What should you be doing with your field now?
Here is the year 2007 as I took care of 7 different baseball fields from t-ball to high school. 

Take advantage of the lessons and issues that came up.

But, I still do it for them.  It's the drive to be the best on and off the field.  To provide the best service possible to you who will in turn serve the youth of your area.  May God Bless your efforts.  May they be lasting and effective.  It's been a great year. 

I'll start out 2008 by spreading, tilling, leveling, and rolling the dirt I had delivered back on Dec 4.  Fun, fun!  Really.  It is!

best regards,
J im

Dec 4 - What a week I had!  We're in a near drought with temperatures still in the upper sixties.  I had 12 tons of topsoil and compost delivered and spread most of it along the landscaping of the school.  First I mowed it short, then overseeded, fertilized, and spread the topsoil.  The rainy season will produce a great landscape by February.

Then I had 25 yards of baseball dirt delivered for a high school field.  The infield skin was between 1 and 2 inches lower than the infield turf and outfield turf.  No lips, just a real difference in levels of dirt. This field hadn't had dirt added since 2003. It just seems to blow away over time.

The outfield grass got one last shot of cool season fertilizer: 21-4-7.

The little league field I overseeded and fertilized three weeks ago is looking very good for December. 

1. spot seed thin areas of turf - especially where football took its toll
2. mow the infield turf to keep it from getting too long
3. spray weeds that popped up since the last rains
4. lightly fertilize with cool season 21-4-7 fertilizer

About my lawn failure reported last week: we had a sudden cloudburst and the next day there were little green seedlings sprouting all over the lawn.  Success after all.  I should have believed that following the process works.  Hey, even I get anxious at times.  Oh, well....

October 28 - The weather has been so nice and things are going so well with fall turf maintenance, that I am taking orders for more fertilizer and seed.  Even for lawns in the neighborhood.  What's good for the goose is good for the gander, huh?  Why not have a home lawn that is as nice looking as a premium baseball field?  Mine is.  Just follow most of the same turf maintenance steps.

P.S. I had one overseed failure on a home lawn.  The owner used roundup to kill the existing mess.  Then we mowed it as short as the mower would go.  We overseeded and fertilized.  Then we watered every day.  Normally within a week you see the rye/bluegrass sprout.  A week later - nothing.  Another couple days - barely anything.  I think it is a watering problem, but not seeing it day in and day out, I don't know.  We'll overseed again and I'll watch the watering.  We haven't had rain for 16 days and don't expect any for 10 more. 

And I blasted the slight lip build up with a hose on the little league fields.  The weather has been dry and will continue to be dry for at least a week.  So, soaked the edges and then blasted out the infield dirt from about 8 inches in. I left puddles, but in a couple hours it will be absorbed.

1. Spray weeds and grasses on high school infield skin and outfield warning track - makes spring maintenance a lot easier!
2. edge infield turf on the little league fields
3. use high pressure hose to reduce lip buildup on turf edges on the little league fields
4. rebuild little league mounds - many are too loose from brick dust mix and they need a lot more clay; I'm using bags of powdered mortar mix
5. core areate infield on another field, mow it short, overseed with a rye/bluegrass mix and put out 6-20-60 starter fertilizer - this is going to be a really nice field in the spring.

1. the ground is still hard enough for a dump truck to get to the infield skin without leaving ruts in the turf
2. the added baseball dirt can settle in during the fall and winter
3. If you are adding dirt in the warmer climates where winter is rain instead of freezing snow, then you need to roll the dirt so the rains don't wash it away.

And this is also one of the best times to strengthen your infield turf for the spring.  Of course you can do this in the spring too, but the cold, wet ground makes this harder and take longer.  For a crash course on turf maintenance with details if needed, click on the link above.

August 23 - Best Maintenance tasks now:

1. Spray unwanted weeds and vegetation with roundup: basepaths, warning track, bullpens.  Kill this stuff now for less problem in the spring.
2. Fertilize the turf with 16-8-8.
3. Spray trimic plus on your infield to kill broadleaf weeds - do this between mowings.
4. Plan to aerate and overseed with perrenial rye in October.  Fertilize again 6 weeks later and again in late February or early March.
5. Adjust the timings for this for your climate.  These are recommendations for central California which could be quite different for you.
   

July 15 - Yikes! I sure hope you're teaching someone else how to take care of your fields... parents, players, coaches... anyone.  What if you can't do it?  Who will?  I broke a toe on my left foot so I'm out of action for a while.  Good thing I'm not the only one who knows what to do and cares enough to do it.

July 14 - Summer maintenance: adjust sprinklers where it is drying up, fertilize your turf, fix broken sprinklers as needed, edge the infield turf.  Many fields are now open until fall ball starts.  It's a chance to get some things done that normally would interrupt play.  Better to do it in the heat than in the winter when it's cold and muddy.

