Category Archives: Turf Products

World Cup on artificial turf?

Posted on by
Reply

soccer on grassIn a press release from the World Cup last week, artificial turf took the spotlight away from natural grass in a sport that has been pro-natural grass made up of players that strongly prefer a natural surface an artificial one.

Although second generation artificial fields have distinct advantages over their ‘astro’ predecessors, many soccer players feel the ball doesn’t roll and bounce as they’ve come to expect it to on natural grass, which changes the game in a negative way. Also, there is a lot of sliding in soccer games and artificial fields don’t ‘give’ as much in that regard, which can be annoying to players trying to maintain a consistent style of play.

Abby Wambach, whose name is likely familiar and strongly associated with soccer in most of our minds, stepped into the spotlight to give her opinions on why she thinks playing the 2015 World Cup on artificial turf would be detrimental to the game. It’s worth a read.

Interactive Turfgrass Morphology Tool

Posted on by
Reply

For those who don’t know what morphology means, it is essentially the different parts of the turfgrass plant and those parts are how we distinguish one grass species from another. Parts like the inflorescence (flower head), leaf blade, root, collar, crown, sheath, auricle, vernation (veins in the leaf) usually have some sort of identifying characteristic that tells us, say, annual ryegrass from tall fescue—long, clasping auricles on the annual ryegrass, or a wider leaf blade on the tall fescue.

As I was surfing this morning, I found a cool website with a neat tool for learning more about turfgrass morphology that was put together by Drs. David Gardner and Karl Danneberger, both from Ohio State University. There are other nice parts of the website, I would recommend spending time there brushing up before the season starts again.

And, of course, if you have any questions about anything, please feel free to contact me.

 

 

Are we over-applying nutrients in turf?

Posted on by
Reply

I came across an interesting article this morning on the turf diseases website that confirms something I’ve been a proponent of for many years.

In many areas of agriculture and horticulture, there is a tendency to apply whatever nutrients we think the plants need and not pay any attention to soil testing. It’s something I like to call ‘nutrient paranoia.’ Turf managers (and others) seem to think, for some reason, “the soil reports must be lying, because when I put down that extra two pounds of K last year, I thought I saw some sort of response.”

When you apply a surplus of nutrients, you could be having an antagonistic effect on other nutrients within the system. Think of applying nutrients as trying to achieve a balance of nutrients in soil, not just applying what you think should be there or what worked in the past.

Check out this link and see what researchers found when more potassium (K) was added to their putting greens before winter and the subsequent infections of snow mold.

Soil testing is a very important part of growing plants properly and should not be merely glanced at, then shoved aside so you can continue to do what you’ve done every year. Don’t spend money where it isn’t needed! If your soil report comes back telling you there are adequate levels of P and K in your soil, then you don’t need to apply them.

Goats on the course?

Posted on by
Reply

goatMowing down unwanted vegetation…

I have been in the golf business for nearly 20 years. Most of the time superintendents turn to mechanical means to manicure their rough areas but in some locations superintendents go back to golf’s roots and employ goats.

Yes, you heard me, goats…check out how these two courses are using our four-legged friends to mow down some unwanted vegetation:

Pasatiempo Golf Club (Santa Cruz, Ca)

Hawks Tree Golf Club (Bismarck, ND)

Humates in turf

Posted on by
Reply


by Andrew Hoiberg, Ph.D., Calcium Products research & development manager

We’ve been getting a lot of questions at trade shows about the benefits of humate additions to turfgrass systems. Following is a rundown of what humates are and how they can benefit plants.

Humates or humic substances are fully decomposed remains of plant or animal organic matter. They are the most chemically active compounds in soils with large cation and anion exchange capacities, far exceeding clays. In general, they are very long lasting in soil, but the more intensively a site is managed, the faster they breakdown. This is one reason to add humic substances to your soil: to replace humus depletion in agricultural and horticultural soils.

