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:
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
Endurant Premium on the left applied at 8 gallons per acre and Endurant FW on the right applied at 5 gallons per acre. It’s all about choosing the color you desire.
Wow! This is Endurant PR
Wow! That’s Endurant PR giving golf course superintendent Kevin Smith a rich perennial rye look.
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Shawn Emerson gets the over-seeded, over-watered, over-fertilized look but instead uses Endurant organic colorant.
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.
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:
BEFORE. Photo courtesy of Scott Forrester, assistant golf course superintendent at Legacy on Lanier Golf Club in Georgia
A Legacy at Lanier Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Scott Forrester calls Endurant PR his liquid overseed.
BEFORE. What next? Overseed or Endurant organic turf colorant for this Georgia course ?
AFTER. Legacy on Lanier Golf Club gets Augusta’s perennial rye look using Endurant PR, organic turf colorant
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.
1-877-ECO-GROW info@geoponicscorp.com
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.
Bunker BEFORE SoilGlue
Bunker AFTER SoilGlueMixing SoilGlue to apply to sand bunkers at golf course, providing earth-friendly stability and color.
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
1-877-ECO-GROW info@geoponicscorp.com
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.
Preparing for the Schwab Cup with Endurant Organic Turf Colorant gives Desert Mountain TV ready look, clinches Champions Tour season ender for 3 consecutive years
Kieth Hershberger, Shawn Emerson, Nick Lubich
Highest in their field
Geoponics met with two top turfgrass managers in the golf course industry to see how they prepare for an event as renowned as the PGA Champions Tour: Shawn Emerson, director of agronomy at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Keith Hershberger, agronomist at Desert Mountain, along with a turf colorant advisor, Nick Lubich, of Fertizona.
About Shawn Emerson and Desert Mountain Club
Shawn Emerson surrounds himself with world leaders in turf management. He seeks the ideal balance between water conservation, minimizing chemical usage and providing the green turf and playing conditions that keep his courses ready for the most valuable players in golf and millions of television viewers. That’s how he’s called upon to provide the perfect course for the Champions Tour.
Desert Mountain has six Jack Nicklaus Signature courses on 550 acres of turf, comprised of six turf types. Desert Mountain hosted the Schwab Cup, and due to the ideal conditions provided, clinched the Champions Tour season ender for another two years.
The Schwab Cup season ender of the PGA Champions Tour was played on the Cochise course, with a blend of Bermuda grass and rye grass, overseeded and painted with Endurant PR, organic turf colorant for a hunter green, perennial rye look reminiscent of Augusta.
Q. Why use Endurant to prepare for the Champions Tour?
A. “We used Endurant two years ago on courses that were not overseeded and we liked it,” Emerson said.
Emerson and his team spent years testing other colorants, seeking a darker green looking color that doesn’t fade quickly, doesn’t have a blue tint that looks fake and doesn’t clog sprayers the way some colorant brands do. “Endurant was the clear choice,” Emerson said.
Q. What was your primary goal?
A. The desired look was a uniform color across the golf course in all the fairways. The Endurant greened up the Bermuda grass to match the existing rye grass, so it looked like all rye grass. “Our goal is to look like Augusta and play like the U.S. Open, which was accomplished,” said Emerson.
Q. Why choose the new Endurant PR from Geoponics for the Champions Tour Schwab Cup?
A. The Schwab Cup season ender of the PGA Champions Tour provided a debut of the Endurant PR as the first time the new colorant was used west of the Mississippi, said Nick Lubich, of Fertizona.
The course was overseeded, but the Bermuda grass was competing with the rye grass due to growth rates caused by a warmer than usual fall. A darker rye color pigment was desired to match the Bermuda grass to the darker rye grass.
Lubich knew just what to suggest—Endurant PR, for a rich, deep green and perennial rye grass look.
Normally, Emerson and Hershberger would be hesitant to use a new product days before a tournament, especially the Champions Tour, televised on the Golf Channel for 120 million households to see. “We never saw this new formulation, the Endurant PR. But, from the previous products we’d used, we were comfortable with the manufacturer of Endurant and with our representative, Nick. So we went ahead and pulled the trigger,” said Emerson.
Q. How did Endurant PR look in-person and on TV for the Champions Tour?
A. “It looks like an overwatered lush grass, and, really, it’s not. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish out here, to look like the traditional overseeded, overwatered, over fertilized grass, but we can get that look and found we can cut costs,” said Emerson.
