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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/15/2010, Field Overview Assessment1 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Field Overview Assessment City of San Luis Obispo Damon Garcia Sports Fields The following is an evaluation of these Sports Fields as of November, 2009. It discusses the current condition of these fields and explains why they are in these conditions. It will then go over a plan of action that can help to remedy the problems and cover the maintenance steps, needed equipment, and costs of maintaining these fields to prevent them from returning to their original condition. This document will then show the level of wear on the fields and how many hours of play per week each field can sustain and still have viable turf. Current Conditions of the fields You, your crew and I walked and evaluated the designated fields. To have sustainable turf you need 8”-10” of roots and as indicated in the chart below, all of yours are too shallow rooted to stand up to the wear they are currently receiving. This is reflected in the bare and worn areas which result directly in low spots as well. Several of the fields have faulty coverage or poor irrigation and most have a poor field grade which contributes to standing water and damaged and worn turf by the end of the playing season. INITIAL SITE SURVEY ROOT FIELD % BARE % % Compacted IRRIGATION % WORN HIGH/LOW WET/DRY SITE DEPTH GRADE SPOTS WEEDS Areas % SYSTEM AREAS SPOTS SPOTS Damon Garcia East Fields 0-2" Poor 40% 5% 80%Fair 40% Some Some Daryl Garcia West Field 0-2" Poor 40% 5% 80%Fair 40% Some Some The Causes of the Current Conditions 1. Wear has led to most of the current problems on these fields. Your wear is the greatest contributor to compacted soils and the resulting damage to your turf. The Wear Index In Hours Per Week table below shows that these fields have an average of 76.4 activity-weighted hours of play per week. This is a category average 4.5 wear level. The amount of play is scaled into levels 1-5, 5 being the highest and there is a direct correlation between wear and maintenance. WEAR INDEX IN HOURS PER WEEK ACTIVITY MAINT. # WEIGHTED LEVEL NEEDED SITE SQ. FT WEEKS HOURS/ WK CATEGORY Damon Garcia East Fields 309962 52 75.7 4.50 Daryl Garcia West Field 136120 52 77.2 4.50 Totals/ Averages 446082 52 76.4 4.50 The following Activity Weighting Scale chart below shows the wear effect of each of the different sports and common activities that take place on sports fields. As you can see walking across a field is 1 and soccer practices are 2, meaning 1 hour of soccer practice is equivalent to 2 hours of walking or standing on the 2 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved field. Also note that any sports clinics or tournaments carry a 2.5 rating which helps to explain the damage that can result from a weekend tournament. Activity Weighting Scale Walking on field/Softball 1.00 Baseball 1.25 PE 1.50 Parked Cars 1.50 Marching Band 1.75 Soccer Games 1.85 Football Games 1.85 Soccer & Football Practices 2.00 Adult Soccer & Football Games 2.13 Adult Soccer & Football Practice 2.25 Lacrosse & Field Hockey 2.25 Rugby 2.50 Sports Clinics & Tournaments 2.50 Note the chart on the following page titled Activity Weighted Hours by Week for Damon Garcia Sports Fields. The light blue area indicates actual hours on the field. The magenta area represents the activity weighted hours on this field and the light green area represents the average activity weighted hours for the year. The heaviest wear on this field takes place in August (approximately 160 average activity weighted hours per week). The dark blue line represents rainfall and your highest rainfall occurs during your heavy wear periods from November through February. The play that occurs during these months causes the most compaction and thus damaged turf. It will be critical that we insure that we have the proper drainage and strive to reduce play in these peak rainfall times (rain shut down for so many hours after the rain has subsided so they are not playing on saturated root zone) to insure sustainability. At various times during the year, the wear level fluctuates and the maintenance functions must also follow these fluctuations. 3 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Activity Weighted Hours by Week VS Rainfall Damon Garcia Sports Fields 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 100.00 110.00 120.00 130.00 140.00 150.00 160.00 170.00 1/11/21/31/42/12/22/32/42/53/13/23/33/44/14/24/34/45/15/25/35/45/56/16/26/36/47/17/27/37/48/18/28/38/48/59/19/29/39/410/110/210/310/411/111/211/311/411/512/112/212/312/4MONTH/WEEKHOURS 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25 4.50 4.75 5.00 5.25 5.50 5.75 Rainfall InchesAve. Wtd. Hrs. Wtd. Hrs. Raw Hrs. Aver. Rainfall Wear Level 4 Wear Level 5 Wear Level 3 Curr. Mtn Level 2.43 Wear Level 2 2. The Current Maintenance Level of the Fields The Wear Index below shows that all turf fields at these sites combined have an average category 4.5 wear and your current maintenance level is an average 2.43. There is a direct correlation between maintenance and wear! This difference is substantial and is mainly responsible for your current conditions of your fields and can equal unsustainable turf on your high wear areas over time. WEAR INDEX IN HOURS PER WEEK ACTIVITY MAINT. CURRENT # WEIGHTED LEVEL NEEDED MAINT. SITE SQ. FT WEEKS HOURS/ WK CATEGORY LEVEL Damon Garcia East Fields 309962 52 75.7 4.50 2.43 Daryl Garcia West Field 136120 52 77.2 4.50 2.43 Totals/ Averages 446082 52 76.4 4.50 2.43 3. The Growing Season and weather patterns: Please note the Average Monthly Temperature Chart on the next page. When the monthly average temperature is less than 60 degrees, warm weather grasses are dormant or going dormant. This chart also shows the percent of healing potential that your grass has at your average monthly temperatures. Months where there is a yellow box around the percentage of potential healing are those where the percentage drops below 50% and healing potential slows down dramatically. 4 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Type of Grass: San Luis Obispo Rye Grasses JAN FEB MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC Average Monthly Temeratures 54 55 56 58 61 65 67 68 68 65 59 54 Percent Of Healing Potential - Cool Weather Grasses 35.0% 46.0% 52.0% 64.0% 75.0% 94.0% 99% 100% 100.0% 94.0% 70.0% 40.0% Percent Of Healing Potential - Bermuda Grasses 0.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 2.0% 6.0% 10.0% 12.0% 12.0% 6.0% 2.0% 0.0% Indicates less than 50% of potential for mending. AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE VS % OF HEALING POTENTIAL 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 JAN FEB MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC MONTHSAVE.TEMPERATURE F-3% 12% 27% 41% 56% 71% 85% 100%% OF HEALING POTENTIALAVE. Temp Kentucky Bluegrass Bermuda Grass This chart shows the average monthly temperatures for San Luis Obispo over the past 30 years. Note that this chart shows why cool weather grasses are much more affective here than Bermuda grasses. From March through November the cool weather grasses are nearly able to heal at their maximum potential but from December through February they have diminished or much less healing potential. Also you can see at your temperatures Bermuda grasses never get above 12% of their healing potential and this vividly shows why these grasses did not work at all at this site. The chart on the next page is like the first one above (Activity Weighted Hours by Week) but these numbers are compared to your 30 average temperatures. The chart also and indicates when Bermuda grasses go into dormancy and come out of dormancy. (63-64 degrees coming out of dormancy and 60 degrees going into dormancy). You can see that for you this is coming out by the third week in May and going into dormancy by the first week of November. At your location, your cool weather grasses do not go dormant but the wear ability of these grasses is reduced from December through February. Your wear that takes place during cooler months can severely damage the turf. It is very important that you vigorously protect the turf during this time by not allowing any more play to take place and reducing some of the play that you already have if possible. 