Finally, Help for Shield-Watkins Field

#228
#228
BigOfan said:
Make sure your not dealing with Dallisgrass. This stuff is difficult to get rid of. Literally have to dig it up. I fought with this stuff this year and still have more to get out. Seemed to be worse this year.
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Dallisgrass is a perennial grass and it comes back every year from roots so a spring applied preventer to take care of annual grasses like crabgrass that grow from seed each year does not work.
 
#229
#229
BigOfan said:
Dallisgrass is a perennial grass and it comes back every year from roots so a spring applied preventer to take care of annual grasses like crabgrass that grow from seed each year does not work.
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Glad you specified, I thought you might have been talking about a guy in the basketball forum.







Just Kidding. :)
 
#232
#232
BruinVol said:
lol


Bent grass greens are on about 70% of golf courses in tenn Because of the climate but if you insist I will go find proof to calm you down
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Just googled Tennessee golf courses using bent grass and the first article that came up stated that most golf courses in TN are switching to Bermuda because bent grass can't take the summer heat.
 
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#234
#234
volfan_89 said:
Just googled Tennessee golf courses using bent grass and the first article that came up stated that most golf courses in TN are switching to Bermuda because bent grass can't take the summer heat.
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It's a double edged sword.
Pick your poison.

Summer heat or winter cold

The champions Bermuda is the new thing but it has to be covered when it below 35 I think
 
#235
#235
dithiopyr for crabgrass prevention.. its pre and post emergent, stay away from pendimethalin (originally invented for use as a yellow dye).. (dithiopyr) is in the stagreen products at lowes, vigoro at home depot, scotts sucks.. if you live in the deep south with st augustine or zoysia u would use something different. i buy concentrate from coop and spray.

when wanting to kill weeds but not grass use trimec ... which is 24d , mcpp, and dicamba

when wanting to kill everything get imazipyr and mix with a little glyphosate. imazipyr is very thick and will stop up your sprayers but is the best thing in the world for a ditch, fenceline, or gravel driveway. nothing will grow there for a few years

small trees and brush add edict to the above mixture

large trees use harvey updikes spike 80df
 
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#236
#236
StoVol said:
dithiopyr for crabgrass prevention.. its pre and post emergent, stay away from pendimethalin (originally invented for use as a yellow dye).. (dithiopyr) is in the stagreen products at lowes, vigoro at home depot, scotts sucks.. if you live in the deep south with st augustine or zoysia u would use something different. i buy concentrate from coop and spray.

when wanting to kill weeds but not grass use trimec ... which is 24d , mcpp, and dicamba

when wanting to kill everything get imazipyr and mix with a little glyphosate. imazipyr is very thick and will stop up your sprayers but is the best thing in the world for a ditch, fenceline, or gravel driveway. nothing will grow there for a few years

small trees and brush add edict to the above mixture

large trees use harvey updikes spike 80df
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Chemistry major? :p

Bolded was nice touch!
 
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#237
#237
BruinVol said:
It's a double edged sword.
Pick your poison.

Summer heat or winter cold

The champions Bermuda is the new thing but it has to be covered when it below 35 I think
Click to expand...

Bentgrass is an outdated, poorly suited turfgrass for the South. It does not tolerate heat well, is bumpy to putt on, has poor color, and does not like poor drainage. This entire discussion is silly. All of the dwarf Bermudas are much better options and any decent golf course in the South uses it. They tried to make all of the Bear Trace golf courses uniformly Bentgrass and had to redo just about all the greens. Is there some Winter die back in Tif varieties? Yes, but all the grasses have some Winter die back.
 
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#239
#239
landscapingvol said:
Bentgrass is an outdated, poorly suited turfgrass for the South. It does not tolerate heat well, is bumpy to putt on, has poor color, and does not like poor drainage. This entire discussion is silly. All of the dwarf Bermudas are much better options and any decent golf course in the South uses it. They tried to make all of the Bear Trace golf courses uniformly Bentgrass and had to redo just about all the greens. Is there some Winter die back in Tif varieties? Yes, but all the grasses have some Winter die back.
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I play two courses in central GA with outstanding bent greens. Bent is the best surface to putt on imo. It requires a time and money investment to circulate air and/or hand water or mist to prevent wilt, but nothing rolls like bentgrass.
 
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#240
#240
Since we're wayyy off topic and you guys are giving free advice: I live in N. AL, get my bermuda yard treated, and for the most part it looks pretty good. I haven't aerated in about 18 months, and get mixed reviews on when to do it. The consensus is to do it when it's hottest here, around late July, after a good rain. Thoughts? Lol. I also have friends who swear by burning their yards in February. My lawn guys say unnecessary and that some thatch is a good thing. Thanks in advance. Haha. Sorry, mods, as well. :)
 
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#241
#241
OrangeU said:
Since we're wayyy off topic and you guys are giving free advice: I live in N. AL, get my bermuda yard treated, and for the most part it looks pretty good. I haven't aerated in about 18 months, and get mixed reviews on when to do it. The consensus is to do it when it's hottest here, around late July, after a good rain. Thoughts? Lol. I also have friends who swear by burning their yards in February. My lawn guys say unnecessary and that some thatch is a good thing. Thanks in advance. Haha. Sorry, mods, as well. :)
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Sorry orange I am not confident to answer that one.