July 8 - All Star Tournament time!  Here's what players age 11-16 said about the fields they played on (park and rec, little league, and a college field)

good: no lips, short grass for good bounces, hits in the gap go to the wall, the mound is sloped right and has a good landing
bad: dusty and loose infield skin, bad hops at the grass edge, the mound is like a big bump in the field and pitchers loose their footing and balance

I wouldn't say any game's outcome was determined by the field, but the various fields did add some challenges to the games.  The fields need more WATER!

It always come back to basics.  Whether it's the field or it's the players.  Speaking of the basics, snag this free baseball basics report here.

P.S.   Does this baseball field log help you?  Let me know.

June 30 - I blew it.  I admit it.  I chopped off the top of two sprinklers with a sod cutter by accident.  Yikes!

I should have followed my own advice to mark your sprinklers before edging or aearating.

I was using a sod cutter to get rid of a speed-bump-like lip around the perimeter of the infield skin.  But I didn't find the exact location of the outfield sprinklers.  I measured 95 feet from the pitcher's rubber, but went just a few feet more to get rid of the lip. 

Well, I hit two sprinkers.  It wasn't evident until every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the second base area was mud.  So, I went to the park at 6:15am when the sprinklers went off to mark the exact location. Then I told the park and rec folks about my accident and they were kind enough to replace the tops.

June 23 - How would you like a chance to spend an afternoon with the Turf Manager of the Year?  I did just that and bring you a record of this conversation right here!  Check this out and learn how the pros maintain their grass, dirt, and facility. 

You will learn something from this.  Guaranteed. A conversation with the Turf Manager of the Year.

June 16 - Better Fields for Better Play.  Most of this site concentrates on making your field the best it can be for competitive play. 

But, how about we shift gears and look at what it takes to be a championship pitcher.  You might not be able to take advantage of this, but you should at least go here and snag the FREE Pitching Report.  You'll be glad you did.

June 4 - Now senior league is in full swing.  These 15 and 16 year olds will tell you they want two things in a field: get rid of the lips and please, please drag it smooth before practice and games.  The high speed balls hitting lumpy bumpy ground is just asking for an injury.  They don't want that. They want to make the play.  Check here for tips and hints for maintaining your infield dirt.

May 18 - I'm getting a lot of questions about infield dirt problems.  Many of you have infield dirt that is too loose, spongy, or is not level.  And quite a few fields are overused, poorly watered, and have lip build up.  What do you do? 

The solutions vary.  Some of you need to add 30 tons of clay to the infield skin, mix it in, level it, roll it flat, water it down, and you'll get firmer footing.  Others need to soak the infield grass, aerate it, and edge it to solve your problem.  And a few of you just need better equipment and tools to care for your field.  These are very doable and not really expensive.  It just takes your time and effort to make it happen.

I encourage you to do it! Be a hero! 
Still wonder how to get started?  Check here. 

March 26 - The senior little league field in the park complex could use some attention now.  The turf is growing strong, thick, and healthy.  So now we turn our attention to the dirt areas.  This field hasn't had any extra baseball dirt for many years.  It just seems to blow away and disappear.  As a result, the dirt area is lower than the grass and there is a slight build up at the grass edges that is about a foot wide.  Not a real lip type bump, but a gentle rise and fall.  Here is the infield dirt maintenance proposal I put together for the league reps.  There are variations we can go with depending on budget, time, and the number of helpers.

March 12 - The magic of the sod cutter.  It was cleanup day at the park.  Lots of people doing lots of things.  But the magic was the sod cutter.  With this tool I edged three baseball fields and removed lips and lumps faster than anyone believed possible.  I used my all time favorite - the Kiss Cutter from Turfco.  It's a light weight, four wheel model.  If you want to cut straight lines, then this is the machine to do the job.  The three wheel versions are very hard to cut straight especially if you are not on perfectly level ground.  But with the 4 wheel model it's a straight cut whether going over lumps and bumps or flat ground.

Feb 26 - I did some spot seeding for the high school baseball field and tried out the reel mower I'd been working on.  It cut better, but alas, about half way through mowing the infield the clutch mechanism started slipping so much that it only ran at half speed.  It works, but this is too slow to be mowing 8,000 square feet.  It takes almost 45 minutes.  The first game was played on the high school field.  The field looks great.  But I noticed when I previously mowed with the reel mower that the infield turf area is a little bit lumpy and bumpy.  It showed with a couple bad hop grounders. We'll see how the grass grows out, but we might need to roll the infield with a steam roller to flatten it out.  I'll give this a couple weeks and see.  This one good reason for you to keep a baseball field log.  Keep track of what is happening and what you've done.

Jan 26 - The first work day of 2007 at the high school. This is the beginning of this baseball field log for this year.  We aerated the infield turf and put out seed and fertilizer. It was cold and and been raining several days before so it was a short morning of work.  During the fall and winter a lot of grass grew out on the infield dirt and the base paths.  It's almost like solid turf 4-10 feet past where the real edge is supposed to be. We can fix this a lot easier than most people expect.  Next week they'll see what I mean when I use a sod cutter on it.