Top sod growers in the U.S. wow clients with organic turf colorant

The nation’s best selling sod growers are using Endurant organic turf colorant. After nearly a decade of experience painting sod, turfgrass and the grass that becomes a home lawn for properties from Florida to California and everywhere in between, sod growing experts share why they choose to use turf paint and why they prefer Endurant organic colorants.

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  The nation’s top sod producers have a field day choosing the optimal turfgrass color using Endurant organic turf colorants.

#1 Sod Growers: Bethel Farms and Harmony Brands

Jamie Tedder, Vice President of turf at Bethel Farms, the nation’s leading sod growers and suppliers to the nation’s top home improvement stores, has long used turf colorants to produce the best quality sod for clients.

After about nine years of painting turf, Tedder found that Endurant organic turf colorants presented a savings for Bethel Farms, among other sod growers in the Harmony Growers network, because of Endurant’s rich concentrate, requiring less product and just one application.

Moreover, Endurant’s various turf colorant options give Bethel Farms and the sod growers network the most natural-looking, consistent turfgrass color for multiple varieties of grass most commonly produced by sod growers in the U.S.. Colorant options include Endurant TC, among the original organic colorants in the Geoponics line; Endurant FW, for fairways and other applications; Endurant TE, with turf enhancers to promote the health of actively growing grass; Endurant PR, for a perennial rye look that users describe as the look of Augusta!; and Endurant Premium, a more concentrated color variety than the original Endurant TC.

Here are some of the turf paint samples that came from a recent field day with sod growers in the Harmony Growers network:

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  Endurant Premium
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  Endurant FW
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  Endurant PR

Click on each image above for a better look and check out www.TurfPaint.net for images displaying each of the organic colorants in the Endurant line.

More about Endurant from the nation’s top sod growers:

Turf colorants give an aesthetic benefit to clients from day one of receiving their sod, said Tedder.

“In Florida, we have mostly warm season grass varieties, and even though they don’t go through a true dormancy, they go through pseudo-dormancy. The growth slows down, grasses don’t uptake as many nutrients and that throws off the color. Threat of frost certainly throws off the color,” said Tedder.

“It doesn’t mean it’s not already healthy and thriving, we just look to give a great benefit,” he said.

The colorants provide a selling tool and many clients, including brokers, are surprised by the product.

“It’s designed for turf and designed with environmentally friendly concerns. The fact that it’s 100 percent organic– that goes a long way with the customer and brokers. It becomes a great selling tool for their customers too,” Tedder said.

He and other sod growers were able to see the Endurant line at a recent field day held in Arcadia, FL that brought together a network of growers, Harmony Growers, from throughout the entire U.S.

“Endurant– it’s just a better product,” Tedder said.

“We’ve had really great results with Endurant FW and PR– just their overall color, the spray, the consistency and it’s going to save in our program,” said Tedder.

He’s using Endurant FW for Zoysia and bermuda grasses and PR for St. Augustine grass. See Bethel Farms full line of turfgrass varieties here.

“The spray job on the turf, even just coming out of the jug, it’s thicker and darker. We can use less concentrate material, saving money per tank, covering more acreage with one pass instead of two. There is a better, more even spray job, coating the surface of the leaf,” said Tedder.

Seasonally appropriate, Tedder described Endurant FW as a “Christmas tree green color, a darker green rather than emerald.”

Tips on painting turf

Tedder learned a lot over the years of painting turf and shared these tips in his own words:

• Painting with dew on the ground can actually help even out the colorant. There is no need to wait for dew to dry before applying colorant.
• Overtime, we learned to use smaller nozzles for more of a mist rather than a larger volume all at once.
• Geoponics representatives have a lot of technical knowledge to share. (Read more turf paint tips here.)

Homeowners can also choose Endurant organic turf colorants. Check out www.LawnColorant.com for quantities suitable for the home owner.

