Athletic Field Renovation 2010

[completelawncare]

Today (March 18, 2010) I started on a high school football field renovation.

I sprayed it today with a nuclear rate of glyphosate.

I will till it, re-level it, sprig it with Celebration Bermuda grass, and grow it in. I hope to post pics of the process along the way. It should take about 120 days.

Please add any suggestion or comments.

I hope ya'll enjoy!

Here are pictures of what it looks like today. Most of what you see is poa annua, sometimes called 'annual bluegrass'. And the dark green patches are clover. There is some bermuda down there, but you can't see it in these pics.

I also pulled a soil sample today.

[Sammy]

Keep us updated as u go along.

[PineCrestWoods]

Yikes! Pretty rough! But good for you! We know you'll kick its azz.

[leadarrows]

So when the cleats start flinging the turf do you cringe or see dollar signs? lol

I just noticed your avatar. That kid probably thinks every one is cheering for him....lol

[completelawncare]

I hit it with another shot of glyphosate last night (March 30). Didn't get pics, because it was getting dark. I hope to till it for the first time late next week.

[DynaMow]

So Nick let me get this straight.

You are not just treating that field of turf back to life. You are killing all and redoing?

You are something else!! If I did something like that, I would not be able to sleep until that field was green and growing!!!

That is some serious stuff!!


On another side note; The Gents, what kind of crap is that? Most teams have Sharks, Tigers, Rattlers.

But the Gents? I just cant see the opposing team chanting, "Lets go kick those gentleman's asses!!"

[completelawncare]

Yes, Craig, I am killing it and will be planting new grass. Sprigging it.

The Gents are one of our biggest rivals. They are the public school, and we are the Catholic school. And our coach, used to coach them, and took them to the state championship game years ago.

[DynaMow]

Public school?

So they call the girls Gents too?

[completelawncare]

Public school?

So they call the girls Gents too?

Lady Gents....

[completelawncare]

I tilled it for the first time today (April 6th). Before tilling, I took elevations to see how much, if any soil needed to be moved.

We should be planting in about 10-14 days.

[pHishook]

no going back now

[DynaMow]

whats the next step?

another tilling after that dries up a little? Then drag?

[completelawncare]

whats the next step?

another tilling after that dries up a little? Then drag?

Yes, let it dry for a few days, then till it again. Although you can't see it in these pics, there is still lots of bermuda grass roots holding the soil together. That all needs to be out so that I can move the soil around with my blade.

We are supposed to get some rain tonight, which will probably help decompose the roots and help loosen up the soil.

[completelawncare]

I tilled it again today (April 12). Then tried getting some of the grass off with the landscape rake. That didn't work. I may try to run the irrigation system to help. We've had only about .25" of rain since this process began.

[completelawncare]

I was hoping to plant on Monday (April 19), but when I got there today, it was wet. I had asked the coach to water it on Wednesday. Well, he must have turned the irrigation system on, but forgot to turn it off.

Anyway, I was able to till most of it again today. Sorry, no pics. It seemed to work well, except for a few really wet areas. Oh, and I broke into the concession stand to turn the irrigation system off.

I will go look at it again tomorrow to see how it looks. I think that when it dries, I will be able to get on it with my blade and begin leveling it.

I still think we can plant sometime next week. Its just that I have a 450 plant install job next week too......

[completelawncare]

Worked on the field all day yesterday (April 22). Went back today and pretty well got it finished and ready to plant. We are scheduled to plant on Monday (April 26), but we have a 70% chance of rain tomorrow.

If ever you try this, just remember, you must get the grass off in order to work the soil. As long as there is any grass on the field, the blade will not work.

I will get pics soon, I promise.

[DynaMow]

you better!!!

[completelawncare]

we didn't get the rain today, so it's on for Monday planting. I will go make a final pass with the blade tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, then till it lightly on Monday morning. The grass should be there around 8 am Monday for planting. Then, I will fertilize and spray with Ronstar, then start irrigation.

I promise I will have pics of all this.

[completelawncare]

Ok, got the final pass with the blade done today, and then tilled it lightly. It is ready for the sprigging machine, which will be here tomorrow (April 26).

I hit 2 sprinkler heads on the last pass with the tiller.....

And if you look in the background, you can see they are in the process of removing the trees around the field. Now everyone can see if I screw this up...

[Rodfather]

looking good so far nick

[completelawncare]

got it planted today (April 26)... It looks really good. Now we need a rain.

Applied some 12-12-26-6.5S just before planting, and sprayed with Starfighter (Ronstar) just after planting and started watering.

[completelawncare]

This is what it looks like today (May 1st), five days after planting.

I do see a few small green shoots starting to pop up from the sprigs, but not many yet. It has been getting watered well in most areas, but the irrigation system is not the best design. I changed one head today. And I reduced the watering time to 20 minutes each day, instead of 35 minutes. We have an 80% chance of rain tomorrow.

I feel that we are on schedule and don't see anything to be concerned about at this point. I did find a few nutsedge plants, but otherwise it seems that the Ronstar is keeping it clean.

[completelawncare]

Here are some pics from Sunday (May 9), 13 days after planting.

I am starting to see some good growth, but I don't know if you can see it well in the pics.

[completelawncare]

Here are some pics from today (May 16) The middle of the field is starting to green up, but I am concerned with the sidelines. Their irrigation system does not reach all the way to the sidelines, and we got the first rain since planting yesterday.

[DynaMow]

Nick I got to tell ya......




......that is one hell of a responsibility there. You are the men. I would be so nervous.


That's the one thing I hate about seeding jobs. When I leave the site all done, It doesn't feel done. It doesn't feel done until I see results. You know what I mean?

[completelawncare]

We replanted the sidelines yesterday (May 25). After planting I applied 400 lbs of ammonium sulfate (21-00-00-24S)

A phone call to the mayor, and 30 minutes later the fire department showed up to help water in the newly planted area.

The reason for replanting was because the irrigation system doesn't reach the sidelines, and it didn't get watered enough. We had only one rain on it 3 weeks after planting.

We got it watered very well yesterday with the help of the fire department, and again last night with a good rain. Which is our second rain event since planting 30 days ago.

[BORN TO MOW]

Great job Nick, like to see it with a green finish

Maybe with the profit you make on this one you should break out and buy one of these

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SPECTRA-PHYSI...item1e5c1e237b


If you are going to do jobs like this, you would love the speed and versatility of the laser when you are out on the tractor, just have it sitting next to you on a short stick and you can stop and check levels very quickly without getting out of the tractor, and there is no need to keep getting your assistant behind that auto-level you have.

Your productivity and peace of mind would be greatly improved

[PineCrestWoods]

Just curious- has anyone said, "What happened to the sod?.... You planted dead grass?" I would think some people wouldn't understand, and might expect insta-lawn.

[completelawncare]

Just curious- has anyone said, "What happened to the sod?.... You planted dead grass?" I would think some people wouldn't understand, and might expect insta-lawn.

One of the firemen asked why we didn't just sod the whole field.

The answer is "money". Sod would be at least double the cost of what we are doing here.

And, I believe that the end product is better with sprigging than with sod.

[PineCrestWoods]

And this does make sense, where you've got time before it will really see any use, and nobody will really be "looking" until the Fall, more or less. Not like a homeowner who might get embarrassed by having their neighbors look at it or something.


Why will the end product be better with sprigging than with sod (I've never had any experience with that process)?

[completelawncare]

[QUOTE=
Why will the end product be better with sprigging than with sod (I've never had any experience with that process)?[/QUOTE]

Because the stems of the grass are actually planted into the existing soil, instead of being laid on top and having to send roots down into the existing soil as with sod.

We have gotten 2 good rains since re-planting on Tuesday.

[completelawncare]

Here are some pics from yesterday (May 31st)

We have gotten a rain on it every day since replanting the sidelines last Tuesday (May 25) The replant is really coming along this time. I see lots of green down there, but you probably can't see it in the pics. I am still very confident that it will be ready in plenty of time before football season.

[BORN TO MOW]

Gents - Maggots




"One of the most popular baits for fresh or sea water fishing is maggots, of which, some people call them Gents. Whatever you want to call, them they work ! The number of different species that find these little suckers to their liking is amazing - Trout find them irresistible, Carp can�t leave them alone, Garfish and Tommies find them indefensibly delectable and Redfin will kill for them.

Gent�s have been available from most South Australian Tackle stores for some time now. The one main failing in this is that they work out expensive. This is because you need to use about a pint and a half in volume every time you go fishing. Like anything else, its cheaper to grow your own, and it couldn�t be easier.

There are three kinds of Gents which are sold in their natural state or dyed various colours: Large Whites, Pinkies and Squatts. The most common and preferred variety used for fishing is the Large Whites."


Is it to late to change the team name,

I cant wait to see the team mascot!

[completelawncare]

Here are some pictures from today. (July 3rd) I was going to spray for the nutsedge you see along the sidelines, and add some fertilizer, but the ground is a little wet. There are very few bare ground areas left today. It has been mowed once since planting and needs mowing again to help it spread horizontally and not grow vertically.

[PineCrestWoods]

I liked it better before.


:-)


Lookin' good. Only gonna get better every day!

[completelawncare]

Pictures from today. Sorry, but my Iphone doesn't take good pictures. I added some fertilizer today. I am essentially finished with my part. I made the final invoice today.

There were a couple low spots on the sidelines. We spread some sand in those areas. That's what you see in the pics.

[DynaMow]

Damn, lets play some football!!!!


Nice work Nicko!!!

[completelawncare]

Here are pics of the finished product. These were taken on August 9, 2010. Enjoy....

[PineCrestWoods]

Woo Hoo!! Looking great!

[Rhett]

Standing back and giving you a golf clap! Looks great! Was kinda concerned at first but WOW. How about doing that for my back yard?