Reinhardt College - The Belle of Waleska, Georgia

by Stephen Kelly, regional editor

Zach White, vice president of the Georgia chapter of the Professional Grounds Management Society, is the grounds and greenhouse supervisor at Reinhardt College. He and his staff maintain over 200 acres of the 515-acre campus, including four athletic facilities?EUR??,,????'??+two for soccer, one for baseball and one for softball?EUR? plus a museum and village for native Indian artifacts.

?EUR??,,????'??It is sometimes hard to maintain all the areas to my expectations with five full-time employees and one-part time employee,?EUR??,,????'?? explains White. ?EUR??,,????'??Our crew really works hard to try to meet those expectations. We are pursuing hiring another crew member and to tap into student workers in after school programs.

Irrigation

Another challenge is keeping the campus plants alive in the summer, as aside from the Hunter irrigation system for the sport fields and the Rain Bird irrigation at the Gordy Center, the dining and meeting facility, the campus lacks automated irrigation.

?EUR??,,????'??We do a lot of watering in the summer to keep everything alive, particularly withthe droughts we have had the last few years,?EUR??,,????'?? White says.

However, he notes that tough water restrictions in the Atlanta area have become a big issue for grounds managers, particularly with new plant installations.

?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???ve had to really look at using more drought-tolerant plants across our campus. I think it shows we are good stewards to our environment,?EUR??,,????'?? adds White.

As I write this, Tues. July 12, the forecast for Georgia for the rest of the week is rain, courtesy of Hurricane Dennis.

White says he?EUR??,,????'???s hoping for the first time in two years to have irrigation year round on the sport fields. A combination of water leaks and construction has kept the fields from a full season of irrigation.

Cherry impatiens with hosta ?EUR??,,????'??sum and substance?EUR??,,????'??? surrounding crape myrtle trees add color and cheer to the campus.

Campus Lawns

The campus turf is 80 percent fescue and 20 percent Bermuda. The Bermudagrass is at the new dormitory and on the athletic fields.

?EUR??,,????'??We mow our fescue to 2-3 inches high. Our fescue height varies depending on the time of year and the rainfall,?EUR??,,????'?? White explains. ?EUR??,,????'??We try to raise the height in the late summer and reduce the frequency of mowing in the late summer.?EUR??,,????'??

In Feb., premeergents (e.g., Barricade) are applied. The crews begin mowing campus grounds the first week of the month and on a weekly basis May through September. In the heat of the summer, late July and August, mowing is stopped for 2-3 weeks to let the grass recover. The crews spray the clover and weeds every month until September with Trimec. In October the turf is aerated and overseeded with a four-way fescue.

 

This tidy area of fescue turf and Bradford Pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) is the center of the campus. In the fall the crew aerates the lawns and overseeds with a four-way fescue blend. Tulips and pansies comprise the flower bed with daylilies just starting to emerge.

Sport Fields

The sport field Bermudagrass is kept at 1.5 to 2 inches with reel mowers. ?EUR??,,????'??We would like to mow all fields twice a week but present staff allows only once a week,?EUR??,,????'?? says White.

A premergent (Ronstar) is put down on the athletic fields at the beginning of March. ?EUR??,,????'??We also spot spray throughout the season with a Trimec, a standard broadleaf weed killer, plus selective herbicides to reduce clover and other weeds in our turf,?EUR??,,????'?? White explains. In May and April, uneven field areas are topdressed. In June the crew sprays Revolver or scalps out rye so Bermudagrass can green up baseball and softball fields.

In July, all fields are aerated. The crew reseeds/resods around soccer benches where damage has occurred, again sprays Trimec for weed control and checks for fire ants.

In August, it?EUR??,,????'???s time to fertilize all fields with ironite and prepare the fields for fall sports. The crew moves and repaint lines on the soccer fields to shift the heavy traffic areas and to let the fields recover. The crew also paints the RC logo on the center of the fields in blue.