More about the nation’s leading sod growers, Bethel Farms and Harmony Growers:

Harmony Outdoor Brands, America’s top selling turfgrass, sells across the nation with a network of growers producing sod specific to the regional climates. Harmony Outdoor Brands represent the joint efforts of the top two sod growers, Bethel Farms and BuySod, creating what they call a “farm to lawn” concept in this article.

Bethel Farms was founded in 1958 by Walter H. Bethel and remains family-owned and operated supplying major theme parks, municipalities, golf courses and backyard lawns with vibrant, healthy grass.

Learn more about Harmony & Bethel Farms in this Turf Magazine article: http://www.turfmagazine.com/blog-7688.aspx

Article about Harmony Outdoor Brands CEO, Jim Doyle: http://harmonybrands.com/news/harmony-outdoor-brands-nations-largest-supplier-of-retail-sod-grasses-appoints-new-ceo/

Go to www.TurfPaint.net and BUY NOW!

Part I

Turf pro takes to Twitter with turf paint tips: Take 1

This is one article in a series of several blogs about how social media and especially Twitter is blowing up with tweets from turf professionals about using Geoponics earth-friendly products to get amazing results. The most popular winter advice comes with Endurant turf paint tips from golf course superintendents, greenkeepers, sports field managers and other lawn & landscape professionals.

Twitter Series Part I: Kevin Smith

Golf Course Superintendent Kevin Smith of North Carolina is sharing why he chooses to use Endurant organic turf colorant in a series of Tweets this November and December:

• Make a great first impression
• Get a perennial rye look at a fraction of the expense and time of overseeding with perennial rye seed
• Wow golfers, members and visitors with aesthetics and playability
• Liquid overseed beats traditional overseed giving a similar look in a fraction of the time, expense and use of natural resources

In his own words, here are a few of Kevin Smith’s recent Tweets about Endurant organic turf paint to followers on Twitter:

Applying Endurant:

First impressions are everything! @geoponics #liquidoverseeding pic.twitter.com/TVML83NlI6

— Kevin Smith (@grantierra58) December 1, 2014

Choosing a color: Endurant TC, Endurant Premium, Endurant FW and Endurant PR

Smith has used several colorants in the Endurant organic turf paint line, including the original, Endurant TC; the deeper and more concentrated Endurant Premium color; Endurant FW for fairways and other applications; Endurant PR for the perennial rye look of Augusta. His choices are part of the reason Bryan Park golf course is so highly rated and voted “worthy of hosting the U.S. Open.” Read more about the course on the website, www.BryanPark.com.

Check out his photos about the various turf colorant options:

Comparing Endurant Premium and Endurant FW

Wow! This is Endurant PR

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER TO GET TURF PAINT TIPS AND OTHER TURF, LAWN & LANDSCAPE TIPS FROM EXPERTS IN THE FIELD!

www.Twitter.com/Geoponics

Reasons to overseed:

Golf course superintendents create a long list for why to use liquid overseed, painting with Endurant organic turf paint instead of traditional overseed.

Many golf course superintendents still overseed– they just call it liquid overseed when choosing to use Endurant organic colorants versus traditional overseed practices.

Twitter has become a great resource for turf tips. Several certified golf course superintendents have been sharing their winter turf management tips all over social media. Among the trends is using turf colorant instead of the practice of overseeding turf for winter.

Here are the results of using Endurant organic turf colorant instead of overseed. The practice of painting turf saves water, time and money when compared with overseeding. Endurant organic turf paint is pleasing for members and turf managers alike! Check out the wow factor of this perennial rye look!

Photos courtesy of Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Scott Forrester, Legacy on Lanier Golf Club in Georgia:

Recently, Scott Forrester, assistant golf course superintendent at Lagacy on Lanier Golf Club in Bulford, GA, used Endurant organic turf colorant. Afterwards, he asked his Twitter followers rhetorically: “Why would anyone overseed?!”

Forrester called Endurant PR his liquid overseed, giving his golf course a perennial rye look that members, golfers and other visitors love.

