LM WiR: Turf Management
28 Mar, 2003 By: Landscape Management Staff LM Week in ReviewSeeding: Purdue turf specialist publishes herbicide delay table
Purdue, Indiana -- March 18, 2003 -- Zac Reicher, associate professor
and turfgrass extension specialist with the Purdue Turfgrass Program,
recently collected and organized label information from herbicides typically
used in Indiana into a handy table showing recommended application delays
after seeding new turf.
The table includes both preemergence and postemergence
herbicides. You can find it on Purdue's Turf
Tips Web site.
Custom turfgrass blend floats Albuquerque's balloon festival
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A custom blend of turfgrass seed from Turf-Seed,
Inc. recently helped transform Albuquerque's
Balloon Fiesta Park from a flat, underutilized, gravel pit-type area
into an attractive, visitor-friendly recreational spot.
The turfgrass seed mixture installed at Balloon Fiesta Park was a blend of Brightstar Perennial Ryegrass, Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass and Denim Kentucky Bluegrass.
"These grasses were selected for their extremely aggressive growing habits and drought tolerance," explained Tye Curtis, owner of Turf-Seed distributor Curtis & Curtis, Inc. in Clovis, NM. The grass had to stand up to foot traffic and heavy pressure from trucks and trailers for hundreds of balloons.
Installation of the turfgrass seed began late Spring 2002 and was contracted by Mountain West GolfScapes, Inc. of Peralta, NM. The 47-acre area was seeded at 200 lbs. per acre, as opposed to the typical 130 or 150 lbs.
Benefits of the grass seeding extended beyond aesthetics, according to Fiesta spokesman Nathan James.
"During setup, spreading the (balloon) out on grass vs. dirt not only prevents unnecessary degradation of the fabric, the morning dew actually helps clean it off. Grass is infinitely preferable," said James. "Plus, our number of slips and falls dropped 50% this year, and people seemed to stay longer than for just the morning and evening events," said James. "The grass was truly the major story of the event."
The most recent Fiesta was held October 5 - 13, 2002 and attracted an estimated 800,000+ visitors.
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