In Sept., the soccer fields are again fertilized, lines and logos repainting, irrigation checked (possibly cut back late in the month) and mowing ended toward month?EUR??,,????'???s end. Kubota mowers, via an attachment, aerate the fields in the fall. On the baseball and softball fields a tough annual rye is seeded, with a starter fertilizer used to jump start the seed. A time is agreed on with the coaches to keep all traffic off the fields for two weeks during the seed germination. A winter premergent is put down on the soccer fields, but not on the softball and baseball fields, because of the recent seed germination. By mid-November, the crews cut irrigation on all fields and clear lines for the coming winter. During December, all traffic is kept off the fields.

If funds are available, the crew will do soil tests on the fields to better determine nutrient requirements.

Last year the grounds team planted over 3,000 tulips on the campus along with the 400 flats of pansies, cabbage, kale, rosemary and parsley.

Arbor Care

The campus has oak trees over 100 years old. The grounds crew will not work on these elderly beauties unless absolutely necessary. The dry summers have killed several venerable oaks and beetle infestation has required removal of some pines for fear the infestation would spread to neighboring properties. When installing new trees, gator bags help keep fledgling trees hydrated. Juvenile trees get staked or tied for one year, or until established.

The sports turf is Bermudagrass, kept to 1.5 to 2 inches high with reel mowers. ?EUR??,,????'??We would like to mow all fields twice a week but present staff allows only once a week,?EUR??,,????'?? grounds supervisor White says. A premergent (Ronstar) is put down beginning in March, with spot spraying of a broadleaf weed killer (Trimec) and selective herbicides to reduce clover and other weeds throughout the season. In July, the fields are aerated. In August, the crew fertilizes with ironite. In the fall, aeration is done and a tough annual rye seeded. A Hunter irrigation system waters the athletic fields.

Greenhouses

With a shrinking grounds budget, the campus saves on flora by growing its own flowers from seed in two greenhouses. ?EUR??,,????'??This year we will grow over 500 flats for our campus spring flowers,?EUR??,,????'?? White specifies. ?EUR??,,????'??We are also trying to save money by buying mulch and fertilizer in bulk.

A triumvirate of patriotic colors?EUR??,,????'??+red begonias, white wave petunias and Victoria blue salvia flank the Yucca ?EUR??,,????'??banana splits?EUR??,,????'?? at the flag pole. The flowering pots house geraniums and ornamental sweet potato vines.

Chemical Considerations

White uses Finale and Round-up Pro herbicides for the many tough weeds and, as mentioned, Ronstar for the athletic fields and spot spraying of Trimec. The crew also sprays the more environmentally-friendly insecticidal soaps and horticulture oils. ?EUR??,,????'??If we have a major insect outbreak, I will spray Orthene but only in a emergency situation,?EUR??,,????'?? White specifies. ?EUR??,,????'??We try to use as few chemicals as possible, but it is tough to do in Georgia.?EUR??,,????'??

The staff uses three 3060 Kubota mowers, one Exmark walk-behind, two Grasshopper riding zero-turn mowers (321-D and the 721-D with a debris attachment), a John Deere 2653, a riding reel mower, and a Bluebird 530-A walk behind. Other equipment includes two John Deere Pro Gators, a Toro Workman, Kubota aerators, and Husqvarna, Stihl and Echo edgers/blowers.

Tools to Get the Job Done

White covets a few pieces of new equipment. Some of the mowers are 15 years old, and it is not infrequent that one of the mowers or a vehicle is broken down. ?EUR??,,????'??Our mechanic does a great job in maintaining our vehicles, but everything we use is so old it breaks down and it is hard to buy a new mower with the current economic situation that many colleges are facing across our country,?EUR??,,????'?? White says. However, a new mower may be purchased in July!

The grounds staff grew over 50 Mandevilla ?EUR??,,????'??Alice Dupont?EUR??,,????'??? vines in the two campus greenhouses. The vines decorate a number of campus signs.

Keep Off!

One daunting challenge White faces is keeping summer camp youngsters, who descend from the Atlanta environs, off the athletic fields, as the soccer season starts in August. ?EUR??,,????'??In the past we had football and band camps with hundreds of kids on our fields just days before the soccer season. We had to move them to our intramural fields and other areas of campus to give our grounds crew time to aerate, fertilize, topdress and prepare the soccer fields.