I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have
some real discussions about gardens.....

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. I do not intend to
make my lawn look like a NFL field .....

I don't think its the type of grass, I think its the way they mow it
that gives the crosshatch appearence.

Siberian Husky wrote:

I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have
some real discussions about gardens.....

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. I do not intend to
make my lawn look like a NFL field .....

Google on this group using search term baseball....you'll find some interesting answers on this
topic.

ms

"Grandpa" wrote in message ...
I don't think its the type of grass, I think its the way they mow it
that gives the crosshatch appearence.

Siberian Husky wrote:

I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have
some real discussions about gardens.....

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. I do not intend to
make my lawn look like a NFL field .....

They roll it!

A show I saw told how they mow the lawns in set dirrects (giving patterns)
and that they vary the patterns to keep the lawn healthy. DK

http://www.grounds-mag.com/ar/ground...uses/index.htm

"Our office often gets phone calls from across the United States and Canada
asking if we achieve the designs with paint, different types of grass or
even different cutting heights. Actually, as most grounds managers already
know, we achieve the look simply by using reel mowers with rollers, which
bend the grass in the direction the mowers travel.

To begin each design, I think of the 100,000 square feet of our field's
lush, dark-green 90-percent Kentucky bluegrass/10-percent perennial-rye mix
as an oversized art canvas. Design ideas are always flowing among the staff,
too, and we initially draw up the designs on the computer, though sometimes
designs come in via a sketch pad or scrap of paper. Occasionally, we simply
create a design by "eye" while mowing.

Sometimes an idea on paper doesn't work on the turf. A pattern needs to be
pleasing to the eye, yet not too time- or labor-intensive. Plus, as I
mentioned, we take extra care not to harm the turfgrass. Some designs are
quite complicated and, to keep sections or lines exactly the same width, we
use a tape measure and line strings for precision.

Mowing in patterns offers not only aesthetic results but agronomic ones too.
This is because it is important not to mow the same direction every time. If
you do, the grass blades start to lay down in that direction and can become
stressed and weak. By designing a new pattern each time you mow, you not
only improve the health of the turfgrass, you add a pattern that is pleasing
to the eye."


"Siberian Husky" wrote in message
m...
I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have
some real discussions about gardens.....

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. I do not intend to
make my lawn look like a NFL field .....

Siberian Husky wrote:


Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious.

Check Google groups for threads on 'lawn striper' this past spring.

D Kat has given a very nice reference on actual baseball lawns.

I think even regular ol' mowing will supply, for a short time,
something of the fancy effect. My lawn was mowed diagonally a couple
of times, and for a day or 2, it looked quite distinctive. However,
the professional effect is apparently done by mowers with rollers.

"D Kat" wrote in message ...
A show I saw told how they mow the lawns in set dirrects (giving patterns)
and that they vary the patterns to keep the lawn healthy. DK

http://www.grounds-mag.com/ar/ground...uses/index.htm

Thank you, Mike Simpson and all other netters feeding curious me with
the answer ....

I did once consider using reel mowers, it doesn't take non-human power
and the Lowe guy told me it was better, but the ground in my small
lawn is not too flat. Now I am trying to add top soil and compost as
a layer. Hopefully next year I can do better -- though I don't expect
to see a baseball field ....

"Our office often gets phone calls from across the United States and Canada
asking if we achieve the designs with paint, different types of grass or
even different cutting heights. Actually, as most grounds managers already
know, we achieve the look simply by using reel mowers with rollers, which
bend the grass in the direction the mowers travel.

To begin each design, I think of the 100,000 square feet of our field's
lush, dark-green 90-percent Kentucky bluegrass/10-percent perennial-rye mix
as an oversized art canvas. Design ideas are always flowing among the staff,
too, and we initially draw up the designs on the computer, though sometimes
designs come in via a sketch pad or scrap of paper. Occasionally, we simply
create a design by "eye" while mowing.

Sometimes an idea on paper doesn't work on the turf. A pattern needs to be
pleasing to the eye, yet not too time- or labor-intensive. Plus, as I
mentioned, we take extra care not to harm the turfgrass. Some designs are
quite complicated and, to keep sections or lines exactly the same width, we
use a tape measure and line strings for precision.

Mowing in patterns offers not only aesthetic results but agronomic ones too.
This is because it is important not to mow the same direction every time. If
you do, the grass blades start to lay down in that direction and can become
stressed and weak. By designing a new pattern each time you mow, you not
only improve the health of the turfgrass, you add a pattern that is pleasing
to the eye."


"Siberian Husky" wrote in message
m...
I think I spent enough time in Roundup discussion and I should have
some real discussions about gardens.....

Watching baseball games in these days, I am curious how the baseball
fields made some 'strips' or 'squares' on the field. Do people use
different grass seeds, or they 'comb' the grass in different
directions?

I ask this quesion only because I'm curious. I do not intend to
make my lawn look like a NFL field .....