Choices
and Decisions
- Best: Turface
- calcined clay products used by the pros. These are designed specifically
for sports fields to improve drainage, reduce compaction, and absorb
excess water.
- OK: Diatomaceous
earth - more brittle and dusty than Turface.
- Poor: Crushed
brick, crushed rocks, decomposed granite - these become compacted,
don't absorb moisture, and are hard on a player who slides on it. I
wouldn't use this unless you amend it with Turface.
Sources
and Suppliers The
supplier I've used and am satisfied with: Sierra Pacific Turf
Supply. There are others, but these folks provide bulk supplies
to sports team, landscapers and park districts and I've found that they
understand what baseball fields need.
Tips & Hints
- Comes in bags only
and not in a dump truck load unfortunately. You get forty 50 lb bags
to a pallet or one ton.
- Application: 1-2
bags on the mound, 1-2 bags on homeplate area, 2-3 bags on the base
paths.
- If you're on a
budget, apply 2-3 tons a year.
- Lots of good tips
and examples at www.turface.com.
Check it out.
- Turface MVP for
the field.
- Turface Quick Dry
for absorbing puddles or drying up wet areas. This stuff is great on
the mound or the homeplate area. I've never had to use more than one
bag on the mound to make it playable.
Mistakes to avoid
Make sure
you nail drag it to incorporate it into the field. I helped a
field acquire and spread it, but they didn't nail drag. It laid on top
and they dragged it to the edges from dragging to fast.
|
tan or
red turface
comes in 50 lb bags
2 pallets: 40 bags each
2 tons total
spreading turface at
homeplate
space out bags, dump, and spread with a rake
two bags for the mound
quick dry for
absorbing moisture
quick dry is fine grains
of calcined clay
before & after turface
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