The golf course looked like a completely overseeded golf course using fewer resources with Endurant PR and blended very well, he said. “I thought it looked fantastic,” said Emerson. The Champions Tour leaders clearly agreed, changing initial plans for a different course to host the Schwab Cup next year, instead choosing to return to Desert Mountain for the Schwab Cup for at least three consecutive years. (original article here.)
The world’s top players expect a gorgeous, highly playable green course & they get it with Endurant.
Shawn Emerson gets the over-seeded, over-watered, over-fertilized look but instead uses Endurant organic colorant.
Getting TV ready requires the best looking turf for millions of viewers watching the Champions Tour.
Endurant PR gives deep hunter green look like an overseed perennial rye at Champions Tour event.
Q. How was Endurant PR applied?
A. Endurant PR was used at a rate of 1 ½ gallons per acre. The Desert Mountain course, consisting of about half Bermuda grass and half rye grass, was sprayed with Endurant PR about six days prior to the Champions Tour event and again the day before the Champions Tour event. Mowing was frequent, with about 20 cuts, twice a day, over the course of the tournament.
A centrifugal pump and flat nozzle sprayer were selected and the turf was sprayed in multiple directions to increase blending and decrease any streaking.
Q. Environmentally, what are your thoughts about overseeding and Endurant organic colorants?
A. “In today’s golf course management, people are using less fertilizer, less seed and less water. Endurant has allowed us to do that and maintain the color they want,” said Emerson.
Emerson has left some of his golf courses without overseed and without paint in the past. “People don’t like it because it’s not green. Green is an absolute important color in golf. Endurant allows us to cut back on fertilizer, seed and water and still get the thicker look of rye grass,” said Emerson.
Q. With years of experience in turf painting and overseed, what other tips can you share with superintendents and landscape managers?
All paints work better when you’re not mowing a lot.
The less you mow, the longer the colorant lasts.
If preparing for an event or tournament, paint as close to the start of the tournament as you can.
Experiment with the rate of Endurant colorants to get the color you want. You can use less and just take off some of the whiteness or balding of Bermuda grass or go with the full rate (1 ½ gallons per acre) and get the liquid overseed look.
Be careful experimenting with brands as some will cause a blueish turf.
We found centrifugal pumps work better than diaphragm pumps for pigments.
The direction you paint is important. We painted in more than one direction to help provide uniformity of color.
Clean nozzle and pumps to prevent streaking and clogging.
Experiment with different nozzles to fit the typography.
Geoponics manufactures Endurant organic turf colorants and other earth friendly turf, garden and landscape solutions. www.TurfPaint.net
Q. What are your thoughts on the varieties of Endurant organic turf colorants?
Emerson and his agronomy team, including Hershberger and Lubich, have used the full line of Endurant colorants at one time or another, including Endurant TC, the orginal; Endurant TE with turf enhancers for actively growing grass; Endurant FW for fairways, Endurant Premium for a deeper green variation of Endurant TC, and Endurant PR for the perennial rye deepest hunter green that is reminiscent of Augusta.
A. “We thought the original Endurant we’d used was great. We loved it. But the current product we’re using is better for rye grass, for that darker, deeper hunter green,” said Emerson.
The original is more geared toward Bermuda grass. “We call it our liquid fertilizer. We didn’t tell anyone we were using it. (UNITL NOW) We just said ‘it’s our liquid fertilizer application.'”
Choose which Endurant turf colorant variety based on the shade of green desired. Check out www.TurfPaint.net and buy now!
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
The Lawn Picasso grass painting company provides the most eco-friendly solution to brown grass during California drought using Endurant organic turf colorant.
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.
Curb appeal is restored with Lawn Picasso, providing Endurant organic turf colorant and water savings during California drought.
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.
Before: Grass doesn’t have to stay brown even in California drought.
Before: Multi-million dollar homes were losing curb appeal due to water restrictions.
After: Brown grass goes green using Endurant turf colorant. Lawn Picasso, a California-based lawncare company, uses Endurant turf colorant to provide natural, gorgeous green grass while saving clients’ money and water.
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
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
Blue turf at a N.C. golf course is not the look a bride is going for at her wedding ceremony. Endurant organic turf colorant was applied to repair the blue turf after another colorant created a fake-looking grass.
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.
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 PR organic turf colorant gets Cochise course at Desert Mountain ready for millions of viewers and world class players at Schwab Cup.
“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.