About Legacy on Lanier Golf Club:

Legacy on Lanier Golf Club represents a return to the Golden Era of Golf from the early to mid 1900’s, when designers created some of the most storied courses in the world. The layout traverses a natural setting with 12 holes on Lake Lanier. Located in Buford, Georgia. Visit www.lanierislandsc.om for more information.

About Endurant PR:

Geoponics created Endurant PR to give golf course superintendents everywhere an opportunity to look like Augusta affordably. Learn more about the full line of Endurant colorants by visiting www.TurfPaint.net.

Contact Geoponics, info@geoponicscorp.com, 1-877-ECO-GROW, or order NOW.

SoilGlue gives golf course superintendents a win in the battle of the bunkers.

SoilGlue provides many benefits, paramount among them are stability, color, economy and longevity. This environmentally friendly soil stabilizer and colorant was created by Geoponics.

The process of keeping bunkers looking great starts with creating a crisp edge. Maintenance of the bunkers’ walls and edges is usually time-consuming and labor-intensive, but SoilGlue provides a solution that is earth-friendly, while saving time and money.

Let’s face it, bunker maintenance can be among the more formidable aspects of a golf course superintendent’s job.  Nonetheless it’s an unavoidable task in the role of the golf course superintendent. Geoponics created SoilGlue with the golf course superintendent in mind. This soil stabilizer with colorant extends the useful life of the bunkers’ sand, delaying costly replacement and minimizing maintenance.

SoilGlue aids in resisting excessive washing from bunker slopes due to irrigation, rain and wind.

White sands are beautiful, yet also create some maintenance challenges because they show contamination much more readily. The colorant in SoilGlue provides a high contrast visual appeal while preventing contamination of bunkers.

SoilGlue is easy to use. It is applied by spraying the earth-friendly solution on the exposed sand of the soil bunkers’ edges, thereby improving soil stability. It reduces erosion of exposed sand and soil on the edge of golf course bunkers. SoilGlue is also used in other applications where rock hard stability is needed.

SoilGlue permeates and binds soil particles in the bunker to stop contamination of valuable sand. SoilGlue eliminates erosion, stabilizes the bunker faces and can enhance the effectiveness of the drainage system. SoilGlue binds and stabilizes soils, sand and aggregates by gluing them together. Once applied, contaminants, such as stones, cannot migrate up from the bunker cavity contaminating the critical bunker sand.

Like Geoponics’ other products, SoilGlue is environmentally safe. Geoponics provides solutions to golf course superintendents, lawn and landscape professionals, sports & athletic field operators, municipalities, agricultural workers, schools and home users.

SoilGlue:

• Improves soil stability
• Improves adhesion
• Provides lasting color
• Improves aesthetics and playability
• Decreases bunker maintenance costs
• Decreases bunker maintenance labor
• Increases abrasion resistance
• Increases bunker durability
• Increases longevity of bunker
• Prevents bunker collapse
• Prevents degradation
• Prevents and decreases erosion
• Is easy to apply

Looking for more resources on bunker maintenance? Here are a few articles from leaders in the field of golf course maintenance:

– Grounds Maintenance Magazine article on bunker maintenance here, providing information and news for golf & green industry professionals.

– Golf Course Industry Magazine feature article covering bunker maintenance tips from Dellwood Hills Golf Club here.

– Check out other Geoponics blogs for more tools, tips and news here.

Lawn Picasso provides eco-friendly green lawns in California drought with Endurant organic colorants

A business is painting the town—and beyond—to combat drought and brown grass in the most ecofriendly way possible as California faces the worst drought in history.

Grass painting business launched to provide organic green lawn & water savings as California faces historic drought

Launching Lawn Picasso

Teresa Humphreys launched Lawn Picasso in May with two environmentally friendly tools helping take on the water challenge: Endurant organic turf colorants and a zero emissions sprayer from ProEdge.

