I am happy to say that the purchase of the skin tarps for the baseball and softball fields was a great idea. We had the laser-grading and edging completed earlier this winter and then we covered the skinned areas. When we took the tarps off yesterday, the playing surface was perfect after a few spins around with the groomer. The moisture content was right where we wanted it to be. After looking at the weather report... I thought we were going to have a quick light shower in the morning today. Little did I know that it was going to rain all day. Needless to say the tarp is not helping us rolled up on the tube.
The fields will be open today and ready for the first practice of the spring season. In my four years here at EA, this will be the first time at the start of the spring season where the teams are out on the first day.
We are continuing our search to fill the groundskeeper position. We are hoping to have it filled by Friday of next week.
Joe and Mike are doing some finishing touches to the equipment today. Joe is working on his water tank and compost tea brewer. Mike is working on the mowers. He is busy attaching the reels to the our two units.
Next week we will hope to get the fields lined and start mowing and applying our first fertilizer.
The EA-Grounds blog is to allow the EA community to track the progress of the grounds work here on campus. It will show photos of field work, tree work, and have some tips for the EA community regarding care of the plant material here on campus
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
A Rainy Day
Well, the one good thing about a rainy day is that I have the time to update the blog...
Over the past couple of days, we have been busy setting up the athletic fields. One job that is quite possibly the worst is installing the "fence topper" to the baseball and softball fields. We were very fortunate to have the help of Joe and our athletic equipment manager Mike Herron. Without them it could not have been completed.
The pat few days have kept us busy. With spring athletics underway, we are back to doing our normal field maintenance. We have yet to drop any mowers, but the reels are on and are ready to go. We painted lines on field I (Nolan Field) for boys lacrosse. JV will have to utilize that field until we have the sod grown in on field E. We have also topdressed the skinned areas with Turface to condition the infield. It makes for such a better playing surface.
Today we get to test the skin tarps with the rain. Our hopes are to pull them off tomorrow and be ready for play in the afternoon. If it works it will prove to be a great investment.
Today also sees the finsihing touches on some equipment maintenance. The beverage cart will be up and ready to go for the first set of games.
Over the past couple of days, we have been busy setting up the athletic fields. One job that is quite possibly the worst is installing the "fence topper" to the baseball and softball fields. We were very fortunate to have the help of Joe and our athletic equipment manager Mike Herron. Without them it could not have been completed.
The pat few days have kept us busy. With spring athletics underway, we are back to doing our normal field maintenance. We have yet to drop any mowers, but the reels are on and are ready to go. We painted lines on field I (Nolan Field) for boys lacrosse. JV will have to utilize that field until we have the sod grown in on field E. We have also topdressed the skinned areas with Turface to condition the infield. It makes for such a better playing surface.
Today we get to test the skin tarps with the rain. Our hopes are to pull them off tomorrow and be ready for play in the afternoon. If it works it will prove to be a great investment.
Today also sees the finsihing touches on some equipment maintenance. The beverage cart will be up and ready to go for the first set of games.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Friday and This Week's Outlook
Friday was the KAFMO conference. There was some great information on the Nutrient Restriction Law in Pennsylvania. As of now, a Bill has not been passed. But here is a quick run-down of what is on the table. There is a push for certification of the applicators of nutrients, a bit like a pesticide applicator. The Bill that is on the table has a total maximum daily load and a Watershed Implementation Plan that is approved by the EPA and the goals must be met by 2025. The restrictions are the following: no applications to impervious surfaces, no fertilizers applied within five feet of a body of water, no Phosphorous applied unless stated in soil test or when the applicator is repairing turf, restrictions on natural orgainics, no more then .7 lbs/ M of water soluble nitrogen per application and no more then .9 lbs / M per application of any fertilizer daily, No limits on Nitrogen applications, No restrictions on soil ammendments, date restrictions (nothing before March 1st and after November 15th can do .5 lbs / M., and No applications on frozen soils. The was not vetoed or signed back in October 2011.
The other presentations were dealing with flooded fields, spring recovery strategies, best management practices for turfgrass, tall fescue establishment for sports fields, and weed control with the sports schedule in mind.
We were also awarded with the Field of Distinction for 2012.
This week we will be uncovering the athletic fields for the start of the spring sports season. Field E will stay covered until the new sod has knitted in fully and is safe for play. We will start to add the new fence topper and windscreens to Stone Field and Field B. My goal is to have everything lined and open for this Friday.
The other presentations were dealing with flooded fields, spring recovery strategies, best management practices for turfgrass, tall fescue establishment for sports fields, and weed control with the sports schedule in mind.
We were also awarded with the Field of Distinction for 2012.
This week we will be uncovering the athletic fields for the start of the spring sports season. Field E will stay covered until the new sod has knitted in fully and is safe for play. We will start to add the new fence topper and windscreens to Stone Field and Field B. My goal is to have everything lined and open for this Friday.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wrapping Things Up
Yesterday was an eventful day. The Arrimour Group wrapped up the woodlands / hillside. Joe went through and put the finishing touches on it by cleaning up the trash and cutting any remaining vines. This space shows a ton of potential and next week we will be having a meeting to discuss this area and how we are going to make it resource for the EA community.
