TURF COMMS V IMI 4 X -M ft IR E3S PURPOSES To pass on mthat we learn willingly and happily to otners in the profession so as to improve turf conditions around the country. PROFESSIONALISM Professionalism, where is it at in the turf profession? The survey of the industry by the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina supplies a good clue« If you will accept as a measure the returning of questionnaires by industry segments than we have the following ranking« % returned or degree of professi onali sm Sod Producers - ~ ~ 82"/. Golf Courses ------ 81% Garden Centers - - -
 - SOX Airports ------- 287. Institutions - - - -
 - 257. Lawn Care Firms - - - - 257. Cemeteries ------ 217. Landscapers -Parks - - - - - -
 197. Schools - - - - - -
 - - .187. Athletic Fields 117. a telephone follow-up was conducted of Sod Producers and Solf Courses there were 11 Sod Producers vs 478 golf courses receiving questionnaires «aking invalid the IX difference be-tween these two groups These figures don't hold any surprises. Athletic fields wouldn't have accumulated so much artificial turf if turf professionals had been hired to maintain them in the first place. Schools and athletic fields have made a fair amount of progress —————^—^^^^^-^-^ unpre^ic^a^le intervals by the editor and publishers Douglas T. Hawes, Ph D 2408 Roundrock Trail Certified Professional Agronomist Piano, Texas 75075 Specializing in Golf Course (214) 867-0176 Maintenance Consulting Subscription cost is #10. Send checks to Doug Hawes at the above address. in the last 10 years. They k n ow 1 ed g eab 1 e t u r f man ag er s (Extension Service included)-progress to be made» have don e i t b y hi r i ng mare or by turning to consultants As always there remains much I was reading the April,, 1987 issue of the Lawn Institute's HARVESTS magazine when I came up with the above article idea« Why reading the April issue in January? Because like many of you I put things in piles during the busy season and then try to get the desk cleared at least once a year» SCHOOL FAILURE Here are some comments on the problems in our Nations school systems aimed at grades seven thru tenth« These are the grades most difficult to manage because of discipline problems. The grades where the students go thru the traumas of puberty« The years when students are constantly challenging authority. A teacher in grade seven thru tenth often deserves combat pay. Yet we often do not find our highest paid teachers at these levels,, When we do they are often teaching the easier to work with students in the accelerated courses. The highest paid teachers at these grade levels usually have the smallest number of students to teach. By reason of their tenure they have managed to grab those classes that are easiest to teach. This is their reward for sticking it out. They are thus doubly rewarded - higher pay and small classes. Or, they have gained the better behaved, motivated students. Once in these favorable niches they stay for life. The second problem with teaching at this grade level is the need on the teacher's part to be as good an entertainer as that which is seen on TV. In spite of a lot of snide remarks that that should be easy, it ain't. The experienced teacher may be able to pull this off. Most beginning teachers have too many other-skills to acquire first. I'm not suggesting any solution to the latter of the above problems. The solution to the first problem should lie easily in the hands of school principals and administrators. That is give the experienced teacher one reward not two. Allow him or her the choice within some guidelines of either higher pay or smaller class size. This will give the young energetic teacher supporting a family the ability to earn a decent salary- It will allow the teacher at the end of his or her career the option of less stressful classes. GARDEN CATALOGS I suddenly realized that I had been receiving a lot of garden catalogs« Thus decided to do a brief review» Catalogs received ares Burpee's, Hastings, Park Seed, Shepherd's, Smith Hawken, Wint.ert.hur and White Flower Farm« None were requested- They come in alphabetical order -form Conn«, Del * , Calif«, So« Carolina, Georgia and Penn« Why from both coasts and none f rom Centra 1 U« S« ? Hastings and Park Seed catalogs are similar to Burpee« Shepherd's has 79 pages and no colored pictures« It contains mostly vegetable seed; a lot of out of the ordinary stuff« For example - 12 different european salad greens, eight different basils, and mizuna are? included« Smith & Hawken's concentrates on "fancy" (my choice of word) equipment, furniture and accessories for the gardener« Winterthur's has a "collection of rare plants and unusual gifts" (their choice of words)« Their gifts have either an eighteenth century or an oriental flavor« White Flower Farm's deals almost solely with perennial flowering plants,, If you want to look or try something neew and which is not available in your area I recommend their perennial flowering plants. They ship only plants of named cultivars and are expensi ve« If you wish addresses of any of the above drop a line or a call« If you have a catalog you think worthy of a review send it or write a brief review for publication here« PUTT ING GREEN CONSTRUCT I ON AND hi I XES: a series of letters and phone calls. (eon t :i nued f r om Vo 1 « 4, I ssue 1) #1 would drain» It would not be water conserving« You away with 4 inches of sand over clay most of the time. mix (sand) is needed over gravel sand over "clay is better than old been proven to me by years of sand "clay" greens. This approach does not but does dramatically improve growing Proposal can get Twelve settled inches of however. Four inches of "clay" greens. This has topdressing on top of old give you perfect greens, conditions over what you had. There will be some people that will