Bradley Roby (29) of the Denver Broncos breaks up a pass intended for Reggie Wayne (87) of the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter. The Denver Broncos played the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo. on September 7, 2014. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

A striking visual confronted a national TV audience last Sunday night. The Broncos began their season playing on haggard-looking turf at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The field played well, with minimal slippage, but it didn't look well.

"We have always placed a lot of pride in the 'playability' of our turf. The safety of players is our first priority. This was a cosmetic issue, but it doesn't meet our standards," said Andy Gorchov, general manager of Stadium Management.

A confluence of factors contributed to the field's less than forest green appearance: a heavy traffic event schedule leading up to the Broncos' opener, soggy weather and the seeding process used to replenish the turf.

Before the Colts game, the stadium hosted a Manchester United-AS Roma soccer match, which required the grass to be cut at a shorter length. Also played on the field: lacrosse games and the Rocky Mountain Showdown, matching the CU and CSU football teams. Combine that with two Broncos practices, one conducted in torrential rain, a scrimmage and a pair of preseason games, and the turf took a beating.

"It was a perfect storm. The (Desso) Grassmaster (blend) needs a window of time to reseed. And we haven't had that two-week window," Gorchov said. "In reality, this is one of those years where we expect the field to look better later in the season."

Why not resod the field's problem areas?

The Broncos use a seeding process that allows the turf to strengthen. Resodding, as seen in the 49ers' and Texans' fields recently, can create footing issues because of loose sod. Several Broncos said Mile High's turf had no issues. No consideration was given to painting the brown spots for appearance sake, since doing so can create long-term damage.

The Sports Turf Managers Association has voted the Broncos' field tops in the industry in the past.

Read more:
Broncos' turf at Sports Authority Field playing better than it looks

ROSCOE Kelly Myers Park is undergoing some big upgrades to the tune of just over $300,000 and Roscoe Township is expecting construction to wrap up in a couple weeks.

The township experienced some delays due to weather, waiting for grants to come through and waiting for state departments to approve different plans, said Tom Hawes, a supervisor with the township.

It took a little time, but we got past that, Hawes said. It wont be idyllic because we didnt get grass in early enough to accommodate spring sports.

He said the township had hoped to seed the fields by Aug. 1, but because of the delays in state approvals and the heavy rain in the last month the seeding will be done in about one to two weeks, wrapping up the project. He said the grass should be established by mid-summer so club teams and fall sports can use the fields.

Denny McKinney, who oversees about 40 softball teams for Stateline Youth Athletics, said he looks forward to using the new fields.

I think most people live in communities because of the schools and parks that are available and what they can do for our kids, McKinney said. I have to reach out and give lots of credit to the leadership because of what theyve done.

The Township Board of Supervisors has been putting aside funds for nearly a decade, Hawes said, so with those funds and some grants that finally came through, the township was able to begin construction on the park earlier this summer.

After construction is finished the park will have two renovated baseball fields, one football field and one soccer field and a kiddie baseball field to accommodate three club sports and Hononegah High School, said Jim Benkovich, a Roscoe Township supervisor.

The soccer and football fields will be equipped for practices, but the baseball and softball fields are receiving upgrades that will make them suitable for high school and upper level teams, Hawes said.

The fields take the place of the area that was reserved for the annual mud volleyball tournament for The Epilepsy Foundation, Benkovich said. The tournament was moved to Riverside Park in Roscoe to allow for an expanded playing area and more teams, he said.

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Work at Kelly Myers Park nearly complete

Broncos head coach John Fox says the team worked on its conditioning during practice this week. (John Leyba / The Denver Post)

ENGLEWOOD A striking visual confronted a national TV audience last Sunday night. The Broncos began their season playing on haggard-looking turf at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

The field played well, with minimal slippage, but it didn't look well.

"We have always placed a lot of pride in the 'playability' of our turf. The safety of players is our first priority. This was a cosmetic issue, but it doesn't meet our standards," said Andy Gorchov, general manager of Stadium Management.

A confluence of factors contributed to the field's less than forest green appearance: a heavy traffic event schedule leading up to the Broncos' opener, soggy weather and the seeding process used to replenish the turf.