King Sports finished the drainage on Field E. The tarps were the saving grace on this project. It made it possible to work in the snow and it kept the area warm and dry. The field will be open for play after two or three weeks of grow in time to allow the sod to throw roots down and knit into the existing turf. Before they installed the new sod, we aerified the area to allow for sand to be incorporated into the existing clay soil. This will help for root growth and drainage of the area too.
Mike and I wrapped up the backstops. A few weeks back, Mike removed the turf and soil from around the backstops of Stone Field, Field B, and Field C. Yesterday we back-filled them with the warning track material. This will give a better sense to the players as to where the backstops are, it will provide an aesthetically pleasing look to the fields, and it will cut down on our labor of string trimming the areas.
Friday, Mike and I venture to the Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization annual conference. There we will be awarded with the Field of Distinction.
King Sports finished the drainage on Field E. The tarps were the saving grace on this project. It made it possible to work in the snow and it kept the area warm and dry. The field will be open for play after two or three weeks of grow in time to allow the sod to throw roots down and knit into the existing turf. Before they installed the new sod, we aerified the area to allow for sand to be incorporated into the existing clay soil. This will help for root growth and drainage of the area too.
Mike and I wrapped up the backstops. A few weeks back, Mike removed the turf and soil from around the backstops of Stone Field, Field B, and Field C. Yesterday we back-filled them with the warning track material. This will give a better sense to the players as to where the backstops are, it will provide an aesthetically pleasing look to the fields, and it will cut down on our labor of string trimming the areas.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Back at it Again
Today King Sports was able to be back at on the field for the drainage project. We covered the field before the snow storm with a tarp. It took a day for the snow to melt and this morning the tarp was lifted and they were able to work again. They are stripping part of the field and inserting the drains as they move down the line instead of stripping the whole area and exposing the soil to the elements. Things will be a bit more broken up for them, but they are expecting sod to be laid next Wednesday.
Joe was busy climbing trees today. He was working on removing dead wood out the trees in the wetlands area. This is to make it safe in the spring when students and teachers start to do their classes with the wetlands. John helped Joe in the trees and moved the deadwood away from the area after it was dropped. He was also busy putting the orange stakes back in around the Campus Green in preparation for the snow tonight and tomorrow.
Mike spent most of the day troubleshooting the Tool Cat and getting it ready for the snow tomorrow. He is the self proclammed Golden Wrench.
Joe was busy climbing trees today. He was working on removing dead wood out the trees in the wetlands area. This is to make it safe in the spring when students and teachers start to do their classes with the wetlands. John helped Joe in the trees and moved the deadwood away from the area after it was dropped. He was also busy putting the orange stakes back in around the Campus Green in preparation for the snow tonight and tomorrow.
Mike spent most of the day troubleshooting the Tool Cat and getting it ready for the snow tomorrow. He is the self proclammed Golden Wrench.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
A little snow and ice from yesterday will slow us down a bit
We have been busy working on numerous projects on the fields, in the woodlands, and in the wetlands. Joe and John were able to chip all of the material that they have removed from the wetlands. This area is slowly getting "cleaned up" and will still be usefull for the science classes this spring. The woodlands reclamation project is just about complete. The crews were shut down yesterday and today, but they will be back for one last day of chipping and clearing the rest of the invasive brush. We will be having a meeting with some of the science faculty regarding the hillside and the plans on how to make it a usuable space by the students and the EA community.
Mike has been busy on the fields doing some sod work and filling in some low areas. We are lucky that we can strip the sod from the goal mouth drainage project and use it on other fields. The project is just about complete. The sod for the sidelines and far goalmouth are finished. Yesterday King Sports installed the main drainage manifold and tomorrow they will be stripping the sod and maybe installing a few drain lines. Weather depending... It is tough to trench through frozen ground. You will also notice on the photos that Brutus is standing in front of one of the areas on Alumni Field where we keep the grow covers. The color under them is amazing and the ground was a lot warmer. The sod under those has knited perfectly and we should be good to go for March 1st.
Here are some updated photos of what we have been working on. Enjoy.
Mike has been busy on the fields doing some sod work and filling in some low areas. We are lucky that we can strip the sod from the goal mouth drainage project and use it on other fields. The project is just about complete. The sod for the sidelines and far goalmouth are finished. Yesterday King Sports installed the main drainage manifold and tomorrow they will be stripping the sod and maybe installing a few drain lines. Weather depending... It is tough to trench through frozen ground. You will also notice on the photos that Brutus is standing in front of one of the areas on Alumni Field where we keep the grow covers. The color under them is amazing and the ground was a lot warmer. The sod under those has knited perfectly and we should be good to go for March 1st.
Here are some updated photos of what we have been working on. Enjoy.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The First Two Days of Spring... Oh wait we have 6 more weeks of winter
According to the ground hog, we have six more weeks of winter. However, the previous two days were spectacular weather conditions. We were able to get a lot of work accomplished. Mike worked on some more irrigation issues, Joe and John did some tree work and clearing of the Wetlands. The contracted groups were also very busy. One of the drainage areas on Field E will be finished and sodded by the end of the day on Friday. The other crew working in clearing the woods have made some great strides. The skid steer bush hog was great until it hit a rock. However, the guys have been busy with hand tools taking care of the debris. This area will give a new appearance and look to the campus when it is finished.
Enjoy the photos!
Enjoy the photos!
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