Friday, January 31, 2014

TORO SUPER BOWL INTERN-2014

Nick Christians
nchris@iastate.edu
January 30, 2014

For the second year in row, an Iowa State sprots turf students was selected for the Toro Super Bowl internship.  There is only one of these nationally each year. This years winner is senior Josh Lemz.  He is in New Jersey now working on the preparation of the field for the entire week before the game.

This is a fantastic experience and I'm sure that we will have a lot of follow up pictures after the game.

This is Josh last week in San Antonio at the Sprots Turf Managers Association national meetings.  He is standing by his picture in the Toro booth at the show.


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

80th Annual Iowa Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show

A week from today, the 80th Annual Iowa Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show kicks off at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Des Moines, IA. The conference runs from January 28th through the 30th.
If you plan to attend the conference, please register as soon as possible. 

Online Registration has closed. Please register on-site after January 21st.



The three day event offers ample educational opportunities as well as Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) on Thursday afternoon. This event is made possible by industry support and is a great opportunity to network with peers, educators, and other professional turfgrass managers. A special Thank You goes out to ITI Executive Director Jeff Wendel and all of the associations, sponsors, vendors, and presenters who make this conference possible. 

To download the pocket program, click on the following link Pocket Program. 

or use the following address: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSKKI3Akgy_cXBSaF9QdXZjVWc/edit?usp=sharing


Friday, January 17, 2014

Establishing a Lawn from Seed


The establishment of a home lawn from seed can be challenging. The keys to successfully establishing a lawn from seed are selecting high quality seed, seeding at the optimum time, and following proper establishment procedures. Today’s blog is a revised Iowa State University extension publication on establishing a lawn from seed. 



The following is a small introduction to the publication.

Time of Seeding
The best time to seed a lawn in Iowa is between mid-August and mid/late September. However, lawns can be successfully established as late as late-September in central Iowa and early October in southern Iowa. Late summer planting is preferred to spring seeding because seeds germinate and grow rapidly in the warm soil. The warm days and cool nights are ideal for seedling growth.

Establishment from seed in the spring is possible when irrigation is available. However, lawns established in spring often become infested with annual weeds unless preventive steps are taken. A pre-emergent herbicide such as siduron or mesotrione should be applied to the area during a spring establishment. Most of these preemergent herbicides kill the seeds of the cool season lawn grasses and cannot be used at the time of seeding. Mesotrione and siduron are the only exceptions. Siduron can be applied to areas seeded with Kentucky bluegrass, fine and tall fescues, and perennial ryegrass. Siduron selectively control weedy annual grasses, such as crabrass, foxtail, and barnyardgrass, while allowing the desirable turfgrasses to grow. Siduron is the active ingredient of many crabgrass preventer/starter fertilizer materials. Once the barrier of siduron has been established, the soil should not be further disturbed. Wherever the barrier is broken, annual weeds will emerge. Mesotrione is labeled for preemergent use only on newly seeded Kentucky bluegrass lawns to help control crabgrass seedlings and other annual weeds.

The entire extension publication is attached in pdf form. To download the publication, click on the following link Establishing a Lawn from Seed

or use the following address: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSKKI3Akgy_TF9xZ09LSFZ0cXc/edit?usp=sharing


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

TWEETING SUPPORT FOR ISU TURF CLUB

Nick Christians
nchris@iastate.edu
515-294-0036



 Notice:  this is different from the information that I first posted.


There has to be a space between Turfbowl  and the number sign or it won’t work and no spaces in the IowaStateUniversity  

#GIS14_Turfbowl #IowaStateUniversity

If it doesn't turn blue when you tweet it, they will be unable to find it.

The attached pdf file is a release from GCSAA and John Deere on the annual turf bowl.  Notice that it shows all of the winners back to the beginning of four person teams.  This years contest will be at Orlando at the GIS show on Feb. 6.

Notice in the add that John Deere has added something new this year.  There is a contest on the posting of tweets about the contest.  The club that has the most students, alumni, and friends tweet the following message  (#GIS14_Turfbowl #IowaStateUniversity) will receive a check for $650 at the show.  

We would like to win this.  I would appreciate it if as many of you as possible who have tweet accounts post this as many times as you can.  They evidently have a way of tracing this no matter who posts it.

The club appreciates your help. 

You can get the entire add by clicking on turf bowl announcement