5 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Activity Weighted Hours by Week VS Temperature & Dormancy Damon Garcia Sports Fields 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 100.00 110.00 120.00 130.00 140.00 150.00 160.00 170.00 1/11/21/31/42/12/22/32/42/53/13/23/33/44/14/24/34/45/15/25/35/45/56/16/26/36/47/17/27/37/48/18/28/38/48/59/19/29/39/410/110/210/310/411/111/211/311/411/512/112/212/312/4MONTH & WEEKHOURS / WEEK0.00 2.50 5.00 7.50 10.00 12.50 15.00 17.50 20.00 22.50 25.00 27.50 30.00 32.50 35.00 37.50 40.00 42.50 45.00 47.50 50.00 52.50 55.00 57.50 60.00 62.50 65.00 67.50 70.00 72.50 AVE. TEMPERATURESAve. Wtd. Hrs. Wtd. Hrs. Raw Hrs. Ave. Temp. Wear Level 4 Wear Level 5 Wear Level 3 Curr. Mtn Level 2.43 Wear Level 2 Bermudagrass Dormancy Bermudagrass Dormancy 4. The Soil Analysis: The following soil analyses of the root zones of these fields do not vary significantly so it will not be necessary to treat each are differently. Any maintenance plan must be customized for each site based on the all of the conditions mentioned. It shows that the root zone soil content of these fields ranges from an approximately 87.3% - 89.3% sand and 10.7% to 12.7% silt and clay. These silt and clay particles are the fine materials that when combined with high moisture and heavy play, can still allow these soils to be compacted. The organic level in these fields is low which is very typical for these very sandy soils and the potassium level is low or marginal in all three. The greatest concern though is the elevated sodium levels and particularly the sodium % of the Cations in these samples. The readings of from 10.05-13.97% are very high and we will be addressing the cure for this. SOIL ANALYSIS COMPARISON RECOMMENDED LEVELS S.LOAM 3%+ 50 PPM 212 PPM 15 PPM 1300 PPM 200 PPM 35 PPM 3 PPM 25 PPM 3 PPM >1 % 14-16 Damon Garcia East Fields Sand%89.3%Silt%6.7%Clay%4.0%% Passing #200 Screen 10.7% pH SALT LIME TEXTURE ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG.CEC MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM %NA 8.40 0.37 Lo Sand 1.20 3.00 84.00 181.00 59.00 1285.00 297.00 228.00 3.40 40.00 3.00 9.57% 10.36 Daryl Garcia West Field Sand%87.3%Silt%7.4%Clay%5.3%% Passing #200 Screen 12.7% pH SALT LIME TEXTURE ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG.CEC MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM %NA 8.50 0.44 Lo Loamy Sand 1.10 3.00 81.00 185.00 43.00 1255.00 284.00 215.00 1.90 36.00 2.00 9.30% 10.05 Damon Garcia Center Fields Sand%88.0%Silt%6.7%Clay%5.3%% Passing #200 Screen 12.0% pH SALT LIME TEXTURE ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG.CEC MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM %NA 8.40 0.65 Lo Sand 1.30 1.00 78.00 250.00 109.00 1552.00 374.00 333.00 2.40 52.00 5.00 10.37% 13.97 RECOMMENDED LEVELS S.LOAM 3%+ 50 PPM 212 PPM 15 PPM 1300 PPM 200 PPM 35 PPM 3 PPM 25 PPM 3 PPM >1 % 14-16 6 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 5. Irrigation Water The irrigation water analysis below compares side by side your reclaimed water analysis on 9/25/2006 and the latest on 1/20/2010 This reclaimed water is very high in chlorides, electrical conductivity and TDS and is described by the lab as “Fair Quality Irrigation Water”. Clay has a negative charge and sodium has a positive charge so the clay attracts and accumulates the sodium over time. As the sodium accumulates in the soil it slows down the percolation rate through the soil to the point that there is little oxygen getting down deep and the end result is shallow rooted turf that can’t defend itself. This is happening on this site and is unusual because of your high sand content. 1/15/2010 Customer City of San Luis Obispo 3335 Double Tree Ct Colorado Springs, CO 80921 Dmon-Garcia Sports Park 719.265-2003 • Fax: 310-626-9657 San Luis Obispo, CA IRRIGATION WATER ANALYSIS Reclaimed Water Soil ,Root 1/20/2010 9/25/2006 Normal & Leaf Reclaimed Reclaimed Analysis Units Levels Toxicity Water Water Total Nitrogen N03-N mg/l 5-50 29.2 19.2 Chloride Cl mg/l 0-70 >100 140 162 Sulfate S04 mg/l 30-90 96 150 Sulfate-Sulfur S04-S mg/l 32 Bicarbonate HC03 mg/l 0-90 >500 220 220 Carbonate C03 mg/l <10 <10 Hydroxide, OH mg/l <10 <10 Total Alkalinity CaC03 mg/l 180 Hardness CaC03 mg/l 260 265 Hardness Grains gr./gl 0-200 >200 15 15 Total Calcium Ca mg/l 20-60 43 44 Total Magnesium Mg mg/l 10-25 37 39 Total Potassium K mg/l 5-20 20 18 Total Sodium Na mg/l 0-70 >210 130 166 Sodium Absorption Ratio SAR <6 >9 3.5 4.4 Adjusted SAR SARa 7.2 Sodium, % of Cations 49.8 Boron B mg/l <.7 >3 0.28 0.30 Total Iron, Fe mg/l 0 0.07 Total Manganese, Mn 0.044 0.01 Phosphorus PO4 mg/l .3-1.21 >1.21 Orthophosphate OPO4 mg/l Electrical Conductivity mmho/cm EC 70 >1000 1180 1280 Total Dissolved Solids mg/l <450 >450 755 Water pH 7.3 7.3 Water pHc 7.4 Langlier Index -0.1 Aggressive Index Ai 12 FAIR QUALITY IRRIGATION WATER. There is a potential for chloride leaf burn especially with high temperatures and low humidities. A positive Langlier Index indicates that the water is non-corrosive and tends to deposit scale on the inside of pipes. An Aggressive Index greater than or equal to 12 indicates water is non-aggressive. Water pHc values above 8.4 indicate a tendancy to disolve lime from the soil through which the water moves; values below 8.4 indicates a tendency to precipitate lime from the water applied. 7 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 6. Many of the fields have undulations and low spots in them. These can be dangerous over time if not corrected annually with top dressing however yours appears to be settling in some areas which is not common in very sandy soils. This will be discussed in greater detail in the maintenance manuals. Your Potential Solutions 1. You must dramatically increase your maintenance level The chart below shows how far below your current maintenance program is below a sustainable level for your turf. You are at average maintenance level 2.43 and wear level 4.5. You can see how many of each task you are doing at this site and also how many you should be doing to achieve sustainable turf. MAINTENANCE FREQUENCY CATEGORY MOWINGS AERATIONS TOP-DRESS OVERSEED FERTILIZE Level PER PER PER PER PER YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR CURR NEW CURR NEW CURR NEW CURR NEW CURR NEW CURR NEW LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL Damon Garcia East Fields 2.43 4.50 104 139 2 12 1 1 4 4 2 12 Daryl Garcia West Field 2.43 4.50 104 136 2 13 1 1 4 4 2 12 AVERAGES 2.43 4.50 103.7 137.5 2 12.5 1 4 2 12 The major increase is in the number of aerations, fertilizations and mowings. This chart shows how many of each task you should be doing to maintain these fields with the same equipment you currently own. This report makes recommendations that will allow these numbers to be reduced and dramatically change the sustainability of your turf. Category 4.5 level of maintenance includes: • Deep-tine or shatter-tine aeration at least once annually to relieve and prevent deep compaction. • Annual Top dressing to re-level the field and to replace used up organics to the soil. • Monthly applications of fertilizer or fertigation to grow grass as fast as it is being worn off. • Mowing 2-3 times a week during periods of high use because of the higher growth rate. • Knife aeration at least monthly. . A. Continue to Replace or repair the irrigation system on these fields where this is not adequate to deliver the correct amount of water with matched precipitation. Turf cannot mend itself under your high wear conditions without this. 8 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved B. You should consider implementing a lower wear time each year during the slower recuperative times from December through January for healing damaged turf. You are already doing this in June and July and this should become an edict from the park board and City council to prevent user groups from getting around any maintenance plan for recovery during the down time. C. Fertigation is the best and cheapest way to increase wear-ability while decreasing manpower. This chart indicates that your growing season is 8-10 months long but you are only fertilizing most sites 2-3 times a year. Turf must have nitrogen in the leaf for the plant to defend itself. This means that there are many months when your turf is unable to defend itself. Fertigation allows you to grow-in, mend and renovate the wear areas of your fields the very quickest way possible. It also controls the mowing rate and maintains the beautiful dark green color throughout 9 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved the growing season. When the fertilizer is delivered to the tanks by an outside contractor, there is a tremendous savings in manpower. We have found that CPS (Crop Production Services) will make up a liquid product for these fields that is customized by our computer to add as many things as we possibly can through the fertigation system. The price is $3.15 per gallon which ½ of what we normally see and they will place it your tank for you. There are limits and we must still add some extra dry and liquid products this first year to turn things around and quickly. D. We recommend that you over-seed with a very aggressive Kentucky Blue grass and Texas Blue grass seed blend. 