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/141613
less than 5% passing the 100 sieve screen (see photo 7). Big-Roll Sod. Look for sod that is mature (1 to 1-1/2 years old) and grown on soil that is similar to the native soil of the field. If it's available (and especially if the drainage system described above is installed), use sod with sandy soil. If it's not available at this time, use native soil sod. Aerating and topdressing with sand will begin next year and provide better rooting and better drainage. Before the sod is installed, apply starter fertilizer recommended by soil test results and go over the surface with a finishing tractor attachment like a power rake. This attachment removes small debris and provides a flat, smooth surface to prepare the soil for sod. Then install the big-roll sod using Kentucky bluegrass in the north and bermudagrass in the south (see photo 9). YEARLY RENOVATION Create a 3 to 4 inch sand-cap over a 10-year period with this yearly renovation program starting the year after the sod is installed. The sand layer will allow surface water to drain quickly into the underdrains (if installed). The field will get better each year. Aerate and topdress with 3/8" of the sand that was recommended for the subsurface drainage trenches. You will need about 75 tons to topdress the field (goal post to goal post and sideline to sideline including the bench areas). This process should be done every spring between April and May for cool season grasses and between May and June for warm season grasses. The results are better rooting, thicker turf that will hold up to more events, and improved drainage. Use a solid-tine vibrating aerator unless you can remove the cores that a hollowtine core aerator leaves behind. Mixing the topsoil cores with the coarse sand will contaminate the sand and prevent drainage (see Photo 10). Don't worry about creating a perched water table that will prohibit drainage by topdressing with a different material than already exists on the field. In fact, the opposite is true; placing coarse material over fine material allows water to www.stma.org drain freely through the coarse material and into the fine textured soil below and eventually into the underdrains (if installed). A perched water table is created by placing fine material over coarse material preventing water from draining through the fine material until it reaches almost 100% capacity. USGA putting greens and high profile sports fields are built using a perched water table with the intent of keeping the sand moist. After 10 years of when the sod was installed, replace the sod as you would the carpet on an artificial turf field. Let's face it, nothing lasts forever. This time you won't be able to use a plow to remove the grass. Use a big-roll sod cutter or other conventional machine to physically remove the sod and the thatch layer to dispose of off-site. Remove some of the sand at this time leaving about 1-1/2" to 2" of the sand below. This will allow for yearly topdressing with sand for the next 10 years. Install sod that is grown on a coarse sand soil or washed sand to prevent a perched water table (placing fine over coarse texture). Beginning in the spring of the following year, start topdressing with about ¼" if sand yearly (50 tons of sand). That will bring the sand layer back to 4" before it's time to replace the sod again. Then start all over by removing the sod and 2" of sand and so on and so forth. ESTIMATED BUDGET Initial reconstruction cost to remove the grass, grade, and sod: $60,000 Optional: full field irrigation $32,500 Optional: subsurface drainage installed on 20 ft centers. $32,500 Yearly renovation: $8,000 After ten years replace the sod: $60,000 The total for a 10 year commitment program: $124,000 (excluding irrigation and drainage). n Jim Puhalla is the president of SportScape International, Inc. in Boardman, OH specializing in Sports Field Design, Consulting, and Construction Supervision and coauthor of 3 sports field books. SportsTurf 11