Most humic products are derived from a mineral called leonardite, whose origins are not entirely understood. It is either an oxidized form of lignite or an accumulation of humic acids leached from topsoil by alkaline water into deeper strata of soil. Leonardite was discovered in North Dakota in 1919 by Leonard Dave, a University of North Dakota faculty member. It is also found in Utah and New Mexico. Leonardite is normally found very close to the surface near lignite deposits.

There are a few terms often thrown around when discussing humic substances; let’s take a look at them to try and clear up any confusion. Leonardite contains three types of organic substances:

  1. Fulvic acid – the fraction that is soluble in water under all pH conditions
  2. Humin – the fraction not soluble in water at any pH value
  3. Humic acid – the fraction not soluble in water under acidic conditions but is soluble at higher pH values

So, how do humates help plants? Again, the mechanisms for how these substances work in plants and soil are poorly understood, but research is being conducted worldwide (including some work funded by Calcium Products) in an attempt to help us understand the how and why. It is assumed, however, that the chelating properties of these substances are most likely responsible for enhanced nutrient uptake and retention in soils, as are their large cation exchange capacity values.

Humates have shown the following benefits in turfgrass situations:

  • Improved germination
  • Improved seedling vigor
  • Enhanced nutrient uptake (N, P, K, Mg, Cu, Mn)
  • Increased microbial actibity
  • Increased root mass

It is important to note that much of the research done on turf has shown that humic substances, particularly leonardite, realize the greatest benefits when applied to sandy soils low in organic matter and CEC. Also, incorporation of these products into the soil further improved the beneficial aspects of humic substances. This means sand-based turf systems (sand-based putting greens, sand-based and sand-capped athletic fields and any turf system intensively topdressed with sand) can benefit from applications of humic substances. It would also be wise to time your applications with your aerification practices to help incorporate the product into the soil.

Calcium Product’s HumaCal, combines the benefits of humates, calcium and sulfur. The ingredients are combined through our proprietary manufacturing process before pelletizing to give you the benefits of easy application and immediate action in the soil.

Talk to your dealer about HumaCal and start on the road to healthy soil today!

What are the two types of gypsum; which to choose?

Posted on by
Reply

When choosing gypsum it has to be a calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H2O). This form of gypsum is by far the most soluble form available.

Let’s take a second to review the two major forms of gypsum in the marketplace today in lawn care. The first form is what I mentioned above, calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H20) and the second form is simply calcium sulfate (anhydrite) (CaSO4). You’re probably thinking, ‘what’s the big deal, gypsum is gypsum and after all it’s only a commodity.’ But there actually is a huge difference. One is very fast acting and extremely water-soluble; the other is not. The di-hydrate form is what you need to look for. This type of gypsum is already infused with two extra molecules of water making it easier to break down.  This makes the nutrients available to the plant as soon as it dissolves into solution; with some brands that’s only a matter of minutes. The anhydrite form does not have any water associated with it and therefore is very hard to break down into solution, sometimes taking years to begin working.

Now that we know the two major forms of gypsum on the market today; now you should know how to figure out which type is which. The info can be found on the back of most bags. The following is what you want to see:

Analysis:
Ca…………..21%
S…………….17%

Calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H20)……92%
Derived from naturally mined calcium sulfate di-hydrate.

Don’t let the levels of calcium on labels fool you. The anhydrite forms will contain upwards of 30% calcium, but they are not soluble and do not break down fast enough to be effective. If the calcium is not available to the plant, it doesn’t matter how much calcium or sulfur is in the gypsum.

Do you know where your lime and gypsum come from?

Posted on by
Reply

There are a lot of companies that claim to have the best  product on the market but can those companies stand behind that product 100% without being the manufacturer?

We can say without a doubt our products are the best. Calcium Products, Inc., takes pride in the fact that our products are milled, formulated, bagged and distributed, by us, to all points across the U.S.  and Canada. In addition to the Calcium Products bags, look for our product next year in a new line of products for homeowners, Pure Elements. If you want to make sure you are getting the best, look for the name Calcium Products or Pure Elements on the bag.

Calcium Products has the purest, cleanest, fastest-acting, most efficient limestone and gypsum on the  market today. If anyone tells you their product is better, ask them where they source their materials.