1. These seed varieties in the mix have: A. Quick germination (8-9 days) B. Quick Establishment (15 Weeks) C. Remarkable wear tolerance D. Shade tolerance E. Fine leaf texture F. Disease resistance G. Dark green color H. 1/3rd less water requirement than regular blue grasses I. Extensive rhizomes & extensive lateral movement for quick repair By over-seeding with this product, you will see it take over your fields and allow you to use less water. Also the faster germination allows it to reestablish quicker on damaged fields. E. The use of growth control products (Primo) will greatly enhance your maintenance program. This type of product takes the energy produced by fertilization and mowing and causes the turf to mend much more quickly and to send roots down deep. It will normally cut mowing in half however in most cases you would need to add one or two mowing per week to keep up with the wear. You should be able to maintain these sites with 1.5-2 mowings per week but have substantially deeper roots and quick mending turf. Another very good side affect was discovered; the turf that was treated with this material has been coming out of dormancy at least 30 days earlier in the spring! You don’t have dormancy here but hopefully, this product would make your turf more wear tolerant earlier in the spring. 2. Purchase some special and larger pieces of multi use equipment that will save you man-hours on your sports fields. In the maintenance manual part of this assessment we will discuss specific advantages of the recommended equipment and the approximate costs. We can then help you to write a tight specification to insure that you get the correct equipment on your bid. A. We recommend that you purchase the Aerway aerator. This machine has a 100 gallon ballast tank on top for weight, a greens roller at the back to smooth down turf that might be rough after it passes, a 7” fracturing tine that can fracture as deep as 10” under the right conditions and a 6’ turf tine that should be used at least monthly to maintain soil percolation in high wear areas. B. We are also recommending that you purchase a new over-seeder machine for the annual over- seeding that is approximately 3 times faster than your current PTO driven machine. C. Using a 16’ rotary mower would cut your mowing time dramatically each time. Since we are calling for more mowings, this can help offset the increased manpower costs. 10 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 3. Reclaimed Irrigation water There is a product called sodium blocker that moves the sodium in the reclaimed water and in the soil out of the root zone so it can’t affect the turf. It can be put in the fertigation tank with the regular fertilizer and applied at the appropriate rate. The pictures below are before and after pictures of the Rose Bowl Park area in Colorado Springs which has Kentucky bluegrass, the least salt tolerant turf grass. The reclaimed water over time had turned the field into the picture on the left. The picture on the right shows the park after one season with sodium blocker applied through the fertigation system along with the fertilizer. This would particularly help with sodium problem in the soil at this site. 4. No-Till renovation of athletic fields The fields that have bad grades and or poor irrigation systems will need to be renovated if you are ever to have sustainable turf. To totally renovate which would include soil amendments roto-tilled in, sod, drain system and new irrigation can cost as much as $3.00 per square foot ($5 for sand based fields). I believe that by utilizing some new tools in our arsenal, you could renovate this site with a new drain system and the no-till renovation system for under $1.50 per square foot if your irrigation system was still working properly. Our PRZ Design services can layout all of the proper steps, the costs and with the help of your Sports Field Landscape Architect, write the bid ready specifications. 5. We are recommending a Sports Users Committee for this site or better yet Citywide We have found from doing these assessments for cities, the user groups believe that the reason that the fields look bad is because either the city employees don’t know what their doing as far as sports field maintenance or they don’t care. When we present this assessment to the user groups, we start by saying here is what we found at this site or at these sites and they are all agreeing on how bad the fields are. Then we explain how the fields got that way and you could hear a pin drop in the room. They are dumbfounded to discover that they are part of the problem (wear on the fields and when they want to use them). Once they realize this, they understand now that this is not just the city’s problem but our problem (theirs and yours) and they are very willing to try to help. I usually recommend a committee be made up of 1 member from each sport (even if soccer has 4 leagues and 1 has 3,000 kids) and each member has 1 vote. Also on this committee are 1 or 2 voting people from park Maintenance (director and 1 who maintains the site), 1 from recreation and possibly 1 from finance. This committee makes decisions about the fields- no play immediately after the rain, no play if frost on the ground, set aside time for renovation etc. It is a tremendous tool for getting them to take ownership (no longer a rent-a field which has someone else fixing it if they break it). 11 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved I have also found that once they realize with the help of this assessment that because of growth nationally of soccer and now Lacrosse the wear level on all fields has gone off the chart in the past 15 years and the maintenance level has remained close to the same. This is unsustainable turf and there no city in the US that can afford to step up their maintenance from level 1 or 2 to level 5 on a large number of fields in a short period of time. This is when I suggest that if they are willing to help, we can have them pay an additional head charge per person that will go into a fund that will be used only for maintaining the fields (man power, materials, new equipment or even building new fields etc). The value of this type of a charge is that the head count goes up every year. We base the head charge on the amount of damage each sport does to the turf based on the Activity Weighted Scale. Costs of Solving Your Problems 1. Manpower The wear index chart below indicates that by increasing your maintenance level from 2.43 to your wear level of 4.5, you will add 621 additional annual man-hours or approximately $36,069 annually in maintenance costs at this site based on your current wages & benefits. By implementing the recommendations in this assessment, this figure can be substantially reduced. This figure doesn’t include the additional materials such as fertilizer, seed, and topdressing. WEAR INDEX IN HOURS PER WEEK ACTIVITY MAINT. CURRENT CURRENT NEEDED ADDITONAL CURRENT NEW # WEIGHTED LEVEL NEEDED MAINT. ANN. MTN. ANN. MTN. ANN. MTN. APPROX. APPROX. SITE SQ. FT WEEKS HOURS/ WK CATEGORY LEVEL HOURS HOURS HOURS MTN.COST MTN.COST Damon Garcia East Fields 309962 52 75.7 4.50 2.43 1357 1807 450 $78,809 $104,931 Daryl