Wet traffic on athletic fields

With the weather this past week, we have close to 1 inch of precipitation at the Sports Park.  Due the fields being saturated we have had to cancel the soccer event that was scheduled.  In these cases we have to cancel events to protect not only the fields but the participants as well.  Wet and sloppy field conditions are a safety hazard.  Also we must prevent potential future safety issues by protecting our fields now.  Playing on wet field conditions is one of the worst things you can do to a field.  It only takes one game on a wet field to completely destroy a field!  Not only does traffic on a wet field disturb the grass but more importantly it effects the soil and its properties. Here a a few recent articles and university publications that address field traffic and related wet soils.
In the article, Wetness and wealth key foes of native soil fields  March 2009 SportsTurf Magazine.  Dr. AJ Powell states,  Traffic on wet soil displaces the soil, destroys the soil structure and creates little birdbaths in the field,” Powell says.
Additional University articles related to Sports Turf traffic and wet soils...

SPORTS TURF TRAFFIC- - HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH? - -
Turf 101: Why turfgrasses hate wet soils

Pre-season Prep

Well here we are, 4 days until the beginning of the 2013 season at Elizabethtown Sports Park.  We continue to struggle with getting tasks accomplished in our constantly fluctuating weather conditions.  However we have taken full advantage of the good days and slugged through the bad.  By we I mean of course, the Crew,  they have done a great job getting things done here in the last several weeks.  I have recently added additional seasonal crew members and they are eager to work and learn!

Here a couple photos of some of the field specific work we have been able to accomplish...

We rolled all of the infields to help compact them again after all of the freezing and thawing.  Rolling also helps  "seal off" the surface to force water to run off and not soak into the mix...

A few days later we were able to lightly scarify drag the infields to open up the top 1/2" or so.  We let the infields sit open for a few hours to dry in the sun and wind.  We then went over them with a roller to seal off the surface again.

I took this photo a few days later after a morning shower to show that my footprints barely disturbed the surface.  I sank down into the mix maybe 1/4"-1/2"

For the first tournament of the season we are hosting a large soccer event which will use all of our sports fields, including the dormant bermudagrass.  Playing on dormant bermudagrass is a normal occurance across the Southern States.  We found that striping the fields with blue paint really stands out on the dormant bermudagrass.  

Another look at the blue paint striping on the dormant bermudagrass...

Portable Heater to Dry a Mound?

When the weather has been favorable, we've been building some bullpen mounds on our larger ball diamonds.  Unfortunately the 3rd base bullpen on Field 9 is in a spot where the field drains to an stays pretty wet.  Because of the wet winter weather that we have here in Central Kentucky, it's been extra challenging for us to finish.  The mound clay just soaks up all the ground water and will not harden to be able to build up.  So we were brainstorming one day and came up with the idea of using a portable heater to dry out the clay enough to finish the mound we started.  We used some old pallets and created a box around the mound and used a tarp to create a tent over it.  We then placed a 350,000 BTU heater on one end and let it run for about 5-6 hours.  

We left an opening in the back to vent and let moisture escape the  "tent"

The following day was sunny and warm (55 degrees).  We were able to finish up before we received another winter rainfall.  It was still a bit soft down the landing area but overall it compacted good.  

Fall Seeding Progress

Happy New Year!  I just wanted to show a couple photos of some progression on some fall seeding we did on a couple of the ball diamonds.  Four of the ball diamonds were originally seeded with a turf-type tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass seed blend back in late fall 2011.  Ideally in this part of the country you can start seeding around the beginning of September or earlier depending on the weather at the time.  Those four fields were originally seeded the last week of October in to the first week of November.  That is about the end of your window of opportunity for good germination and establishment in this area.  The beginning of November usually brings the heavy frosts and sometime sub freezing night temperatures but that of course varies year to year in Central Kentucky.  You can continue to seed past this point but may or may not see any germination right away.
This past fall, 2012, we hosted baseball event well into October but we were able to start inter-seeding into the existing turf in late September / early October.  We also plan to go back and hit some bare spots in mid- February to have the seed in the ground for when temperatures rise.  Here are some before and after photos of the progression.

Field #9  - October 5, 2012

Field #9 - January 8, 2013 

Field #12 - October 3, 2012
 ( We just ran the aerifier through this area and because of extreme compaction and overzealous of the sports turf manager it looked like it was tilled up!)

Field #12 - January 8, 2013

As you can see, we still have some grow-in to do but with the warmer weather set for this week, we continue to fill in and should be good to go opening day!

Bullpen Mound Build

For whatever reason, our 2 largest ball diamonds were built with permanent pitching mounds on the field but not in the bullpens.  This past season we used portable pitching mounds in the bullpens for the kids to use but I never was a fan.  We decided to build permanent mounds in those bullpens during the off season and finished one today in the beautiful 55 degree sunny weather!  These are full sized pitching mounds were the rubber has a 60' 6" distance from the plate and is 10" above the plate as well.  I caught up with the crew on the tail-end of the build, here are some photos.

Adding clay bricks to the table-top and slope

Additional bricks added in landing zone and filling in around bricks with DuraPitch Mound clay.

Tamping clay

Using Mar-Mound Clay to top it off.  Also checking slope.
1" for every foot is the proper slope of a pitching mound.  

Finished mound without conditioner.  We will actually use crushed brick to match what is already in the  bullpens.  

2012 Fall Events and Maintenance

Greetings!  Its been some time since my last update.  Once we opened back in July, we stayed extremely busy.  We had an event just about every weekend from July until now!  Overall I would say it was a successful year.  Thanks to our staff for their hard work and a special thanks to all the visitors and participants this year.  I just wanted to share a few photos from this fall... 

Aerification is an important cultural practice in turf management.  Ideally you will want to aerify a few times a year when your turf is actively growing.  For cool-season turf, fall is a great time to aerify.  Aerification helps alleviate compaction, improves soil aeration, improves water infiltration, and helps with controlling thatch buildup.  We have aerified 3 times already this fall.  

9-26-2012
Frost damage on bermudagrass.  This is the beginning stages of the  warm season turf going into winter dormancy.

9-28-2012

10-5-2012

10-5-12

10-5-12

11-3-2012
Kentucky Youth Soccer Commonwealth Cup - early morning start

 

12-1-2012
Football University Middle School Tournament

I would like to do a better job keeping the blog updated this coming year. Now that construction is complete.  I have been kicking around the idea of renaming the blog to something maintenance related and post about maintenance practices and issues we come across.  What do you all think?

August Aerials

This is most likely the last of the series of aerial photos from the construction phase of the park.  Its been a tough past few months with weather but I think we've fared well.  Thanks to my staff for all their hard work to get us through those hot, dry days and recently the heavy rains we've had.  Also, a big thanks to everyone who have supported the project from day 1 and your continued support.  I will see you all at the Sports Park!

Lets look back to October 2010, 4 months into construction, for our first set of aerials...