Spring is soon upon us and so is lawn season. I had the pleasure recently of visiting The Diamond to discuss turf care with Steve Ruckman, Sports Turf Manager for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Steve was gracious with his time and we chatted about grasses, soils, drainage, irrigation, and turf mowers. He is a turf professional and was willing to share some of his knowledge.
The turf at the Diamond is a combination of perennial rye grass and two types of bermudagrass. Rye grass is a cool season grass meaning it grows primarily in the fall and spring. Bermudagrass is a warm season grass and grows from mid-May until the first hard frost. When bermudagrass goes dormant it has the color of straw. There is a reason for having both cool and warm season grasses. The field at the Diamond is used from February through late November because the Squirrels share the facility with the VCU Rams baseball team.
I asked Steve to share some turf management tips used at the Diamond that would benefit homeowners:
- The Diamond’s turf has weed issues like many homeowners have. Steve does not use post emergent herbicide spray, instead, he treats the turf with a granular pre-emergent herbicide two times per year, early spring and early summer.
- Top dress with one-fourth inch of compost and core aerate your lawn annually to reduce compaction and improve soil quality. Heavy traffic areas may require semi-annually, or think about installing a permanent path. Paths can be mulch, gravel, or numerous hardscape options and can enhance your landscape.
- If you water your lawn, water early in the morning and on a calm day. Apply one-half inch of water two times per week during hot and dry periods. The depth of the water falling onto the grass should be the same from the sprinkler head to the end of the water stream.
- Steve applies organic fertilizer to the turf twice per year at the Diamond. One reason is the nitrogen is slowly released. On areas newly sodded, Steve uses organic fertilizer containing mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhiza is a fungus that is beneficial for the roots of plants and in turn the root provides benefits to the fungus.
I am a fan of minor league baseball. Bull Durham is my favorite movie and I love turf. This day was definitely a home run. Go Squirrels!
Follow Larry on Twitter @vngardener.