Garcia West Field 136120 52 77.2 4.50 2.43 494 665 171 $28,666 $38,613 Totals/ Averages 446082 52 76.4 4.50 2.43 1850 2471 621 $107,475 $143,544 2. Annual Maintenance Costs- In the chart below, Scenario #1 below shows your current maintenance level and the $238,233 it cost you in 2009 to maintain the fields at this site. This is $23,263 per acre per year. Scenario #2 shows the $269,966 in costs which is $31,733 more in additional manpower and materials for stepping up your maintenance from level 2.43 to level 4.5. This is $26,362 per acre per year. Scenario #3 shows your annual costs of $264,069 which includes the one time purchase of the new equipment that is needed. The cost per acre that year would be $25,786 per acre. Scenario #4 shows the $211,860 in annual costs of maintaining these fields after the purchase of this new equipment and implementation of all of the recommendations in this report. This would average about $20,688 per acre per year which is in the very high range for high wear fields in your climate. Your irrigation water costs alone account for $7,345 per acre per year which is nearly double what we normally see and 10 times the rate we normally see for reclaimed water. This has more to do with the water rate than your water usage. Scenario # 4 also includes approximately a 20% savings in water costs which comes from the combination of much more aeration of compacted soils, fertigation and switching to the water saving Hybrid Blue grasses. Obviously we need to do everything we can to bring these costs down and the improvements and maintenance plan that we are recommending will help to do this. 12 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved COMPOSITE SCENARIO COST ANALYSIS Scenario #1 Scenario #2 Scenario #3 Scenario #4 2009 2010 2010 2011 Current Current Current Current City of San Luis Obispo Wear Wear Wear Wear Composite Damon Garcia Sports Fields Mtn Level Mtn Level Mtn Level Mtn Level 2.43 4.50 4.50 4.50 No New No New Purchase After Equipment Equipment New New Equipment Equipment $/acre/yr $23,263 $26,362 $25,786 $20,688 Square Feet Natural Turf 446,082 446,082 446,082 446,082 ANNUAL TOTALS:$238,233 $269,966 $264,069 $211,860 Top dressing $3,613 $15,920 $15,920 $7,960 Spread top dressing-Contractor $0 $0 $0 $0 Grass Seed $11,398 $7,155 $7,155 $7,155 Slit Seed- Contractor $0 $0 $0 $0 Fertilizer $35,000 $22,600 $22,600 $22,600 Deeptine aeration- Contractor $0 $0 $0 $0 Contractor Mobilization $0 $0 $0 $0 Manpower $107,475 $143,544 $103,169 $103,169 Water $75,221 $75,221 $75,221 $60,177 Irrigation repair $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 Primo $0 $0 $5,273 $5,273 Field Striping $1,526 $1,526 $1,526 $1,526 Infield Materials $0 $0 $0 $0 Out Sourcing $0 $0 $0 $0 Purchase New Equipment 1 90" Aerway aerator $15,603 1 Set Floation Turf Tires for tractor $1,000 1 5' Redixim Overseeder 3 X Faster $12,601 New Equipment Costs $29,204 Sports Field Management System Manual Below is the Composite Sports Field Management System Annual Calendar for The Damon Garcia Sports Fields that lays out every aspect of maintenance for the year. This calendar is customized for this site only. The operator in the field has a plastic laminated version of this. This particular calendar is based on fertigation. The product on the far left and the sodium blocker are added through the fertigation system. There are also 3 granular fertilizer products and 2 liquid spray products shown in this first year. Down the left side are the dates that each fertilizer item and task should occur. 13 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved DATE: SQ.FT:446082 Damon Garcia Composite Maintenance Calendar 02/15/10 APPLICATION SCHEDULE: City of San Luis Obispo 20-0-7.8 0-45-0 0-0-50 Composter Growth Med. Micro Nutrients Blocker Magnesium Gypsum Primo Mowings/ Week Mowings/Week Shatter Knife Verticut/Plug Over Top WEEK OF Gallons LBS LBS Galons Lbs Lbs Gallons LBS LBS GALS W/O Primo With Primo Tine Aerate Dethatch Aerate Seed Dress 01/08/10 000 00 0 00 02.082 1.0 X 01/15/10 21.0 01/22/10 21.0 01/29/10 21.0 02/05/10 000 00 020 0 0 2.08 2 1.0 X 02/12/10 21.0 02/19/10 21.0 02/26/10 21.0 03/05/10 205 0 0 02560 0 20 676 3161 2.08 2 1.0 x 03/12/10 21.0 03/19/10 21.0 03/26/10 21.0 04/02/10 000 00 0 00 02.082 1.0 X 04/09/10 21.0 04/16/10 21.0 04/23/10 21.0 04/30/10 205 0 0 223 2560 0 20 676 3161 0.00 3 3.0 X X XXX 05/07/10 30.0 05/14/10 33.0 05/21/10 33.0 05/28/10 33.0 06/04/10 000 00 0 00 00.003 3.0 X 06/11/10 33.0 06/18/10 33.0 06/25/10 33.0 07/02/10 205 0 0 02560 0 20 676 3161 2.08 3 1.5 X 07/09/10 31.5 07/16/10 31.5 07/23/10 3 1.5 07/30/10 21.0 08/06/10 000 00 0 00 02.083 1.5 X 08/13/10 31.5 08/20/10 31.5 08/27/10 31.5 09/03/10 205 0 0 02560 0 20 0 3161 2.08 3 1.5 X 09/10/10 31.5 09/17/10 31.5 09/24/10 31.5 10/01/10 000 00 0 00 02.083 1.5 X 10/08/10 31.5 10/15/10 31.5 10/22/10 31.5 10/29/10 205 0 0 00 020 0 0 0.00 3 3.0 X 11/05/10 33.0 11/12/10 33.0 11/19/10 33.0 11/26/10 33.0 12/03/10 000 00 0 00 00 3 3.0 X 12/10/10 33.0 12/17/10 33.0 12/24/10 33.0 12/31/10 205 0 0 00 020 0 0 0 3 3.0 UAN 32 20-0-7.8 1023 Gls Micro Nutrients 0 Lbs .5 Mowings per week= Mowing every 14 days 0-45-0 0 Lbs Primo 16.64 Gls 1 Mowing per week= Mowing every 7 days 0-0-50 0 Lbs Magnesium-Epsom Sa 2028 Lbs 1.5 Mowings per week = Mowing every 5 days Composte 223 Gls Gypsum 12645 Lbs 2 mowings per week= Mowing every 4 days Growth Medium 10241 Lbs Blocker 142.55 Gls 2.5 Mowings per week= Mowing every 3 days MANAGING SPORTS FIELD WEAR The Field Usage/Availability Analysis chart below is customized chart for the East fields. This chart shows exactly how many Activity Weighted hours per week these fields can handle for each month of the year. Since fields can be different from the others, a composite chart averaging the available hours for the fields would not be meaningful for your current conditions. 14 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Note that at your current maintenance level of 2.43 (the yellow bar across the chart) you currently have an excess hours of annual usage of 765 activity weighted hours. This means that your turf is getting 765 activity weighted more hours of play than it can tolerate annually. Since there is soccer on this site with a rating of 2, this is an excess of 382 (765 / 2) actual hours per year more than the turf can tolerate. When you step up your maintenance level 2.43 to level 4.5, you will have 528 additional activity weighted hours or 264 actual additional hours per year. Unfortunately even at wear level 5, from August through December you still have an excess of from 6.76 to 41.36 activity weighted hours per week more than this turf can tolerate. This would be 3.38 to 20.68 more actual hours of play more than this turf will tolerate during this period. It would be ideal if some of these hours in August through December could be spread out during the year to months where you have additional hours available or spread to other sites. November and December play is what is causing the most damage to these fields. City of San Luis Obispo FIELD USAGE / AVAILABILITY ANALYSIS Damon Garcia East FieldSquare Ft. 309962 Total Type of Grass:Weeks/ YR 32 Hours Average Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. K BLUE GRASS Weeks/ mo 45 4 4 54454444 Field Availability (Numbers represent activity-weighted hours per week) Current Maint.Hours Allowed 1294 25.35 12.25 16.10 18.20 22.40 26.25 32.90 34.65 35.00 35.00 32.90 24.50 14.00 Level Hours Available 3.91 0.29 7.22 24.31 32.90 34.65 2.43 Excess hours of usage 766 23.94 25.54 51.82 41.76 50.09 64.33 55.36 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 1294 25.35 12.25 16.10 18.20 22.40 26.25 32.90 34.65 35.00 35.00 32.90 24.50 14.00 2.00 Hours Available 3.91 0.29 7.22 24.31 32.90 34.65 Excess hours of usage 766 23.94 25.54 51.82 41.76 50.09 64.33 55.36 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 1664 32.59 15.75 20.70 23.40 28.80 33.75 42.30 44.55 45.00 45.00 42.30 31.50 18.00 3.00 Hours Available 8.51 5.49 13.62 31.81 42.30 44.55 Excess hours of usage 396 12.39 22.04 41.82 31.76 40.69 57.33 51.36 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 2033 39.83 19.25 25.30 28.60 35.20 41.25 51.70 54.45 55.00 55.00 51.70 38.50 22.00 4.00 Hours Available 13.11 10.69 20.02 39.31 51.70 54.45 Excess hours