Lawn Picasso opened in Livermore, California, a city located in Alameda County on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay area. Lawn Picasso is expanding to a larger canvass as the business is growing quickly to serve residential, commercial and municipal properties.

Environmental solutions

Humphreys is a longtime environmental steward in the eastern San Francisco Bay area. She is working diligently to share her values and the ideal solution provided by Endurant organic turf paint, a product offered by Naples, Fla.-based Geoponics.

“Education is paramount with this new concept. So, we really spend a lot of our time at community events, with city officials and with realtors; area marketing meetings with different groups, and allowing them to see and feel the end result with the Endurant product,” said Humphreys.

Award winning practices for water conservation

Husband Nathan Humphreys first found eco-friendly solutions to the brown grass, drought and water restrictions faced by California property owners and managers several years ago as director of facilities at The Athenian School, a school founded on environmental stewardship in 1965.

Many of the practices at the private school were proactive. When the drought continued, the practices became even more crucial to the property and region.

Endurant organic turf paint provided solutions for the 75-acre campus located in Danville, California, at the base of Mount Diablo. The school is a green school, water smart school and has used Endurant organic turf colorants to maintain that status while also maintaining optimal visual appeal.

Painting the town, expanding the canvas

As the drought worsened and lengthened, Humphreys realized more people needed help in understanding how to protect valuable natural resources—and that they could do so while still maintaining high standards for the looks of their landscapes.

She knew she could get the job done well and had the experience.

Humphreys spent months researching the best product and equipment to offer. ProEdge developer and designer Bill Johnson, of North Carolina, advised Humphreys that he and professional lawn care customers have long found Endurant Turf Colorant to be a superior product for the life of sprayers, eco-friendly aspects, ease of use and finished product.

“This is a brand new concept for many people in California, even though it’s been around for years. We used several products and found Endurant was our best option, primarily for its eco-friendly ingredients and longevity of the colorant,” Humphreys said.

Saving water & avoiding fines

Months into the drought, residents and government officials in affluent areas weren’t pleased with all the brown lawns. While many also seek environmental solutions, some homeowners (and even government officials as reported by TV investigative reporters here) were sneaking in extra watering at night to maintain their quality standards despite the water challenges & hefty fines for violating water restrictions.

Humphreys decided Endurant organic turf colorants could provide homeowners, municipalities, recreation centers, athletic fields, schools and parks a green lawn solution to their brown grass problem.

Using Endurant organic turf colorants and a zero-emissions sprayer from ProEdge, Humphreys is able to provide the natural looking, environmentally friendly and lush green lawns people long to maintain.

Regaining curb appeal means business is booming

There’s high visibility when you’re the one green lawn in the middle of a drought, Humphreys said.

As people become interested, they then learn it’s eco-friendly, is safe for pets and students and has a reasonable dry time to avoid tracking into buildings.

Lawns might average about 500 square feet in size with the starting costs to go from brown grass to green grass at about $200, depending upon the size of the lawn, she said.

With no rain in California, the grass isn’t growing and the Endurant organic turf colorant is lasting about 16 weeks with no discoloration, she said.

As for business, it’s growing fast.

“It’s been fantastic,” said Humphreys.

Interested in offering a green solution in your area? Contact Geoponics: info@GeoponicsCorp.com

1-877-ECO-GROW. www.GeoponicsCorp.com 

While there’s a wedding tradition: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue– blue turf was not the “something blue” that the bride had in mind. An old turf paint nearly ruined her wedding. Until an application of natural grass-colored green Endurant organic turf colorant repaired the blueish turf just before wedding day at a North Carolina golf course.

No more blue turf: Other grass paint brands fade to a fake-looking blueish colored turf

Endurant organic turf colorant applied on the blue-colored turf repaired the grass just in time for a wedding at Ridges Golf Club, located in the Smoky Mountains of Hayesville, NC this October.

