Bellevue's bermuda

[nyrangers]

Okay lets look at the field today................Grass is growing like crazy.....the Team All Sports Co. determines the water and its levels. It was supposed to look muddy and like a rice paddy. Good thing we have all the Bermuda Grass experts on here. Trust me it is exactly on schedule:thumb:

[bulldog77]

It is indeed. The company came in this week to take sprigs from where it is coming in very thick and spread the stuff into the areas where it is thin. According to the "experts" it is right where it should be. The last 4 or 5 days have been utterly amazing in terms of the growth.

[kydlineguy]

Now correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Bellevue's first scrimmage August 11th at their place? And if so, will the field be ready by then? :confused:

[nyrangers]

No home scrimmages

[SINGLEBAR FACEMASK]

went by the field again today. I must admit it looks much better than it did a week ago. I still think there will be plenty of thin spots when they open up.

[nyrangers]

What makes you think that? Do you know more about grass growing than the expert company?

[KyFan11]

No such thing as too hot for Bermuda. The hotter the better. Just water the heck out of it and it will grow like weeds.

 

yea when the first freeze comes the grass will be dead, but it looks good for about the first four games and all summer.

[pigman]

yea when the first freeze comes the grass will be dead, but it looks good for about the first four games and all summer.

So we now get freezes in September, whatever happened to global warming?

[leatherneck]

yea when the first freeze comes the grass will be dead, but it looks good for about the first four games and all summer.

 

 

You are correct. The first hard frost makes Bermuda go dormant. When that happens the turf is susceptible to tearing up in big chunks and since it is dormant until next summer the lateral roots won't fill in where the chunks were. I believe a lot of schools overseed with rye in the early fall to try and address this problem. For those schools not hosting playoff games in the late fall, this is no problem, but for those that do, Bermuda can present some real challenges. But in the late summer and early fall, Bermuda is fun to play on.

[nyrangers]

Holmes has Bermuda and hosted several playoff games two years ago with NCC due to the field being in great shape. Bermuda turns brown but you still have grass. The first frost tends to come in late Oct. not mid - Sept. It is much better to play on brown grass then a mud pit in the playoffs.:sssh:

[leatherneck]

Holmes has Bermuda and hosted several playoff games two years ago with NCC due to the field being in great shape. Bermuda turns brown but you still have grass. The first frost tends to come in late Oct. not mid - Sept. It is much better to play on brown grass then a mud pit in the playoffs.:sssh:

 

I don't disagree with the bolded part. But as for the rest of the post, keep in mind that Highlands had Bermuda for about 5 years. My father in law and I spent a lot of time dealing with it (him more than me) and working with Mike Vescio. I know what I am talking about. Trust me, there will be challenges in the late fall if teams are still playing on it. It requires a lot of maintenance: almost constant watering in the summer and frequent cutting: every other day in the hot weather if you can do it is optimal. What becomes a big problem is when the grass goes dormant it comes up in chunks when you cut on it and you can lose your footing when you make a hard cut. Don't get me wrong, Bermuda is otherwise a great turf to play on and if Highlands didn't go with Field Turf, they'd be playing on Bermuda. But it has limitations and disadvantages when used up here which can't be ignored or glossed over.

[nyrangers]

Oh I agree with you leatherneck. However........Bellevue has a extensive system in place to make sure the field is under constant care. I just get this feeling from reading some posts that Bellevue has no idea what they are doing and in fact nothing could be more further from the truth. They are finally even making improvements to the softball field at the stadium!

[downonthefarm]

Oh I agree with you leatherneck. However........Bellevue has a extensive system in place to make sure the field is under constant care. I just get this feeling from reading some posts that Bellevue has no idea what they are doing and in fact nothing could be more further from the truth. They are finally even making improvements to the softball field at the stadium!

 

I hope I did not leave that impression. As I stated in my earlier post "I know nothing about it" (other than it turns brown when cool weather/frost hits it) and was just inquiring because of the way it looked 2 weeks ago. I appreciate the information provided. Thanks.

Good luck to Coach Eckstein and the Tigers this year!

[leatherneck]

Oh I agree with you leatherneck. However........Bellevue has a extensive system in place to make sure the field is under constant care. I just get this feeling from reading some posts that Bellevue has no idea what they are doing and in fact nothing could be more further from the truth. They are finally even making improvements to the softball field at the stadium!

 

 

Fantastic, although I'm not surprised to hear that Bellevue has the system in place to handle it. Bellevue is a very well run school district.

[bulldog77]

Expectations are that the field will certainly not be in optimal condition this first year. With that said, it will still be a vast improvement over the turf that had been down there in previous years. Next year will be the real deal as far as the bermuda goes. It is coming on strong now and should be ready for the first home game and with the new crowning on the field, the new sand underlayment and the constant watering, the field will still play pretty well. Leatherneck you are right, it will look like heck come November, but it will all be worth it in the long run.