Before the Colts game, the stadium hosted a Manchester United-AS Roma soccer match, which required the grass to be cut at a shorter length. Also played on the field: lacrosse games and the Rocky Mountain Showdown, matching the CU and CSU football teams. Combine that with two Broncos practices, one conducted in torrential rain, a scrimmage and a pair of preseason games, and the turf took a beating.

"It was a perfect storm. The (Desso) Grassmaster (blend) needs a window of time to reseed. And we haven't had that two-week window," Gorchov said. "In reality, this is one of those years where we expect the field to look better later in the season."

Why not resod the field's problem areas?

The Broncos use a seeding process that allows the turf to strengthen. Resodding, as seen in the 49ers' and Texans' fields recently, can create footing issues because of loose sod. Several Broncos said Mile High's turf had no issues. No consideration was given to painting the brown spots for appearance sake, since doing so can create long-term damage.

The Sports Turf Managers Association has voted the Broncos' field tops in the industry in the past.

Continue reading here:
Broncos' turf playing better than it looks

Lawn looking lackluster? Mid-August to early October is a sweet spot in the calendar year to sow fresh grass seed or replace an existing lawn throughout the state, according to Alec Kowalewski, turfgrass specialist for the Oregon State University Extension Service.

If you wait until November, you're too late the next best bet to establish a new lawn comes around the following April to May.

"The problem is that when you get later into the year, annual bluegrass takes over," Kowalewski said. "If your turfgrass seed germinates late in the fall, it will not out-compete annual bluegrass, a very problematic, profuse weed due to our wet climate."

Wondering which type of turfgrass is best? If you live in western Oregon and full sun embraces your lawn, Kowalewski recommends perennial ryegrass. If your lawn lies in the shade or you don't irrigate much, fine fescues are a great choice, he said. But Kowalewski advised picking tall fescues if you don't water much and your lawn gets full sun.

"Fescues are very drought-tolerant," Kowalewski said. "Tall fescue is the most drought-tolerant and fine fescue is both drought- and shade-tolerant."

For eastern Oregon homeowners who deal with a significant amount of snowfall, Kowalewski suggested Kentucky bluegrass. But remember, it needs irrigation. Science has not created a kind of turfgrass that stays green all year without any water yet.

"Tall fescue is the closest thing to it," Kowalewski said.

To establish a new lawn, decide first whether you are completely redoing your lawn or freshening up scruffy-looking patches of turfgrass (if you're tearing out your old lawn, read two ways to uproot grass).

If you're repairing an old lawn, first aerate it with a core-cultivating machine and seed the turfgrass into the existing lawn. It's a practice known as inter-seeding or renovation, Kowalewski said.

"The most important part is adding fertilizer while seeding," Kowalewski advised. "From now until the rainy season starts, you'll need to irrigate lightly every day to every other day to keep the grass moist. About one-tenth of an inch each time you water is adequate."

Continue reading here:
Low-maintenance lawn: Time to sow fresh grass seed

CALINGIRI farmer Steve Waters has proven that by making minor low-cost adjustments to his seeding techniques, he can improve water penetration in non-wetting soils, leading to better crop germination and prevention of rye grass spreading.

Between 2-20 per cent of some paddocks on Mr Waters farm are impacted by non- wetting soil, which in previous years influenced the spread of rye grass and impacted on his crop yields.

On our gravelly non-wetting hills, if you sow in the inter-row the crop takes a long time to germinate, but using the 2cm GPS, we can sow on the row and it seems to germinate straight away with the rest of the crop, he said.

Weve found if you sow in between the rows, you dont have much crop competition with the rye grass; the rye grass seems to germinate on the last years row.

We already had RTK GPS technology in the tractor, so this is a very low cost approach for us. And were seeing a 100 per cent improvement in the bad patches of non-wetting soils.

The Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS system used by Mr Waters, delivers equipment auto guidance accuracy to two-cm.

Mr Waters farms 1100 hectares, about 150km north-east of Perth with his partner Jamie King. He follows a seven-year rotation growing wheat, canola and barley, as well as pastures for sheep feed sown into the barley stubble.

The soil types on Mr Waters property range from sandy gravel hills (non-wetting) as well as loamy red and grey clay country.

He believes the incorporation of a knife-point seeding system might be the reasoning behind better water penetration in non-wetting soils.