argue that if you are going to do it - do it right. I hear their argument, but appreciate your need to try and do the best for less. CHANGE AND PROGRESS CAN ONLY BE MADE BY TRYING NEW APPROACHES. I also know the need to get it done and have experienced the lack of funds to do it "ri ght" . Here is another closely related argument. - We know the IJ5GA method works. We are not sure about alternative approaches. How many of us understand the soil physics well enough to make expensive decisions about inadequately tested techniques? Def i ni tely use Penncross use. Keep 25 to this year for next time in the near supp 1 i er i n J un e b ef or e late Oc t ob er seed i rregard1 ess of wh i ch method you 50 pound on hand in cool storage always. Buy year and always buy certified. I do not see a future when you will be able to call your thru September and get Penncross delivered For all of the above mixes put a layer of 6 mil or greater plastic between "soil" mix and the surrounding clay. This will prevent dry weather wieking of the moisture out of the mix by the clay soil to be used for banks, collars, and aprons ("frogs hair")., This can be a real problem in both summer and some winters in your area. Y.F.B.T., Doug. H. March 1, 1987; Dear Joe, I'm guilty of not. having looked closely at your last page before writing a reply to your letter. Your drawings do explain one thing that needs commenting on. In drawing #3 you give the size and 7.s of the various sand fractions. That sand <107. .25 -.5 mm, 807. . 5 - 1 mm, 107. 1 - 3 mm) is definitely a coarse sand. It would not work underneath the four inches of 80-20 LJSGA mix. It would act very much like the pea gravel causing a perched water table?,, I do not think a "transition zone between the two sands, made by -first spreading a light layer of the 80-20 mix and raking it into the underlying sand." would be of any great help« You would end up with the top 6 inches staying too wet. You would not need the gravel underneath this combination. Just a little around the tile would be sufficient. That coarse sand would make good drainage material if the sand is at ail round. Your drawing #1 shows the 4 inch tile sitting underneath the 4 inches of USGA mix with clay loam soil between mix and the tile with its gravel envelope. The mix needs to be in contact with the gravel in the envelope. In other words cut the drainage trenches, place in tile and envelope then fill rest of trench with mix. How about continuing this conversation. What does a good pea gravel cost you by the cubic yard? A 80-20 sand-peat mix that meets LJS8A mix? How big do you plan to make these greens? What does a sand meeting my specifications cost you per yard? Mi 1 organite? Y.F.B.T., Doug. H. 4/5/87 - called Joe, He described several sands being used for construction in his immediate area. He will check out local sand by packing it, and the above two sands in 2 ft. columns of PVC pipe. Then pour water thru and compare infiltration rates. I might also suggest that he put Mi 1 organi te in the local sand at a rate of :L"/. by weight to roughly equal 200 lb. in upper 3 inches of 1000 sq. ft.. Also suggested he send me a pound or 2 of the local sand. He agreed to be billed for phone call and advice but, reminded me again that his is a low budget club. Early July, 19875 Dear Joe, Your package arrived on my birthday. Everyone was wondering what the present was going to be. When I saw the return address I knew that 6 months of waiting and prodding had not gone in vain. As I am off tomorrow for a 2 week trip I did not have a great deal of time to look at your samples. However, I will give you what I -found. (1) The locally available cheap masonry sand is excellent. It appears to be a quartz sand with a decent particle range and good percolation rate after compaction. Admittedly the tests were crude. You would probably think it drains too fast after compaction. You will probably find it difficult to establish turf on. But, once established the green should be excellent. Sand plus Milorganite or if you wish peat. Mix peat off site. (2) Did not look at the commercial1y available topdressing mix« W i 11 try to when I get b ack« (3) The locally available pea gravel is fair to good« Size is okay, slightly smaller average would be better« Shape is less than the ideal round but, overall I assume as good as the area produces« (4) The peat humus definitely appears to contain a fair amount of silt an d / or c lay« Don ' t f eel i t i s wh at you want.« I need to mi x it with the soil and see how it does« I also need to ash it and see what is left« (5) Sample plug from nursery UGH!!!! What a terrible soil for a base« Y.F.B.T, Doug« H. July 25, 1987; Dear Joe, As mentioned over the phone don't mix more than 107. by volume of the peat humus you sent with your local sand« Percolation rate is about 9 inches per hour with 107. peat by volume and drops to 2 inches per hour with 207«« That peat humus definitely has a lot of silt in it. Good Luck with what ever you do. Remember more sand! and more potassium! for better turf. Y.F.B.T«, Doug. H. August 15 , 1987; Dear Joe, Check arrived for services rendered- Thank you. You are very generous. 9/7/87; called Joe, He has decided to put drain tile in as called for in US8A specifications. He will use local sand and has found a more satisfactory peat humus. Agreed to send some« He had sent a sample of it to his State Univ« for testing with his local sand. Will rototill in the peat humus trying for a depth of 8 inches« We spent quite a bit of time discussing the difficulties of having this come out uniform. Plans to do two greens« One in September to be sodded. The second to be finished in November and to be sodded. 9/12/87; received above peat humus. Testing shows it to be of the same properties as the first peat humus« (to be finished in the next issue)