I would have said June was better to aerate but I wouldn't bet on that
 
#242
#242
Per Hubbs

Of course, one of the biggest topics of the week has been the playing conditions on Shields-Watkins Field last week against North Texas and what they might be like next week against Vanderbilt. On Monday, officials met again to examine the conditions and what could be done about them. Director of the field Darren Seybold and his boss director of facilities Kevin Zurcher met with former field manager Bobby Campbell, along with a professor from the turf grass program on the ag campus, inside Neyland Stadium to examine things. It was the first time Campbell has been consulted but Seybold has had conversations with a couple of professors from the ag campus in the past. Tennessee officials also have consulted with the Tennessee Titans, which once had the NFL's worst field but since has greatly improved a playing surface that receives lots of extra use.

The bottom line from most experts we have spoken with is that there's basically nothing they can do to “fix” the field this coming week for Vanderbilt --- and suffice to say people on campus are intently monitoring the weather forecast for next week as well, we're told, breathing a mixed sigh of relief for the kickoff time. From an atmosphere and recruiting standpoint, a night game would have been preferable. But there was concern about potential field conditions at night --- especially if temps were at or below freezing.

To improve playing conditions there remains talk of putting sand on the field like they did the practice field (as we mentioned in last week's war room). That however is not a complete fix as we saw guys continue to slip some on the practice field this week.

The focus and the goal at this point is to seek any option to make the field better for next Saturday then following the season there will be more discussions on trying to fix and prevent the issues next season. Those we have spoken with indicate no one is advocating or pushing for an artificial surface. However as it was said to Volquest this week, if the choice is the conditions as they are now and turf then the answer is going to be different.

Once the season is over, it's going to be very interesting to see who they consult with and how that's done to prepare for 2016.

In addition to examining all things field, Tennessee has examined the cleats as well to make sure they aren't contributing to the problem.

“We want to make sure we look at every possible reason for why our players might not be able to play at full speed,” one source said.

And the issues of the field has been brought up to the others as well. It's our understanding that either this year or in a recent year, a visiting SEC team filed a letter with the league office in regards to Tennessee's field, according to a source.
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#243
#243
Constantly resodding is probably contributing to the problem more than anyone wants to admit.

You can't expect freshmen sod to perform like an upperclassman all year, especially if you have someone taking care of the field who doesn't know what they are doing.
 
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#244
#244
Expecting Jimmy Cheek and Dave Hart to ever make one intelligent decision is like waiting for Donald Trump to be humble. NOT going to happen!
 
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#246
#246
"Those we have spoken with indicate no one is advocating or pushing for an artificial surface. However as it was said to Volquest this week, if the choice is the conditions as they are now and turf then the answer is going to be different.

"“We want to make sure we look at every possible reason for why our players might not be able to play at full speed,” one source said.""
 
#248
#248
GAVol said:
I play two courses in central GA with outstanding bent greens. Bent is the best surface to putt on imo. It requires a time and money investment to circulate air and/or hand water or mist to prevent wilt, but nothing rolls like bentgrass.
Click to expand...

Ugh I loath Bentgrass, I have never played on Bentgrass that rolls well. It's bumpy, slow, and looks like puke
 
#249
#249
OrangeU said:
Since we're wayyy off topic and you guys are giving free advice: I live in N. AL, get my bermuda yard treated, and for the most part it looks pretty good. I haven't aerated in about 18 months, and get mixed reviews on when to do it. The consensus is to do it when it's hottest here, around late July, after a good rain. Thoughts? Lol. I also have friends who swear by burning their yards in February. My lawn guys say unnecessary and that some thatch is a good thing. Thanks in advance. Haha. Sorry, mods, as well. :)
Click to expand...

Well, it depends on the health of your lawn. If it is very healthy and growing rapidly like it should be during the warm months, then you can aerate during its growing season. Aerating is not necessary regularly if you are not exposing it to heavy foot traffic or regular recreational use. The main goal of aeration is to relieve compaction from over-use like a putting green, fairway, or football field that is constantly being walked or beaten with a 9 iron by some hacker. A regular residential lawn doesn't need regular aeration. Instead, it needs regular de-thatching and a lot of food. There are a few ways you can de-thatch: bagging when you mow, rent a de-thatcher but be careful haha, a steel rake, or you can lightly burn it right before it starts to emerge. A healthy bermuda lawn should require mowing 2-3 times a week at the same height and should be fed 5-6 times a year: once in the Fall and early Spring then 3-4 times during its growing season. You can burn Bermuda by applying a heavy nitrogen fertilizer during very hot days so be careful and do it right before watering or a good rain. Good luck good sir!
 
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#250
#250
Ideally, you don't want any thatch. It prevents spreading of the Bermuda stolons which run on the surface of the ground, can cause disease or insect buildup, reduces the amount of food that can get to the roots. However, unless you plan on spending several hours a week clearing thatch build up it is not very realistic so the best thing you can do is regularly remove it as best as possible and try to bag your lawn at least every other time you mow. At the minimum I would remove your thatch build up every late Spring just before the lawn begins to emerge by dropping your mower height and bagging it or raking it.
 
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