the blog.

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

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

Our Lady of Mt Carmel and Anderson University - Colts Training Camp - A Tale of Two Fields

I visited two sites today to look at Patriot bermuda grass.  Here is an update.

First stop, Our Lady of Mt Carmel.  As you can see from the photo below, there has been a bit of a color loss due to transplant.  Overall, the turf is in great shape and starting to root after only 5 days!

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

Next stop, Anderson University and the fields that will host the Indianapolis Colts Training Camp at the end of July.  These surfaces are 3 years old.  As you can see, they are in great shape.  J&D Turf will assist the Colts Grounds Crew and Anderson University with fertilizer applications and cultural practices between now and Aug 15.

Another busy week ahead, check back for more updates on these fields as well as the bermuda grass grow-ins from seed.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Riviera Bermuda Grass - Grow in From Seed at Brebeuf and DePauw

The calendar has turned to June, so the attention is starting to turn to bermuda grass.  The J&D Turf team is growing in a Riviera bermuda grass practice football field at Brebeuf High School and also working with DePauw University to grow-in a soccer field.  Let's look at a few photos from Brebeuf.  The field was seeded May 20, 2012.

As shown in the photos above, there is plenty of Riviera germinating (The purplish looking plants).  As expected, there is also competition from crabgrass and goosegrass.  Check back for updates all summer.  This field needs to be ready for play by Aug 1.

Look for photos from DePauw this coming week.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church - Patriot Bermudagrass

I stopped by yesterday to view the install of new Patriot bermudgrass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Carmel, IN.  Here are a few photos:

Will this be the last Indianapolis area Catholic church with bermudagrass this summer?  Stay tuned to find out more next week.

To learn more about Our Lady of Mt Carmel, click HERE.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Butler University - Atlantic 10 - Baseball and Softball

Yesterday, it was announced that Butler University will join the A-10 effective for the 2012-13 sports year.  To learn more about the move, click HERE, for an article from the Indianapolis Star and HERE for an article from Butler.

I stopped by Butler to check on the softball and baseball fields yesterday.  I thought I would share a few photos.

First, the softball field has seen great improvements over the last 12-18 months.  New bleachers, backstop net, bullpens, cages, wall padding, etc have all been installed.  The playing surface is a rye/blue blend that is maintained at 1 1/4 inch cutting height.  The infield was amended with FieldSaver50 and conditioned with Diamond Pro Professional Calcined Clay.  Here are a few photos:

Next, I stopped by the baseball field.  An indoor hitting facility, new dugouts, backstop wall and net are all new to the baseball complex in the last 18 months.  The playing surface is a rye/blue blend.  This field was also amended with FieldSaver50 and conditioned with Diamond Pro Professional Calcined Clay.  Here are a few photos:

Both facilities have improved greatly in the last 18 months, I would expect more improvements as the Bulldogs move to the A-10.

To learn more about Butler Softball, click HERE.
To learn more about Butler Baseball, click HERE.

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

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Drought Stressed Turf - Link From Purdue

Central Indiana received approx. .25 inches of rain this AM, but there is still drought stressed turf in our area.  To see a great link from Purdue in regards to drought stressed turf, and watering requirements, click HERE.  This blog post from Dr. Aaron Patton was posted today.

I also wanted to post a photo I took last week.  Do you think tall fescue is more drought tolerant than bluegrass?  

Bottom line, turn on the irrigation.  I see more damage from under watering than from over watering.

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

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer