SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/113699
FieldScience | By Dr. Mike Goatley, STMA President Thick-cut sod experiences at Busch Stadium Turf farmers' advice on choosing and successfully managing thick-cut sod Editor's note: From any good sod supplier, thick cut sod is always more money, and is NOT always the best solution, according to several sources. Some reasons it's more expensive: More soil with the sod means less topsoil for the farmer, which of course he depends on for future crop; more soil means more weight, which means less sq. ft. per big roll of sod, and even less on the truck. If a standard load is 10-12k sq ft, and thick cut sod could be less than half that, it's double the trucking price; more equipment, time and labor on both ends (sod farm and installation at the field). In this article we get feedback from turf farmers on two questions: What factors should be considered when a sports turf customer is deciding between thick-cut v. regular-cut sod? What are the most important things turf managers need to do, for both thick-cut and regular-cut, after a sod installation to assure a successful outcome? GREG JOHNSON, Bigfoot Turf, LaSalle, CO Obviously harvesting thick cut sod presents some problems for sod producers. The fast removal of existing topsoil is kind of a scary thing when looking at the long term use of agricultural land. The use of expensive, environmentally damaging and economic deficit growing fossil fuel to haul dirt around is also questionable. 14 SportsTurf | March 2013 We've found that thick cut sod roots down much slower than regular thickness sod. We've even seen instances where thick cut never roots down at all. Hopefully, we as sod growers have prime soil that we grow sod on and the thick cut seems to be content growing roots in the soil delivered with the sod. We have found that if our customer needs to use the newly laid sod immediately, a topdressing with sand right after the sod is laid helps keep the sod in place. This allows for the use of regular cut sod, with its faster rooting characteristics, while maintaining the ability to use the area immediately. Also using a core aerator on the prepared ground right before laying sod and removing the cores allows the sod to root faster. Billy Findlay, head groundskeeper for the St. Louis Cardinals, has twice turned to thick-cut sod from his supplier, Graff Turf Farms in Colorado, since the new Busch Stadium opened in 2006. The first time was after a U2 concert in July 2011. "It was a hot summer and Graff's was working hard to keep the turf healthy. We went with a 1-inch thick sod and played on it 3 days after the concert," Findlay said. "It did well that first year but interfacing can be a problem with the thick cut; ours didn't root down enough and that's tough since we're playing on bluegrass in the St. Louis climate," he said. "But we played on it through the 2012 season, which was the hottest summer on record in St. Louis, and with bluegrass in that heat, the roots just weren't optimal. By mid-August last year we had some divoting and black layer forming. I poked some holes but you can't aerate too much that time of year here. "After last season we stripped it all out, put in a ½-inch sod, and I have an amazing root mass now. We took another inch of rootzone during the changeover to get rid of the black layer and put down fresh sand before the laying the new sod," Findlay said. "In my experience thin-cut sod has always yielded amazing results." Findlay said when the new Busch Stadium opened he had only a 2-week window to finish the field and 1 ¼-inch sod was put down. "The second season on it we had major issues with tearing and the players were losing footing; I'm a fan of the thinner the better. "But there are situations, especially after major events like a concert, where you might have to use thick-cut. And after our experiences with it, management is much more likely to let me take out any thick-cut we have to put it, to see it only as a temporary fix," Findlay said. "You can aerate that bluegrass until you are blue in the face in this climate and you won't get the rooting you need." www.sportsturfonline.com