Sports fields using natural turf require constant care to keep the grass healthy and pristine. Care requirements change as summer turns to fall and knowing what’s expected is the key to keeping your field beautiful.
You can rely on River Region Sports Fields LLC to keep your fields lush and green. Keep reading for the fall maintenance guide for preparing sports fields for changing seasons.
Keep Tools on Hand
Consistent maintenance as your team continues using the field will prevent the grass from deteriorating slowly. Keep tools on hand to spruce up the area after games, including:
- Chalk liners or painters
- Leveling rakes
- Leaf rakes
- Shovels
- Hand tamps
- String lines for edgers
For local teams, consider organizing volunteer days where the team and their families work together to take care of the field. From mowing to sprucing home the base plates, everyone can pitch in and make quick work of the job.
Maintain Soil Health
Healthy soil rewards you with happy grass. Soil care components you need to remember are:
- Aeration: Aerating the soil allows grass roots to have access to oxygen and water to pass through easily. Aeration techniques include poking holes with an aerator or nail dragging to create open pores.
- Drainage management: Prevent standing water with proper aeration and remove puddles with calcine clay or puddle pillows.
- Fertilizer: Cool-season grasses will need fertilizer throughout the fall since it’s their growing season. Do not fertilize warm-season grasses since they go dormant in the fall.
Continue Proper Turf Care
Don’t stop regular maintenance, especially if the grass continues growing strong. Keep watering, mowing, and edging, ensuring you never cut more than one-third of the grass’s height at one time. Light maintenance after each game, along with weekly maintenance, will keep the grass strong.
Seasonal Weather Considerations
When following our fall maintenance guide on preparing sports fields for changing seasons, it’s important to consider major changes you may need to take for proper field preparation for the spring. You may want to consider growing cool-season grasses like perennial ryegrass or Kentucky bluegrass, as these have growth spurts in the fall and stay healthy through the winter.
If you use your field all year long, alternate warm and cool-season grasses with overseeding practices to allow the cool-season grass to begin growing alongside the warm-season to allow a smooth transition between the two.
If you don’t use your field throughout winter, continue caring for the grass as usual. Warm-season grasses will go dormant once it’s cold enough, but they need to stay healthy while it’s growing so it will survive winter and grow back in the spring.
Call River Region Sports Fields LLC Today
Our fall maintenance guide can help with preparing sports fields for changing seasons. Consider going the extra mile and calling River Region Sports Fields LLC at (205) 617-4884. We’re happy to keep your field maintained all year long so you can always have gorgeous and sturdy grass to play on for a professional look and feel. We keep fields beautiful so you can enjoy the game.