Ive got a theory that it might be the knife point on the cultivator busting up a bit of clay from underneath, from the year before, and the water is following that clay band down, he said.

Read the original post:
More soil water for Waters

By: John Torsiello

One of the major trends in the care of golf courses is the move toward creating more natural, or native, areas off fairways. It just makes sense from a turf-management standpoint. Naturalizing rough areas means less expense in terms of maintenance as areas off the fairways have to be mowed much less frequently, if at all. It also means less application of water, fertilizer and pesticide, which again helps reduce the bottom line.

Example of Multiple Cuts of Maintained & Unmaintained Rough

Tim Morgahan, founder of Aspire Golf Consulting in New Jersey, observed, "The pros are that native (or naturalized) rough areas are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, easier to maintain and are good for wildlife. The cons are that they are a pain in the ass when you hit your $5 Pro V into them and cannot find it due to density." But the damage to the paying customer's wallet does not seem to deter superintendents from naturalizing rough areas.

"Converting mowed, irrigated rough areas to native grasses can reduce water, fertilizer, and pesticide inputs and may reduce mowing," says Dr. Anthony Koski, extension turfgrass specialist with the Colorado State University Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

"However, it is important to understand that native areas will not be maintenance-free. In fact, if they are neglected they can quickly become weedy and unsightly." He says older areas must also be maintained to prevent the invasion of shrubs, brambles and trees. Grass species - especially if a mix of grasses is seeded - will change over time. "The species of weeds, and you will have weeds to deal with, will change over time, as well."

Major advances in breeding of turf-type tall fescues since the early 1980s have encouraged more use of tall fescue as primary or secondary rough. In traditional cool-season grass-growing climates and the transition zone of the U.S., interest in less maintenance has driven the use of tall fescue. Tall fescue is used now in areas where there are limits placed on annual fertility and chemical applications. The turf quality in high-performing NTEP-rated tall fescues is excellent, mimicking a wide-bladed bluegrass. They can be cut at 1.5 inches or higher, up to natural, non-mowed plant heights.

Another group of species that has garnered more interest in golf rough use is fine fescues. These species consist of hard, sheeps, creeping red and chewings fescues. The hard, chewings and sheeps fescues have been used more as "no-mow" grasses in far roughs and out-of-bounds areas. They can grow to 8 to 18 inches high and cascade over themselves if left in a natural state.

Fine fescues have an interesting ornamental look. In warm-season grass areas in the lower transition zone and further south in the U.S., weeping lovegrass performs similarly as the fine fescue no-mow grasses above. These all have the potential to be left alone with literally no maintenance when established, except for occasional weed control and spot seeding for fill in.

A similar scenario occurs regarding mowing height adjustments for roughs further south, where bermudagrass is the prevailing fairway turf. The roughs are also defined as primary and secondary by height of cut. So, the cut gets higher the further away from the fairway.

Read more:
Torsiello's Turf Talk - Managing the Rough

Types of Grass: Laying Sod or Grass Seeding in Westchester County, NY
Should you plant grass seed or lay sod? In this lawn care tips video, we show you the two types of grass and the pros and cons of each so you have the lawn y...

By: Total Turf Landscaping

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Types of Grass: Laying Sod or Grass Seeding in Westchester County, NY - Video

Last week we talked about completely renovating a lawn. Most of us dont need to get that drastic; we just need to give our yards a face lift or fill in the spots killed in this summers heat. Overseeding is a really good way to bring new life into a sagging lawn. This will take some time and planning, but not as much as renovating.

Two things are essential for maximum seeding success: good sunlight penetration and seed-soil contact.

STEPS FOR OVERSEEDING

1. One month before seeding use a broadleaf weed killer like Trimec, Weed-Out, Weed-B-Gon, or Weed-B-Gon Max plus Crabgrass killer. Do not use chemicals again until the new seedlings have been mowed three times. An exception is siduron (Tupersan), a pre-emergence herbicide.

2. Mow the existing grass to 1 inch. This will keep grass and weeds from competing with the new seedlings, help prevent seeds from lodging in tall grass and never reach the ground, and allow for good light penetration. Remove debris.