Your turf doesn’t have to suffer in the drought!

Posted on by
7

Chances are good that you are one of the 57% in the midst of the drought affecting the USA. While it may be too late to keep your turf from going dormant, it is never too late to prepare for the future. I’ll try to not get too scientific but wanted to share some documented results in plant survival and drought tolerance.

We have known for a long time at Calcium Products the benefits of gypsum in protecting against droughts and localized dry spots. The most important thing to remember when the weather becomes hot and dry is that it’s normal for your turf to go into survival mode known as dormancy. It is a natural reaction to a lack of water. Your turf is not dying, just shutting down to protect itself. If it stays in dormancy for an extended amount of time before you have to worry about the turf dying out.

One of the best ways to protect your turf is to apply SuperCal SO4 pelletized gypsum, manufactured by Calcium Products, Inc. One of the more important benefits of applying SuperCal SO4 is that it helps create structure to your soil. Without proper structure in your soil, a drought will lead to hardening of the soils as they dry out, localized dry spots, cracking of the soils and crusting of the top layer of soil.

By applying SuperCal SO4 you will see these benefits to your turf:

  • Reduced soil hardening
  • Reduction of crusting and cracking
  • Increased water retention
  • Flocculation of clay soils
  • Increased rooting
  • Reduction in the need for irrigation to maintain lushness of turf
  • Increase protection against pest and disease pressures
  • Unlock the nutrients in your soil for plant uptake

Now is the time to prepare for the future! Treat your turf, your plants and your garden to SuperCal SO4 and see results you can be proud of. Set the standard in your neighborhood!

How to safely remove salt from your soil

Posted on by
1

Hurricane season has arrived and the experts are expecting a very busy season. Not only do these types of storms leave immediate damage to properties in the form of flooding, wind damage, power outages but it can leave lasting damage to your turf and plants by increasing the amount of salts or sodium to your soils.

Unless you have salt-tolerant grass or plants, which most people do not, high levels of salts can be very devastating to your landscapes. Increased levels of salt act as a barrier to the plant’s cell wall, in essence tricking it into thinking it is in a drought situation even it there is plenty of water. When the plant can’t absorb the water in the soil it will shut down and go into dormancy and eventually will die due to lack of hydration.

There are a few ways to combat the salt issues if you don’t landscape with salt-tolerant plants and turf. You can spend time flushing the areas with clean water until the salts have been leached out of the ground. This takes an extreme amount of water to fully leach out the salts out of the root zone and is an irresponsible use of water in this age of conservation.

The safest, healthiest and most cost efficient way to rid your soil of high levels of salt is to use gypsum. But not just any gypsum, it has to be a calcium sulfate di-hydrate (CaSO4*2H2O). This form of gypsum is by far the most soluble form available. The best calcium sulfate di-hydrate gypsum on the market, SuperCal SO4 by Calcium Products, is extremely effective and efficient in correcting your high sodium levels in the soils.

Application of SuperCal SO4 is very easy. It comes as simple, clean, uniform pellets that can be spread using a broadcast or drop spreader. It is to be topically applied to the turf; for best results follow the application with a light watering to assist in the breakdown of the pellets. Because it is a naturally mined material it can be applied anytime during the year, regardless of the temperature. It will not burn the grass or affect the pH.

For the leaching of the salts due to extreme weather or due to high sodium levels from other factors, increase the suggested application rates from 5-10 pounds per thousand square feet to 20-30 pounds per thousand square feet.

Before long your turf will be thanking you; it will not only be salt free but healthier, stronger and more resistant to drought and disease pressures because the calcium strengthened the cell wall and increased the immune system of the plant.

This weekend’s event

Posted on by
1

Due to legal issues, the event Calcium Products has been planning (to be held March 30-31, 2012) will now be referred to as The Summit.

Pre-registration is no longer available. Tickets will be sold at the door. We will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday. Both days are scheduled to be held at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

All updates about the event will be posted right here. Please stay tuned.