Hey everyone,

When it comes to field maintenance, I feel fairly competent. However, I'm smart enough to know what I don't know. Here's the deal:

The local Girls Inc. is trying to rescue an old field and make it into a T-ball field. There is already fencing set up, but the the infield grass has completely grown to the same level as the outfield.

My Mom is the person trying to make this happen and is leaning on me to help out with some of the logistics.

My question(s) to every one is, where should I start? Obviously we'll have to get a bobcat and skim the grass off the infield, then level it out, then lay out the dirt, and then roll that. What Else am I missing? What kind of dirt do you recommend? Keep in mind that this is just for T-ball so it doesn't need to be Turface MVP. Budgeting is an issues, so the dirt can't be that expensive. We need something cheap but I'd like to stay away from 100% sand.

As you can tell, I'm not the best choice for the job. My forte is coaching baseball, not grounds crew for T-bal;. However, lack of options have landed this responsibility in my lap.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can provide!

TheRick:

I would layout the field and use a turf cutter or two instead of a bobcat. You can set this at a depth of 2-3" and take out the sod. The bobcat is going to be quicker but it will do significant damage to the field.

A local vendor should be able to supply you with some field mix. This likely will not have enough clay in it but you can alwasy add some Turface or other product later on. Spread it, roll it and soak it.

Good luck

I would look into getting some stuff donated. The local Home Depot or Lowes may be able to help. A local equipment rental may be able to help also.

CWM

If this is for kids and a not for profit field, I've found that equipment rental places will gladly donate equipment to use. Just ask to speak to the manager..

Jon
hardballcoach.com

Clay for high traffic areas around plates and mounds, batters boxes, catcher and ump areas.

For the infield, you'll want a clay and sand mix which any landscape supply will have. I would ask to have it donated before you pay for it.

If you can, leave the grass on the infield. The dirt on the infield is high maintenance so the less dirt, the better. Wet dirt is what cancels games, not the rain. If you have to take it off, kill it first with some round up. If you don't want to rent a bobcat, you can get the dead stuff off with a sod cutter or even a lawn mower at the lowest setting and a weed eater.

Jon
hardballcoach.com