INVERNESS As the golf world salivates over the promise of a round or two on Cape Breton's latest signature course, its operators proudly report the last round of seeding has been completed.

The Par 3 No. 16 hole at Cabot Cliffs is shown. All 18 holes of the Inverness course have been seeded and will be available for golf in July. Photo submitted by Cabot Cliffs

Hole No. 7, which features a pond and an elevated fairway according to Golf Advisor, carries the distinction of being the final Cabot Cliffs hole to be seeded.

The focus now shifts to things like finalizing bunker edges throughout the fall as preparations continue to move toward a summer 2015 opening.

"What we will do is go from construction to growing in which we literally call grown-in when the grass comes in through the fall," said Ben Cowan-Dewar, managing partner for Cabot Links.

"It is sort of a slow transition and will be almost entirely transitioned in the next week or so to grow in and basically the other holes are being mowed and maintained."

Cowan-Dewar said an aggressive construction schedule, an exceptional construction crew and co-operation from Mother Nature allowed the course to get to this point.

And because construction is going well, he said all 18 holes of the new course will open for preview play in July.

"The idea of preview play is that the greens will probably be a little slower, we'll limit the number of rounds basically just to let that young turf grow in and then we'll have a grand opening in 2016."

Even though the number of rounds per day will be limited, he said people can still book to play the course from July through October.

Read more from the original source:
Final seeding on Cabot Cliffs; course to open in July

Fears developers are failing to keep promises to provide community services when building neighbourhoods have been raised by councillors.

Great Hollands North councillors Mary Temperton and Michael Gbadebo claim Jennetts Park developers are not carrying out their obligations.

During a meeting between Bracknell Forest Council and the Jennetts Park Consortium, which built the development in Peacock Farm, on Wednesday, September 3, it was concluded none of the outstanding developer contribution requirements had been met.

Health and safety fears close Jennett's Park playground three weeks after opening

Shop negotiations finally underway in Jennett's Park

Councillor says "enough is enough" over lack of playground and shops at Jennett's Park

Cllr Gbadebo said: The council outlined its disappointment with the speed at which everything is happening.

There have been a number of broken promises from the developers as well as a failure to develop certain things on time. We, as a council, need to do more we need to see some action.

When planning applications are approved by the council, developers are given a list of agreed contributions which they must provide.

These obligations range from providing community centres and schools to roads and recycling areas to ensure the council does not have to pay out for infrastructure to support new developments.

See the original post here:
Fears raised over Jennett's Park developers failing to keep promises

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.

See the original post here:
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

View original post here:
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.

Go here to read the rest:
At Home Living: Planning helps overseeding project take root