of usage 27 0.84 18.54 31.82 21.76 31.29 50.33 47.36 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 2588 50.69 24.50 32.20 36.40 44.80 52.50 65.80 69.30 70.00 70.00 65.80 49.00 28.00 5.00 Hours Available 528 16.49 20.01 18.49 29.62 50.56 65.80 69.30 Excess hours of usage 13.29 16.82 6.76 17.19 39.83 41.36 Activity Weighting Scale Determining Field Availability Maintenance Frequencies-Annual Requirement Walking on field/Softball 1.00 Use the following steps to evaluate requests for Current Needed Baseball 1.25 additional field time: Maint. Level 2.43 4.5 PE 1.50 1.Determine the actual hours of additional use Mowings/ Yr 104 120 Parked Cars 1.50 requested. Aerations/Yr 210Marching Band 1.75 2.Multiply the total hours of proposed use by Top Dress/Yr 11Soccer Games 1.85 the appropriate activity weight. Over Seed/Yr 44Football Games 1.85 3.Locate the column for the month when the Fertilization/Yr 212Soccer & Football Practices 2.00 proposed additional use would occur. Sweeping 10Adult Soccer & Football Games 2.13 4.Determine if there are available hours at the Deep Tine/Yr 01Adult Soccer & Football Practice 2.25 current maintenance level. If there are, you Verticuttings/yr 0 0 Lacrosse & Field Hockey 2.25 can schedule the activity. Rugby 2.50 5.If not, see if sufficient hours can be made Annual Costs $167,902 $189,680 Sports Clinics & Tournaments 2.50 available by increasing the maintenance level. Ann. Increase $21,778 Current Wear Level 4.50 6.If sufficient hours can be made available, and Cost/month $14,030 $15,850 Current Maintenance Level 2.43 you can handle and afford the additional Cost/week $3,508 $3,963 Needed Maint. Level-Weather Adjusted 4.5 maintenance, you can schedule the activity. 15 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved The chart below is for the Daryl Garcia West Field. Note that at your current maintenance level of 2.43 (the yellow bar across the chart) you currently have an excess hours of annual usage of 717 activity weighted hours. Since there is soccer on this site with a rating of 2, this is an excess of 358 (717 / 2) actual hours per year more than the turf can tolerate. When you step up your maintenance level 2.43 to level 4.5, you will have 19 additional activity weighted hours or 10 actual additional hours per year. Unfortunately even at wear level 5, from October through January you still have an excess of from 2 to 22.38 activity weighted hours per week more than this turf can tolerate. It would be ideal if some of these hours in October through December could be spread out during the year to months where you have additional hours available or spread to other sites. October and November play is what is causing the most damage to this field. City of San Luis Obispo FIELD USAGE / AVAILABILITY ANALYSIS Daryl Garcia West Field Square Ft. 136120 Total Type of Grass:Weeks/ YR 21 Hours Average Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. K BLUE GRASS Weeks/ mo 454454454444 Field Availability (Numbers represent activity-weighted hours per week) Current Maint.Hours Allowed 735 25.35 12.25 16.10 18.20 22.40 26.25 32.90 34.65 35.00 35.00 32.90 24.50 14.00 Level Hours Available 1.14 20.07 22.52 32.90 34.65 6.35 2.43 Excess hours of usage 717 34.15 23.22 9.65 15.91 55.18 44.71 16.00 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 735 25.35 12.25 16.10 18.20 22.40 26.25 32.90 34.65 35.00 35.00 32.90 24.50 14.00 2.00 Hours Available 1.14 20.07 22.52 32.90 34.65 6.35 Excess hours of usage 717 34.15 23.22 9.65 15.91 55.18 44.71 16.00 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 945 32.59 15.75 20.70 23.40 28.80 33.75 42.30 44.55 45.00 45.00 42.30 31.50 18.00 3.00 Hours Available 5.74 26.47 30.02 42.30 44.55 16.35 Excess hours of usage 507 24.15 19.72 4.45 5.91 45.78 37.71 12.00 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 1155 39.83 19.25 25.30 28.60 35.20 41.25 51.70 54.45 55.00 55.00 51.70 38.50 22.00 4.00 Hours Available 10.34 0.75 32.87 37.52 51.70 54.45 26.35 4.09 Excess hours of usage 297 14.15 16.22 36.38 30.71 8.00 Maint. Level Hours Allowed 1471 50.69 24.50 32.20 36.40 44.80 52.50 65.80 69.30 70.00 70.00 65.80 49.00 28.00 5.00 Hours Available 19 0.90 17.24 8.55 42.47 48.77 65.80 69.30 41.35 19.09 Excess hours of usage 10.97 22.28 20.21 2.00 Activity Weighting Scale Determining Field Availability Maintenance Frequencies-Annual Requirement Walking on field/Softball 1.00 Use the following steps to evaluate requests for Current Needed Baseball 1.25 additional field time: Maint. Level 2.43 4.5 PE 1.50 1.Determine the actual hours of additional use Mowings/ Yr 104 136 Parked Cars 1.50 requested. Aerations/Yr 2 13 Marching Band 1.75 2.Multiply the total hours of proposed use by Top Dress/Yr 1 1 Soccer Games 1.85 the appropriate activity weight. Over Seed/Yr 4 4 Football Games 1.85 3.Locate the column for the month when the Fertilization/Yr 2 12 Soccer & Football Practices 2.00 proposed additional use would occur. Sweeping 1 0 Adult Soccer & Football Gam 2.13 4.Determine if there are available hours at the Deep Tine/Yr 0 1 Adult Soccer & Football Pra 2.25 current maintenance level. If there are, you Verticuttings/yr 0 0 Lacrosse & Field Hockey 2.25 can schedule the activity. Rugby 2.50 5.If not, see if sufficient hours can be made Annual Costs $59,650 $73,538 Sports Clinics & Tournamen 2.50 available by increasing the maintenance level. Ann. Increase $13,888 Current Wear Level 4.50 6.If sufficient hours can be made available, and Cost/month $1,150 $1,418 Current Maintenance Level 2.43 you can handle and afford the additional Cost/week $288 $355 Needed Maint. Level-Weather Adjusted 4.5 maintenance, you can schedule the activity. When you find as you have that your maintenance level overall on the fields is much lower than the wear level, you have choices that need to be made. What are some viable options? 1. You can raise your maintenance level to your wear level. As this assessment has pointed out this is expensive! 2. You can lower your wear level to your maintenance level. This is very hard to do without a user group committee that understands your dilemma and is willing to bite the bullet with you. This assessment can be very helpful in gaining this cooperation once these groups understand that they also are part of the problem and are willing to take ownership (not just a rent-a-field that someone else gets to pay for if they damage it)! 3. You can add new fields to spread your wear over a larger area. This is also very expensive in an area of high land prices and many times by the time they are built, they are already at full capacity. 16 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 4. You can add artificial turf on lighted high wear fields. This is very expensive at approximately $11 per square foot currently but it does double the amount of wear you can put on a field and you don’t have to purchase new land. 5. You can do a combination of these things. This concludes the Executive Summary for this report. The next step is for you to determine how many of these recommendations you wish to do. We will then put these steps into the maintenance manuals for each of these sites. 