baseball field lawn

[Siberian Husky]

I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have some real discussions about gardens..... :)

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. :) I do not intend to make my lawn look like a NFL field .....

[Mike Simpson]

Google on this group using search term baseball....you'll find some interesting answers on this topic.

ms

[TOM KAN PA]

They roll it!

[D Kat]

A show I saw told how they mow the lawns in set dirrects (giving patterns) and that they vary the patterns to keep the lawn healthy. DK

"Our office often gets phone calls from across the United States and Canada asking if we achieve the designs with paint, different types of grass or even different cutting heights. Actually, as most grounds managers already know, we achieve the look simply by using reel mowers with rollers, which bend the grass in the direction the mowers travel.

To begin each design, I think of the 100,000 square feet of our field's lush, dark-green 90-percent Kentucky bluegrass/10-percent perennial-rye mix as an oversized art canvas. Design ideas are always flowing among the staff, too, and we initially draw up the designs on the computer, though sometimes designs come in via a sketch pad or scrap of paper. Occasionally, we simply create a design by "eye" while mowing.

Sometimes an idea on paper doesn't work on the turf. A pattern needs to be pleasing to the eye, yet not too time- or labor-intensive. Plus, as I mentioned, we take extra care not to harm the turfgrass. Some designs are quite complicated and, to keep sections or lines exactly the same width, we use a tape measure and line strings for precision.

Mowing in patterns offers not only aesthetic results but agronomic ones too. This is because it is important not to mow the same direction every time. If you do, the grass blades start to lay down in that direction and can become stressed and weak. By designing a new pattern each time you mow, you not only improve the health of the turfgrass, you add a pattern that is pleasing to the eye."

[Frogleg]

Check Google groups for threads on 'lawn striper' this past spring.

D Kat has given a very nice reference on actual baseball lawns.

I think even regular ol' mowing will supply, for a short time, something of the fancy effect. My lawn was mowed diagonally a couple of times, and for a day or 2, it looked quite distinctive. However, the professional effect is apparently done by mowers with rollers.

[Siberian Husky]

the answer .... :)

I did once consider using reel mowers, it doesn't take non-human power and the Lowe guy told me it was better, but the ground in my small lawn is not too flat. Now I am trying to add top soil and compost as a layer. Hopefully next year I can do better -- though I don't expect to see a baseball field ....