3. There can be three options for creating good seed to soil contact. Core aerate, or use one of the following a verticutter, a slit seeder, or a power rake, or both (aerate and one of these three). The verticutter, slit seeder or power rake can be rented and used in one direction. The machine will create inch deep grooves in the soil. Rake and remove debris. Verticutting will increase seed to soil contact more that aerating alone. This will maximize germination and coverage rate. Even lawns that are not being overseeded will benefit from an annual or biannual aerification. Do this in mid-September when temperatures are cooling off. This will reduce chances of injury to the turf. It will be easier to do this step if the soil has been moistened a day or two before. When aerifying, allow the cores to dry for a day then verticut the lawn in one direction and remove debris. This will prepare your yard for overseeding and chop up the aerification plugs as well. Be sure to flag your irrigation heads to avoid hitting them.

4. Buy good, clean, quality seed. You do get what you pay for when it comes to grass seed. A tall fescue blend made from the K-State turfgrass recommended varieties is a good choice for both sun and shade. Find these at you local nurseries and garden stores. Read the labels. Ideally, you want to find seed with 0 percent other seed and 0 percent weed seed. You will not like the results at 1 to 2 percent.

5. Broadcast your seed. Tall fescue blends should be overseeded at 3-4 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Applying too much seed can result in turf death from overcrowding, and can cause fungal diseases later on.

6. Verticut/power rake again this time at a 90-degree angle to the last pass. Try to distribute the debris evenly or rake and remove any large piles.

7. Fertilize with a turf starter fertilizer.

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At Home Living: Planning helps overseeding project take root

Pheasant cover

BOONE They Gotta Have Cover is a new and catchy way to call attention to what farmers can do to bring back pheasants and other grassland birds.

Debuting at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Aug. 26-28, the video features three farmers rapping about the cover types theyve planted, then nurtured to shelter and feed pheasant throughout the year.

Once you hear the lyrics, you wont be able to forget them.

They gotta have cover! Yes they do, yes they do! or

Gotta have grass for the pheasants to nest, 10 to 12 inches is what the hens like best.

Its not as simple as planting a field of brome or switch grass, and watching the birds fly. The DNRs research shows that managed farms with three essential types of habitat produce more birds than unmanaged farms three times as many.

Whats good for pheasant is good for most grassland birds, from meadowlarks to quail; Henslowe sparrows to bobolinks.

Since the 1960s, Iowa has lost half the ideal land for grassland birds land in hay and small grains like oats dropping from more than 7 million to 3.4 million acres. As a result, grassland birds are in trouble.

Gotta have Cover gives farmers a quick tutorial on how to bring the birds back. The video is on the Iowa DNRs pheasant page atwww.iowadnr.gov/pheasants.

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Outdoor news

MUSCATINE, Iowa As schools get back into session, Muscatine's road construction is nearing the beginning of the end for this year.

Three of the projects that have been under way since the beginning of spring have made significant progress, according to project managers, but there still remains work to be done on all of these.

Cedar Street

Work has begun on the third of four stages of the Cedar Street Reconstruction Project, said project manager Bill Haag.

The first phase, which included Cedar Street from the Parham Street intersection to Stone Brook Drive, began in March and ended in May. It was then that the second phase, including Cedar Street from Houser Street to Imperial Oaks Drive, began. Just as the school year began for nearby Muscatine High School, which has an access road to Cedar Street in that area, the second phase of the constriction had been completed, Haag said.

The third phase of the Cedar street involves the area between Imperial Oaks and Stone Brook Drive. Earthwork and storm sewers have been completed, but paving for the roadway will probably start within a few weeks. Some utility infrastructure will also have to be repositioned as part of the reconstruction work.

Haag said the contractors are still looking to complete phase four, a roundabout intersection at Cedar and Logan streets, before Thanksgiving of this year. However, some of the accessory portions of the project, such as new sidewalks, new grass and other items, will likely have to wait until next spring.

"There's plenty of time to get that done," Haag said.

Colorado Street

After lagging somewhat behind schedule for the past couple of months due to inclement weather conditions, project director Jim Edgemond said work on the Colorado Street Reconstruction Project has gotten slightly ahead of schedule. "It's all pretty positive," he said.

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It's been a long road this year: Projects have kept drivers detouring, but work is progressing