17 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 2010 Maintenance Instructions 1. Our maintenance calendars to follow call for: A. The Sports Field Maintenance Trifecta! The Trifecta of turf maintenance as you can see below is increased: 1. fertilization, 2. mowing 3. aeration. As you will read below, this combination is what you must do for turf that is under heavy wear to for it to be sustainable. This combination will give you 10” of roots which is what is required for turf to tolerate the most wear! B. Increased fertilization. The turfgrass has to have approximately 3% nitrogen in the leaf for it to defend itself against wear. For cool weather grasses this would normally be 5-6 lbs of Nitrogen per year per 1,000 sq. ft and 8 lbs/ 1,000 square feet on sand based fields. In 2009 you added 5 lbs per 1,000 square feet per year with .76 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft. coming from your reclaimed water! Because this field is close to a sand based field, you will need to increase the amount of nitrogen annually. C. Fertigation allows us to get approximately 20% of the nutrients through the leaf (foliar) and the rest going through the soil. This is especially affective during drought or water rationing. Our maintenance calendar calls for insuring that every drop of water that is applied to the turf, will have a trace of nitrogen in it. I have found a supplier in your area that will custom blend 18 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved for your fields per our computerized recommendation that is customized for this site and can be changed as often as necessary. They will deliver to your tank for $3.15 per gallon which is ½ what you would pay through a golf course supply company and you would have to transfer it to the tank yourself. You will still need to spread some concentrated granular nutrients as well. D. Additional mowings. The maintenance calendars to follow call for 2-3 mowings per week during the high wear periods because when you fertilize more, the easiest thing for the plant to do is make leaf. All that you have accomplished with continued 1 or 2 mowings per week is a 2” clipping instead of a 1” clipping. By mowing an additional time the plant uses this energy by trying to push the roots down and the bluegrass ryzomes sideways (this how bluegrass mends itself and fills in) but it can’t do either if the plant is growing in a brick (compacted soil). Cool weather grasses, bluegrass, fescue and rye should be cut at 2.5 inches minimum or shorter cutting will actually pull the roots up closer to the surface. The new thermal blue grasses and Texas blue grasses I am recommending are finer bladed than these others and thrive at being cut at 2”. E. More aeration. By aerating monthly in the wear areas, you relieve the compaction which allows oxygen laden water to move downward and allowing roots to follow and ryzomes to spread sideways choking out weeds as well. Also slice aeration slices these ryzomes causing them to grow more plants per square foot thus a denser, tighter turf. The Aerway slice aerator we are recommending you purchase will allow you to play on the field immediately after aeration since it has a roller that smoothes the surface and it leaves no plugs behind to disrupt the direction of the soccer ball or baseball. It also has a 7” fracturing tine that fractures as deep as 10” under ideal conditions and can leave a hole big enough to top dress into without pulling plugs. F. Primo Growth regulator. The monthly application of Primo Max or Primo like growth regulator will allow you to mow ½ as much, so many times the two mowing per week you were doing would now be three times a week but with the application of Primo you can mow once a week or 1.5 times per week (every 5 days). The plant uses this energy to push roots down and ryzomes sideways. G. Annual top dressing on all high wear fields. With the wear you have, you get compacted areas that become low spots. This means you have lost the grade on the field and it no longer drains properly. Top dressing fills in the low spots and reestablishes the grade on the fields. The top dressing should include compost and sand with an 80% sand 20% compost mix. The compost is very high in microbes and helps to control funguses and diseases. They also help prevent compaction and when you slice aerate monthly, you slice the organics and sand into the root zone 6” deep and actually increase percolation in the root zone over time. Be sure that you use topdressing that has no bark, fir or red wood in it. These will create many problems for you over time by taking the nitrogen that you apply for the turf, away from the turf to break down the wood. We are recommending that initially you use ¼” of top dressing to insure that you have enough material to fill in the low spots and to fill as many of the aeration holes as possible to create permanent avenues for water and oxygen to move freely downward. The results of the grade survey we discussed may increase this amount. H. We are recommending that you over-seeding with Seed Research Company’s Texas and Kentucky Blue grass Hybrids. The mixture will include 30% Bandera, 30% Spitfire, 25% Touche’ and 15% Emblem as marked below in their chart of Bluegrass classification. These will give you 1/3rd less water usage, tolerate some shade and a lot of wear, are fine bladed, they germinate in 8-9 days, are dark green in color and have the extensive roots and ryzomes that will knit sod and repair quickly to tolerate your wear. The same CPS company that will custom make your liquid fertilizer and deliver it to your tank, also can have these seed varieties custom blended for you by Seed Research of Oregon based on our recommendations. 19 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Irrigation Deep roots (10”) allow the turf grass to heal itself much quicker thus enable it to stand up to heavy wear. Roots only grow as deep as the oxygen goes and percolating water carries oxygen. Therefore until we achieve deep roots, we must maintain this downward percolating irrigation water through lighter more frequent watering rather than in-frequent heavy watering that tends to leave the soil wet and cause compaction. Again this is only until we achieve deeper roots! The best way to decide how much water to put on is using a soil probe to check soil moisture in the root zone. We want the soil moist or damp but not wet evenly to at least 1” below the deepest roots. As the temperatures rise you will notice that it will be dryer near the surface than at the lower depths. This will mean adding extra minutes to each zone to keep the soil moisture correct. As the temperature continues to raise it may be necessary to go to an additional watering per day, one in the late evening and one in the early morning with a possible syringing in the heat of the day. When you first do this, use your probe to determine if you need to back off again on the minutes per zone keeping in mind again that you don’t want the soil to be wet in the morning. Also use your probe regularly after rainfall to see how quickly it dries out. This will give you a good idea of how long you should keep play off the fields after a heavy rain. As compaction takes place from heavy wear, the time it takes to dry out after the rain will get longer. This is why it is necessary to knife aerate at least monthly during the heaviest of play. Mowing Instructions Your turf-grass on this field will be a Kentucky Blue Grass and Perennial Rye-grass, mix that you should mow at 2.” each time. The slice aeration will cause the bluegrass ryzomes to start new plants closer to the parent plant thus creating more plants per square foot and denser turf thus making the 2” height play as if it were cut shorter. At this height you should not have to pickup the clippings except after heavier rainfall and the quick growth that can follow. The analysis of the leaf from your clippings on the next page reads like the analysis of a bag of fertilizer. The plant takes these nutrients out of the soil and uses them to maintain the plant. By throwing away these clippings you would actually be throwing away reusable fertilizer. Total % N Phos. %P Pott. % K Calcium % Ca Magnes. %Mg Sulfur %S 4.77 0.62 3.14 0.27 0.21 0.39 Mulching mowers prevent the need for picking up clippings. 20 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Please note the PRZ Turf Maintenance Calendar. Your wear changes throughout your growing season and your mowing schedule follows the wear at 1-3 mowings per week or 1 to 1.5 mowings per week with Primo applications. Aeration These fields are mostly a sand or loamy sand root-zone which normally have a good percolation rate but because you still have some clay and silt percentages, compaction is an important issue. Aeration is our best tool to relieve compaction. We have three types of aeration you will need to do on this field annually to relieve compaction. The Aerway aerator we are recommending can be used in the afternoon and the field played on immediately. It does not leave behind any plugs and the roller on the back of it smoothes down any rough spots it may have created. 