Fort Lauderdale Country Club’s fairways and tees popped with color while getting agronomic benefits using Endurant TE, organic turf colorant with turf enhancer for actively growing grass. Geoponics is proud to provide the most effective turf care products while protecting the environment and being part of the South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association’s commitment to protect children with the 30th Annual Missing Children’s Golf Tournament
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 organic turf colorant: the pros choice for big events, winter turfgrass dormancy or drought.
Geoponics proud to protect the environment with products that promote turf and soil health, while also contributing to the protection of children through the SFGCSA 30th Annual Missing & Exploited Children’s Tournament
www.TurfPaint.net The website to get your turf looking great fast with a wide variety of organic colorant options for turfgrass, mulch and other applications.
Turf paint girls enjoy greeting players at the 30th Annual South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Associations Tournament to benefit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Endurant TE, turf paint with turf enhancer has long term agronomic benefits while providing instant wow factor to turfgrass
Turf paint girls at Fort Lauderdale Country Club, Fri. Oct. 24
www.ShopGeoponics.com
Endurant turf colorant is the professionals choice.
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 colorantshere.
After years of overseeding, Springdale Race Course in Camden, SC chooses Endurant organic turf colorant instead to better prepare for their big fall event, the Colonial Cup, this November.
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.
Japanese moss balls, also called bonsai Kokedama, look great hanging in homes, on a lanai or porch or on trellises and arbors. Making a Kokedama moss ball can be a fun way of getting your hands dirty and it’s easier to make these hanging plants than one might imagine. This Japanese garden method, the kokedama moss ball, is taking Pinterest by storm with the growing popularity of vertical gardens and the wide variety of options for your Kokedama moss ball that allow plants to easily be added to any space, indoor or outdoor, requiring little water if the proper plant species are selected. The environmental impact is nil, other than getting some green in your space and a little extra oxygen boost from the hanging plant. Ready to take less than an hour to make a Kokedama moss ball?
Kokedama, an easy, environmentally friendly garden idea for hardy drought resistant plants.
Here is what you need to make a Kokedama moss ball:
Soil, potting soil
Peat Moss
Perlite, such as Excelerite
Sheet moss
String
Bucket
Scissors
Spray bottle
Plants: Shade loving, drought hardy, slow growing
Water
A few optimal plant varieties:
Succulents, thick plants that hold water and are very drought hardy since the soil and moss ball will be hanging allowing it to dry out easily. One great variety is the sedeveria.
Anthuriums are great options to add a flowering plant to the mix.
Tillandsia, air plants, can also make a great addition to Kokedama.
Select shade-loving plants if hanging inside or in a covered area.
Slow growing is important as you won’t want to undo the Kokedama moss ball often, if at all.
How to plant a Kokedama moss ball:
Mix about 50 percent soil, 25 percent perlite and 25 percent peat moss in a bucket and then begin adding water slowly so the soil can be firmly packed
Pack the soil until it’s a sturdy ball about the size of your hand. Excelerite, organic and OMRI Organic Materials Review Institute listed chelated montomorillonite clay, is not necessary, but we did notice it has a cohesive property that makes it easier. It’s also great for plant health. A Kokedama moss ball can be created without Excelerite, you just find in one of the next steps that you need to wrap the moss around the ball faster to help it stay together. This is the only one of the materials easiest to find for purchase online, such as on Amazon. All other materials are easily found at Home Depot or a local garden supply center.
Here’s the fun part: You know the ball is properly packed when you toss it lightly into the air and catch it and it stays compact, like a snowball.
Then, split the ball in half just by breaking it gently with your hands.
Put the roots of the plants you’ve selected between the two halves of the soil ball. Short root systems and selection of just two plants is generally easiest.
Then, put the soil ball back together, perhaps adding more soil to reform the ball.
Cut your sheet moss to size to fit your soil ball.
Spray the moss with water so it adheres to the soil ball.
Wrap the moss ball with string to further help keep the moss tied around the ball and make a knot toward the top, leaving some string to hang the ball, generally plant side up.
Voila, in less than an hour, you have a kokedama moss ball. Each time you will get faster at it and can have more fun with it.
Want more?
Besides on Pinterest, you can see Kokedama in botanical gardens, including at Naples Botanical Garden, where the idea for this Kokedama moss blog originated thanks to the Naples Garden Club and their Idea Garden located within the Naples Botanical Gardens.
Shop Geoponics now for earth friendly, organic garden, lawn, pond, professional turf and landscape products. Geoponics makes growing easy, successful and good for the planet.