Attempting to green up the property for eye appeal, golf course superintendent Daryck Beetham, who just recently began improving the course and property as part of the Ridges Golf Club’s new management from Sequoia Golf,  found a bottle of turf colorant in the chemical closet.

“I built a little green in front of the club house. I went into the chemical room and found a bottle that said it was green pigment. It didn’t come out the way I wanted. It turned out very blue,” said Beetham.

I panicked, he said.

Endurant Organic Turf Colorant provides natural looking green

“The staff at Geoponics called me back in minutes and came over and sprayed with their colorant,” said Beetham.

The woman getting married asked what we did about the blue turf just before the wedding day.

“‘We painted it for you,'” Beetham recalls telling her.

“She was ecstatic,” he said.

Beetham was very pleased with his first experience with Endurant Turf Colorant.

“It is like August Bermuda grass color,” he said.

Ridges Golf Club’s turf grass inclues Bermuda tees and fairways; Kentucky blue grass fescue mix rough and bent grass poa annual greens.

Up next for Endurant TC will probably be some par 3 tees, said Beetham.

Get natural green grass!  The professional’s choice in turf colorant is Endurant organic turf colorant. BUY NOW!

Endurant PR organic turf colorant prepares Desert Mountain course for 120 million household viewers during Schwab Cup Championship

Watch the Golf Channel coverage of the Schwab Cup through Sunday and check out Endurant on the course, providing lush colored fairways as Desert Mountain Cochise becomes the first course west of the Mississippi to apply the brand new Geoponics Endurant PR! 

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship will return to Desert Mountain through 2016 as executives cite the premium quality of the golf course and facility as reason for the high profile event returning to the Scottsdales, Ariz. course, Cochise.

Endurant organic turf colorants have been used on the courses at Desert Mountain in previous years, but 2014 is the debut of using the rich Endurant PR, perennial rye, colorant.

“The Schwab Cup will be the first time Endurant PR was applied west of the Mississippi,” said Nick Lubich, of Fertizona-Fennemore.

Lubich worked with Shawn Emerson, director of agronomy at the largest private golf community in the country, who has been diligently preparing for the event. The Schwab Cup airs on the Golf Channel each day through Sunday, Nov. 2. View the tournament and TV airing schedule for the Schwab Cup here.

“We were looking for a color that would look great on television,” said Lubich.

The Cochise course, mostly a perennial three-way rye grass, is overseeded, but needed an extra wow factor, made possible by Endurant PR, said Lubich.

Following the recent decision for the Schwab Cup to return to Desert Mountain through 2016, Desert Mountain’s Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Robert Jones told Champions Tour Staff that the decision will bring consistent exposure to the award-winning private club and to the city of Scottsdale. 

“When you have a high-profile event that attracts 35,000 onsite spectators and another 120 million households worldwide watching on TV, that’s a golden opportunity to showcase Desert Mountain golf, our new amenities and our stunning location,” Jones said.

The complete PGA Tour article on the decision to remain at Desert Mountain through 2016 can be read here.

Emerson plans to return to Geoponics to share his choice in using Endurant PR in an interview following the event. Return here for an update.

Turf Paint      1-877-ECO-GROW       info@geoponicscorp.com 

Fort Lauderdale Country Club’s golf course looks great with Endurant organic turf colorants used for a great cause at the South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association Missing and Exploited Children’s Tournament. Superintendent Todd Ingram painted with Endurant colorants for the agronomic benefits longterm and the great look short term of painted turf.

While Endurant is long-lasting, South Florida GCSA commitment to child protection lasts 30 years

Endurant organic colorants were used on the fairways and tees. The painted turf offers a lasting, natural green color, pleasing players and visitors. Geoponics is proud to be even a small part of the enduring commitment made by the South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association (SFGCSA) to protect children. This 30th Annual SFGCSA golf tournament to support the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was held at Fort Lauderdale Country Club in Plantation, Florida. SFGCSA has supported the Florida division of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, raising more than $550,000 for the organization.

