John Mascaro's Photo Quiz
John Mascaro is President of Turf-Tec International
Answers from page 17
The brown area extending out from this softball infield was caused by a large homecoming bonfire.
A plastic tarp was first placed in the center of this softball infield skin area and then about 2 tons
of sand was applied to the top of the tarp to a depth of about 2 inches. Next hundreds of wooden
pallets were stacked in the center of the skin area to a height of about 12 feet. The fire got over
1800 degrees Fahrenheit this year and high winds that night caused the flames to blow toward
the left field turf and scorched the leaf tips well into the outfield grass. The fire department was
on site the whole time and even monitored the fire temperature with an infrared camera but was
not able to prevent damage to the turf. They put about 500 gallons of water on the fire after the
event was over and then raked it and watered it again. It is about a 45 minute process putting
out the fire. The tarp was pretty well scorched after this event and luckily the grass grew out
after the fire burn. Interestingly enough, the clover in the outfield was totally killed by the heat
and some small goosegrass plants that were in the clay area never stood a chance!
Photo submitted by Tom Barry, Grounds Manager and Field Specialist at Greens Farms
Academy in Westport, CT. n
If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro's Photo Quiz please send it to John Mascaro,
1471 Capital Circle NW, Ste # 13, Tallahassee, FL 32303 call (850) 580-4026 or email to john@turf-tec.com. If your photograph is
selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of SportsTurf magazine and the Sports Turf Managers Association.
www.stma.org
January 2014 | SportsTurf
33