1. Shatter-tine aeration with the Aerway fracture tine machine in the most aggressive mode which should make a hole big enough to top dress into. This should be done once a year during the Major Annual Turf Renovation to relieve any compaction that might have taken place since last year. 2. Core or plug pulling aeration pushes a spoon or circular tube into the soil and pulls and slings or discards the soil and root plug onto the surface. This is the best type of aeration because it leaves a 1/2”-3/4” by 2.5”-4” hole in the soil and should also be done annually during the Major Annual Renovation just before top dressing. With your sandier soils it is not necessary to catch the plugs. 3. Knife aeration is the only aeration that is done regularly throughout the growing season because it temporarily relieves compaction without disturbing the surface or leaving plugs that could deflect the ball. Because of the sandy soil on this site, you will only have to do this monthly with a 6” turf slicing knife during the growing season. Do not go two directions with knife aerating because you can make an X with two slits that could be caught by a soccer cleat and ripped up. You can go in more than one direction during the Annual Renovation because these slits will mend before play resumes. Material Suppliers and Contractors The following materials are important to the maintainability of your fields. The specifications for each of these have been customized for this site and should not be altered by suppliers who might indicate that their products are equal to or better than those specified. 1. Top Dressing material shall be a 80% sand, 20% compost mixture. A. Sand specifications are for a washed USGA sand with 100% passing a #12 screen and no more than 1% passing a #200 screen. B. Sand Supplier-Gordon Sand Company- Chari Borja-510-782-5640, West Coast Aggregate- Mike Dickens-760-399-1891, West Coast Sand & Gravel- Dante-800-734- 3053. The last two are capable of mixing compost and sand and delivering them to you that way. C. Compost needs to be screened to 1/8” minus, have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of under 20/1, have a ph less than 8.5 and a dry organic % above 30%. Supplier – Harvest Blend Compost-Wayne-805-925-2771, Greenway’s Environmental-Kevin-949-380-8301 D. Quantities of mixture 1/4” the first year. or .775 cubic yards /1,000 sq. ft. of the above mixture. 2. Seed: Texas Bluegrass and Kentucky Blue grass mix with 4 varieties 30% Spit Fire Hybrid Blue grass, 30% Bandera hybrid Blue grass, 25% Touche’ Mid Atlantic type Blue grass and 15% Emblem a High Density type Blue grass all from Seed Research of Oregon. A. Suppler shall be CPS-Mike Hollarman-805-441-3124 21 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved B. Quantities are, 1.5lbs/1,000 sq. ft initially. C. Shall be seeded at .75lbs per 1,000 square feet in each of two directions. 3. Fertilizers: Both granule and liquid fertigation products: TURF NUTRIENTS REQUIRED FOR 2009 FERTIGATION PROGRAM Nutrient Nitrogen Sodium Composter Primo Magnesium Con. Organic Calcium Product 20-0-7.8 Blocker Seed Growth Epsom Salts Growth Med.Gypsum Formulation 20-0-7.8 N/A Germinator Regulater 22%23% Form Gallons Gallons Gallons Gallons Lbs LBS Lbs Damon Garcia All Fields 1228 123 134 23 2028 10241 35078 Cost Each 3.15 20.18 30.00 316.85 0.20 0.70 0.16 Total Cost $3,867 $2,473 $4,015 $7,228 $406 $7,168 $5,532 $30,689 A. Custom Blended Liquid N-20%, -P -0%, K-7.8%, Mg-3.3%, Zn-.53%, Fe-2.17%, Mn- .53%, Cu-.17%, B-.01% , B. Gypsum-23% calcium , Magnesium-22% C. Primo Max substitute- Provair PGR or T-Nex 1 AQ, Active ingredient 11.3% Trinexapac-ethyl- D. Suppler shall be CPS-Mike Hollarman-805-441-3124 or Mike Cline-Wilbur Ellis-559- 269-7342 E. Sodium Blocker (moves sodium out of the root-zone, reduces soil pH, increases soil percolation, reduces sodium EC %, allows reclaimed water to be used on salt intolerant blue grasses)- Supplier-Turf Feeding Systems-Michael Chaplinsky-713-504-0750 E. Liquid Composter (seed germinator, bio-stimulant, root growth hormone), very important for jump starting new seed quickly, Concentrated Organic growth medium- dry, long term root-zone microbe bio-stimulant, (26% organic matter, N-.39%, P-.37%, K-.12% , Ca- 10%, Mg-2.17%,Fe- 2.5% ) Supplier is – CPS –Turf-Chris Brunell-760-594-1385 4. Contractors A. Deep Tine aeration, top dressing, over seeding, fertilization, Koro Recycle Dresser that makes topdressing from your root-zone while fracturing every square inch of root-zone 8” deep while leaving it in place, Baseball field lip removal (see pictures on next page), and Koro Kwik Drain- 4” an hour drainage system installed entirely by machine through the top-Green One Industries Co- Leroy 888-567-6872, 22 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved B. Soil testing, Servitech Labs (620) 227-7123. Equipment Recommendations 1. Over seeder A. Over seeder should be wheel driven not PTO driven (3 times faster than PTO) B. Recommended Seeder-Redexim-Charterhouse Model #1575 (60”) C. Northern California dealer-Turf & Industrial Supply- Santa Clara-Jim Sherman- 405-595-7358, 408-727-5660 23 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 2. Aerway Aerator A. Shall have 100 gallon ballast tank B. Shall have Greens roller at the back C. Shall be 3 point hitch D. Shall have 7” Shattering tine roller on 7.5” spacing E. Shall have 6” sports tine slicing tine roller 7.5” spacing F. See sizing chart on the next page. The higher horsepower number would be required to pull that machine through heavy clay. The smaller number would work for the sandy soils at this site. G. Supplier shall be Bubco Inc- Ag& Turf-Lodi-209-367-3885 Models Available in case you wish to size it larger for productivity city wide: Width Cost Hp Required Acres/ Hour 1. 45” $7,000 20-30 2.19 2. 60” $12,300 25-40 2.92 3. 75” $14,119 30-45 3.65 4. 90” $15,603 40-65 4.37 * We used this size for estimating manpower costs 5. 12’ Batwing $28,644 60-90 7.05 6. 15’ Batwing $30,898 80-120 8.75 24 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved 25 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Further Maintenance Findings Damon Garcia Fields Below is the soil analysis for the East side. The % of the sodium Cation (%Na) in the bottom line indicates a potential increasing problem. This means that the sodium level in the soil is accumulating because of your reclaimed water. The pH is also very high for the same reason. The sodium blocker we are recommending will lower the sodium and bring down the pH as well. Normally when we see these two numbers this high, the salt MMMOS number in the left top row is also high (above 1). This is the number that has the greatest affect on the turf grasses, especially the Kentucky blue grasses. The sodium blocker will also insure that these grasses will not be adversely affected by the sodium. The organic level in this root-zone is very low at 1.2%. The microbes in the soil are very important for breaking down fertilizer and soil nutrients and making them available to the plant. Also when we can find the very good combination of monthly aeration and organic levels around 3% is when we can actually see the microbes producing nitrogen in the soil themselves. We are recommending using the combination of very good compost and several Bio-stimulants to promote these. They have seen microbes produce as much as 3 lbs of nitrogen per 1,000 sq. feet per year under these conditions so part of the recommended fertilization program for this site is a liquid product called Rooter which is a seed germinator, a root growth hormone and a microbes bio-stimulant. We are also recommending a product called Concentrated Organic Growth Medium which is a long term bio-stimulant that will continue to work for several years. FIELD:Damon Garcia East Fields SOIL ANALYSIS pH SALT LIME ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG. COPPER Boron MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM Cu PPM B PPM 8.40 0.37 Lo Sand 1.20 3.00 84 181 59 1285 297 228 3.40 40.00 3.00 0.70 0.70 RECOMMENDED LEVELS LOW S.LOAM 3.5%+ 50 PPM 212.00 15 PPM 1300 PPM 200 PPM 35 PPM 3 PPM 25 PPM 3 PPM 1.50 0.75 LBS/ 1000 SQ FT. NEEDED 6.00 0.00 2.34 0.00 6.52 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.05 0.002 <800 CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY %CEC %H %K %Ca %Mg %Na Chlor SAND% SILT% CLAY% 10 0% 4% 62% 24% 10% 140.00 89.30% 6.70% 4.00% RECOMMENDED LEVEL 12-14 <5 <150 26 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Below is a comparison of the 2008 and 2009 