20 SportsTurf | January 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
GrowinG seeded
bermudaGrass fields
without irriGation
S
ports turf managers in Parks
and Recreation are some of the
most knowledgeable, innovative
and collaborative people I have
met. In the sports turf industry, the
basics of turfgrass maintenance (good
design, fertility, irrigation and cultural
practices) are well understood and
practiced. But in parks and recreation
two key aspects of the management
program often are missing: good tim-
ing and having a plan.
The one key element missing from
many maintenance processes in park
and recreation is timing. The idea of
timing isn't new to sports; players train
and prepare year round for the last 2
minutes of the 4th quarter, game 7, or
the last mile. It's what the "prime time"
athletes work so hard for and as turf
managers in Parks and Rec, our main-
tenance processes shouldn't be any
different. We need to be prepared for
the prime time.
Timely fertilizer application,
seeding, irrigation repairs and other
cultural practices are what separate the
good surfaces from the mediocre ones.
Along the Front Range of Colorado
our growing season lasts from approxi-
mately April 15 to October 15 or about
183 days. I define a growing season
as the time when the plant is actively
conducting photosynthesis, respiration
and transpiration. The growing season
is the basis for the turf manager and
field relationship, and it is important
to know and respect the prime time for
growing grass.
There are a couple time periods each
year that the grass just seems to jump
out of the ground. We may continue
with our inputs, and the grass responds
well almost completely naturally, mak-
ing us all look good. The prime growing
season is the natural cycle where the
plant actively grows faster and stron-
ger than it does any other time during
the year. Along the Colorado Front
Range this occurs usually from May 10
to June 25 (46 days) and August 25 to
September 20 (26 days), hence the prime
growing season along the Front Range is
about 72 days, less than half of the tradi-
tional growing season.
Turf managers know during the
growing season the inevitable will
happen: a lateral zone breaks and a
whole section of turf lacks proper
irrigation; wet weather delays a fertil-
izer application a week or more; or
the administration adds an extra 2
weeks of makeup games at the end of
the season. As turf managers we have
maintenance
Practices in Parks
and recreation
■ By Joshua Bertrand
noel harryman and Christina Clay clean up Infinity Park after a water main break.
FACILITY & OPERATIONS