Golf Course Superintendent Todd Ingram of Fort Lauderdale Country Club did an amazing job providing gorgeous grounds, great for a Friday of Florida golf. Fort Lauderdale Country Club painted turf on the fairways and tees. Ingram painted turf with Endurant TE, an organic colorant with turf enhancer for actively growing turfgrass. The paint was applied at a rate of 20 ounces per acre.

More photos of the people and painted turf

Photos from the Oct. 24 South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Tournament are provided by Keith Eubanks, of Geoponics:

Endurant turf paint trampled on the practice of overseed at a South Carolina race track. Preparing for one of the biggest horse race events this fall, the superintendent of Springdale Race Course located in Camden, South Carolina, ditched the idea of overseeding. Instead, knowing the course would be drawing the attention of visitors from around the world at the upcoming Colonial Cup, Endurant turf paint was selected to prepare the course.  This was the first time the course managers opted to paint the race course and Endurant organic turf colorant was the obvious choice.

Why Endurant turf paint?

Springdale Race Course, home of the Carolina Cup and Colonial Cup horse races, is located next door to a golf course. Seeing the effectiveness of the Endurant turf paint used on the golf greens for years finally prompted the change in direction at Springdale from overseed to Endurant turf paint. The benefits of painting with Endurant turf paint versus overseed are numerous, including saving water and time. Endurant turf colorants are used by golf course superintendents, landscape and lawn professionals to make vibrant, natural-looking turfgrass pop with color year round.  As turfgrass approaches winter dormancy in many areas, it’s turf painting time. Golf courses superintendents, landscape managers, sports field operators and home owners alike choose to turn that brown grass to green using Endurant organic turf colorants. Whether dormancy is approaching or a big event nears, shop turf colorants here.

Springdale also found some unique benefits using Endurant turf paint instead of overseed before their upcoming steeplechase races, where thoroughbred horses will be leaping over obstacles and kicking the green grass up into the air. One problem Springdale Race Course had was a lot of weeds among the bermudagrass. So when overseeding, the weeds would just grow back up through the overseed. The weeds would become difficult to see and even harder to get rid of. An application of Endurant turf paint allowed the weeds to be easily tackled. Most helpful for the horse races is that the green Endurant FW, which is often used on golf fairways, will give the horses a better sight line during the steeplechase races. This advantage in vision due to contrast is a key reason golf course superintendents enjoy using Endurant turf paint for the benefits of their golfers’ sight line as well. Springdale Race Course, located in Camden, S.C., is one of the most well-known steeplechase tracks in the U.S.. Similar courses are all over Ireland, where steeplechasing originated. Endurant turf paint allowed Springdale to leap their turf obstacles much faster than overseeding. The application of Endurant turf paint will easily last through the big event in three weeks. Then, the course will be trampled by horses and even weeds’ roots would stand the test if not tackled with the help of Endurant. The time efficiency of painting the track versus overseed also just made the most sense.

The turfgrass on the race track is mostly Bermuda with some rye grass mixed in, along with the unwanted weeds. Unlike a golf course, the grass is higher and a bit less manicured without an irrigation system. Seeking a great, vibrant green color for an event that draws tens of thousands of fans and worldwide attention, Springdale’s superintendent chose Endurant FW to get the course up to par for all the attention. Endurant PR, with a perennial rye look, was their second favorite in color choices. The Endurant FW provided an easy to apply contrast in color to the two-mile European-style turf course that could not be achieved with overseed. See the full line of Endurant colorants here.

The historic Springdale Racecourse’s annual fall steeplechase race meet draws more than 15,000 fans and horsemen from around the world. The Colonial Cup, held Nov. 15, provides the steeplechase horse racing season’s grand finale and deciding national titles, including Jockey of the Year, Trainer of the Year, and Horse of the Year.  See more about the 45th Annual Marion du Pont Scott Colonial Cup here. Leap your own obstacles in turf here. BUY Endurant turf paint NOW.