another field maintenance question

[tim_s]

our sports fields here were built on fill, so a few season ago we had a sinkhole develop in LF......15-18" around, it was several feet deep......we filled it, tamped it, planted it......well last spring it sunk a few more inches, and the grass didn't take

right now it is late march in maine.....snow has been off most of the grass for a week or so, it's actually drying quickly......we will be outside shortly

this spot is a little low, it is bare grass........the plan right now is to put a little topsoil on it, head over to the edge of the grass outside our track, and cut a patch of turf.....tamp it down, flag it until we have a game on the field (scrimmage scheduled for 4/8), and hope it takes


so.....should i get out there today, find the greenest patch i can (from somewhere where the snow has been on the longest) so that it gets at least 10 days to settle and possibly start to lay roots before it sees action........or am i better off cutting it after the turf has had some more time to wake up from winter dormancy, ie its more important to let the turf wake up and get stronger BEFORE i cut it and place it on the field


would love to hear thoughts

 

[Towny9]

How low is it? Can you sand it with some quality sand to level it and let the turf grow through it? This is what they do either Bermuda to topdress it, but I am assuming we aren’t talking Bermuda here if it’s cold where you are.

 

[Lemond]

if you didn’t fix what caused the sinkhole, it will keep coming back and may get worse. Usually, it stems from a broken drainage pipe of some sort, but could also be irrigation that only causes erosion when the sprinklers are on somewhere.

 

[tim_s]

sinkhole was just from rotting/settling fill the fields were built on 40 years ago - it appeared 3 years ago, it was filled and tamped well.....it settled a few inches over that next year, it was topped off last spring, grass that was planted didn't grow

right now it's only an inch or two below the surface, has not settled/sunk in the past 12 months......so dropping a patch cut from elsewhere on the complex is the best solution

so far what i am hearing is to go ahead and cut the turf now while it is dormant

 

[Northball]

sinkhole was just from rotting/settling fill the fields were built on 40 years ago - it appeared 3 years ago, it was filled and tamped well.....it settled a few inches over that next year, it was topped off last spring, grass that was planted didn't grow

right now it's only an inch or two below the surface, has not settled/sunk in the past 12 months......so dropping a patch cut from elsewhere on the complex is the best solution

so far what i am hearing is to go ahead and cut the turf now while it is dormant

Since you're only talking a roundish patch 15-18", I would dig out a matching section and try to get plenty deep (at least 4") to keep more of the roots intact, even if you have to cut the donor section into halves or quadrants to handle them. Dig out the sunk spot to match the depth of the donor. If you have a dog or kitty litter box, they can contribute to the bottom of the hole to help that grass take off. Not perfect, but should be more stable than the 1" thickness of sod you get from the landscape center, and the roots should be ready to do their thing when the soil warms up instead of taking extra time to heal.

 

[uncdrew]

Yeah, I'd do it now. I'd go deep too if possible. No huge worry about seams.

Water often, keep people off it. Cross your fingers.

 

[tim_s]

Yeah, I'd do it now. I'd go deep too if possible. No huge worry about seams.

Water often, keep people off it. Cross your fingers.

just did it, cut about 3" deep, top dressed with some dry top soil with a little sand mixed, to fill the seems/edges.......turf was pretty moist that i cut, so i was able to push it down in pretty well, still left it a little high.....we shall see, i've had far worse things take lol

 

[tim_s]

just did it, cut about 3" deep, top dressed with some dry top soil with a little sand mixed, to fill the seems/edges.......turf was pretty moist that i cut, so i was able to push it down in pretty well, still left it a little high.....we shall see, i've had far worse things take lol

and 3" deep got me down to the gravel layer below the turf, so it really should take


looks ugly now, but i bet in a week after a little rain and some warm sun (and by warm sun i mean days in the low 50's haha) i bet it will look better

 

[The Man In Blue]

We tried telling you that a human sacrifice pit in left field was a bad idea, no matter how bad your left fielder was.

 

[tim_s]

lol the hole was crazy......popped open in the fall, right before homecoming, during youth soccer season.......it was on an area where little kids play

it was deep enough that a toddler could have just about ended up inside lol

most of our athletic fields were build on fill......stumps and rocks and such