| What
you're going to do Mark
sprinklers so the aerator, edger, or other large
equipment does not damage the sprinklers.
Why you do this
You don't want to
damage sprinkler heads. Damaged sprinklers are hard to replace. They are
typically not the kind of sprinkler heads you use on your home lawn.
Baseball field sprinklers are larger, might have to be purchased a specialized
landscape shops, and need manual adjustments for spray rotation and distance.
It can be done, but it's a hassle.
How you do this This
is usually at least a two person job.
One person turns on the sprinklers station by station and the others run
around the field and mark sprinklers with the flags.
Tips & Hints
- Put the flags on
the side of the sprinkler closest to the dirt around the infield. That
way you can edge knowing exactly how close you are getting to the sprinklers.
Trust me. A sod cutter or an aerator can totally damage a sprinkler
head. So can a steam roller or a delivery truck that drives on one.
- Leave the flags
in until you absolutely have to take them out. Even when you are all
done with the turf maintenance process, flags on the field tell others
there is something going on here and maybe they should stay off.
Mistakes to
avoid
- Skipping this step
and guessing or hoping you don't hit a sprinkler.
You'd be surprised where you find sprinklers when you have someone cycle
through the stations. I've found fields with sprinklers in the infield
dirt, on the edge of the basepath, near homeplate, and doubled up near
the outfield grass. Seems that over time, irrigation problems are fixed
in some unorthodox and surprising ways... just like the shortcuts you
take on your home lawn!
You
should mark sprinklers or you risk damaging them when using machines:
aerators, edgers, rollers, or tillers.
- Don't let some
joker move the flags on you. Yes, I had this happen, but I was sharp
enough to have remembered they were exactly between the bases about
6 inches in from the dirt.
|
flags
marking sprinklers
a flagged
sprinkler
flagged
sprinkler at 1B
exact location
of flag
mark those
sprinklers!
Hit by an aerator
|