soil analyses for the East fields which shows the nutrients that were applied in 2009 and the affect they had on the 2010 fall analysis. Leaf Analysis Comparison Phosphorus Pottassium Calcium Magnesium Sulfur Zinc Iron Manganese Copper Boron Total % N % P % K % Ca %Mg % S Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B ppm East 3.4-4.5 0.35-0.8 3-4% 0.4-1.25 0.25-0.6 0.25-0.6 20-65 80-250 50-200 9-20 ppm 10-50 ppm 1/22/2010 4.77 0.62 3.14 0.27 0.21 0.39 43 713 55 9 5 Marginal Low Low Marginal Low Soil Analysis Comparison East ppm N ppm P ppm K ppm Ca ppm Mg ppm S ppm Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B Minimum 5.00 50.00 179.45 1400.00 275.00 15.00 3.00 15.00 2.00 1.50 0.75 3/3/2009 10.00 116.00 189.00 1106.00 289.00 17.00 3.10 30.10 2.30 0.90 1.10 1/22/2010 3.00 84.00 181.00 1285.00 297.00 59.00 3.40 40.00 3.00 0.70 0.70 Soil Anaysis Change Since 3/3/09 -233% -38% -4% 14% 3% 71% 9% 25% 23% -29% -57% Marginal Low Low Low The comparison immediately above shows the leaf analysis from 1/22/10 and soil analysis between 3/3/2009 and 1/22/2010 for the east turf areas of Damon Garcia Sports Fields. If the soil analysis nutrient levels are marginal or low but the levels of the same nutrient in the leaf are well above the minimal, we don’t need to add any of those nutrients to the site. The leaf analysis is the best judge if we need nutrients or not so even if the levels are ok in the soil but are low or marginal in the leaf, we need to add these nutrients to the site. On the East side, as you can see above, you are low on calcium, magnesium and boron and marginal on potassium and copper in the leaf analysis You are also low or marginal in all of these but magnesium in the soil as well so the liquid formula to be applied through the fertigation system we are recommending is calling for these items. Daryl Garcia is low also low in organics and some of the micro-nutrients and high in pH and sodium Cation % level of 9.3%. Again the same sodium blocker will help with the pH and Cation level. FIELD:Daryl Garcia West Field SOIL ANALYSIS pH SALT LIME ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG.Boron MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM Cu PPM 8.50 0.44 Lo Loamy Sand 1.10 3.00 81 185 43 1255 284 215 1.90 36.00 2.00 0.70 0.76 RECOMMENDED LEVELS LOW S.LOAM 3.5%+ 50 PPM 275.00 15 PPM 1400.00 179.45 35 PPM 3 PPM 25 PPM 5 PPM 1.50 0.75 LBS/ 1000 SQ FT. NEEDED 6.00 0.00 2.34 0.00 6.52 0.00 0.16 0.65 0.160 0.050 0.000 <800 CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY %CEC %H %K %Ca %Mg %Na Chlor SAND% SILT% CLAY% 10 26% 5% 62% 24% 9.30% 90.00 87.30% 7.40% 5.30% RECOMMENDED LEVEL 12-14 <5 <150 Below is a comparison of the 2008 and 2009 soil analyses for the West fields which shows the nutrients that were applied in 2009 and the affect they had on the 2010 fall analysis. Leaf Analysis Comparison Phosphorus Pottassium Calcium Magnesium Sulfur Zinc Iron Manganese Copper Boron West Total % N % P % K % Ca %Mg % S Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B ppm Needed 2-2.8 0.3-0.6 2-4% 0.2-1.5 0.25-0.6 0.2-0.6 20-250 50-500 50-300 5-50 ppm 5-60 ppm 1/22/2010 4.51 0.6 2.97 0.24 0.21 0.36 44 247 42 7 5 Marginal Low Low Marginal Soil Analysis Comparison West ppm N ppm P ppm K ppm Ca ppm Mg ppm S ppm Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B Minimum 5.00 50.00 179.45 1400.00 275.00 15.00 3.00 15.00 2.00 1.50 0.75 3/3/2009 10.00 116.00 189.00 1106.00 289.00 17.00 3.10 30.10 2.30 0.90 1.10 1/22/2010 3.00 81.00 185.00 1255.00 284.00 43.00 1.90 36.00 2.00 0.70 0.76 Soil Anaysis Change Since 3/3/2009 -233% -43% -2% 12% -2% 60% -63% 16% -15% -29% -45% Low Low Marginal Low Marginal The comparison immediately above shows the leaf analysis from 1/22/10 and soil analysis between 3/3/2009 and 1/22/2010 for the West turf areas of Damon Garcia Sports Fields. On the West side, as you can see above, you are low or marginal on calcium, magnesium and boron in the leaf analysis. You are also low or marginal in all of these but magnesium in the soil as well so the fertigation mix addresses these nutrients. 27 © PRZ International Sports Turf Consulting. All rights reserved Damon Garcia Central fields are low also low in organics and some of the micro-nutrients and high in pH and sodium Cation % level of 10%. Again the same sodium blocker will help with the pH and Cation level. FIELD:Damon Garcia Center Fields SOIL ANALYSIS pH SALT LIME ORGAN. NIT. PHOS. POTAS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG.Boron MMMOS %% N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM Mn PPM Cu PPM 8.40 0.65 Lo Sand 1.30 1.00 78 250 109 1552 374 333 2.40 52.00 5.00 0.90 0.76 RECOMMENDED LEVELS LOW S.LOAM 3.5%+ 50 PPM 212.00 15 PPM 1300 PPM 200 PPM 35 PPM 3 PPM 25 PPM 3 PPM 1.50 0.75 LBS/ 1000 SQ FT. NEEDED 3.00 0.00 2.34 0.00 0.75 15.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.030 0.000 <800 CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY %CEC %H %K %Ca %Mg %Na Chlor SAND% SILT% CLAY% 14 10% 5% 56% 22% 10% 250.00 88.00% 6.70% 5.30% Below is a comparison of the 2008 and 2009 soil analyses for the West fields which shows the nutrients that were applied in 2009 and the affect they had on the 2010 fall analysis. Leaf Analysis Comparison Phosphorus Pottassium Calcium Magnesium Sulfur Zinc Iron Manganese Copper Boron Center Total % N % P % K % Ca %Mg % S Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B ppm Needed 2-2.8 0.3-0.6 2-4% 0.2-1.5 0.25-0.6 0.2-0.6 20-250 50-500 50-300 5-50 ppm 5-60 ppm 1/22/2010 4.34 0.55 2.91 0.51 0.22 0.35 57 797 65 11 5 Low Low Soil Analysis Comparison Center ppm N ppm P ppm K ppm Ca ppm Mg ppm S ppm Zn ppm Fe ppm Mn ppm Cu ppm B Minimum 5.00 50.00 179.45 1400.00 275.00 15.00 3.00 15.00 2.00 1.50 0.75 3/3/2009 9.00 82.00 160.67 981.33 268.00 13.00 2.83 30.77 2.03 0.83 1.07 1/22/2010 2.33 81.00 205.33 1364.00 318.33 70.33 2.57 42.67 3.33 0.77 0.74 Soil Anaysis Change Since 2/8/07 -286% -1% 22% 28% 16% 82% -10% 28% 39% -9% -44% Low Low Low Low The comparison immediately above shows the leaf analysis from 1/22/10 and soil analysis between 3/3/2009 and 1/22/2010 for the Center turf areas of Damon Garcia Sports Fields. On the center fields, as you can see above, you are low on magnesium and marginal on boron in the leaf analysis. You are also low or marginal in boron, zinc, copper in the soil but we will use the leaf analysis to determine what is needed. The chart below shows us how well the nutrients you added in 2009 were taken up into the plant. It shows the composite soil analysis from 3/02/1009 plus the nutrients added including those in the reclaimed water and it subtracts what is left in the soil on 1/22/2001. This is very helpful over time to fine tune your fertilization program as far as what types or form of nutrients are being taken up and which are not. In this case your turf utilized 5 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft of nitrogen, 3.6 lbs per 1,000 sq feet of phosphorus, 3.7 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft. of Sulfur but didn’t take up any calcium (-8.2 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft.) or magnesium(-1.3 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft) or sodium (-3.9 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft.). This means that these 3 are accumulating in the soil rather than moving out or being taken up. The sodium accumulation is the one that is of most concern but again the sodium blocker should reverse this. TURF NUTRIENT UTILIZATION STUDY FOR: City of San Luis Obispo ACRES:10.00 SQUARE FEET: 435600 FIELD:Composite of all the fields at Damon Garcia Sports Fields BEGINNING pH SALTS ORGAN. NITR. PHOS. POTASS. SULF CALC. MAGN. SOD. ZINC IRON MANG. COPP. BORON CEC ANALYSIS MMMOS % N PPM P PPM K PPM S PPM Ca PPM Ma PPM Na PPM Zn PPM Fe PPM. Mn PPM. Cu PPM B PPM SOD.% 03/03/09 7.9 0.20 1.60 9.0 82.0 160.7 13.0 981.3 268.0 100.7 2.8 30.8 2.0 0.8 1.1 8.3 ENDING MINIMUMS 3%+ 90 PPM 50 PPM 200 PPM 12 PPM 200 PPM 50 PPM 0 PPM .5 PPM 15 PPM 2 PPM .4 PPM ANALYSIS Lbs per 1,000 Sq. Ft Added 4.7 3.6 5.7 10.6 9.4 1.0 3.4 0.00 3.4 0.00 0.00 0.00 01/22/10 8.4 0.3 1.2 2.3 81.0 205.3 70.3 1364.0 318.3 258.7 2.6 42.7 3.3 0.8 0.7 11.0 Nutrient Uptake- Pounds/1000 Sq. Ft. 5.0 3.6 3.7 7.9 -8.2 -1.3 -3.9 0.01 2.8 -0.06 0.00 -0.03 0.0