South High School Minneapolis gets help for it's football fields

Minnesot Nursery and Landscape Association
Hello everyone,
I wanted to update everyone about South High School. At the bottom of this email is a link to a story about a landscape company volunteering to replace a basball field for Bluffton High School some of their kids died in a bus crash! I would welcome any ideas, feedback that you might have. Here's the short story with extra details below. Tom Connors and I went out to South on Tuesday.The practice field is a mess. It's uneven, with rocks, glass, and at least one piece of concrete right in the middle of the field that's been there quite a while. There WAS an irrigation system, but it hasn't been run in 10 years. We found one brass 8280M Sprinkler head, ( a google search couldn't identify the model) and there's a Buckner 10 zone controller. There's a big backflow and it looks like 3" main. We decided that the field can't be sustained without a sprinkler system. Here's the scoop: The field is about 260' by 350'. It needs dirt, or grading by an operator more skilled than me, seed, fert and sprayed for broadleaf. A soil test would be a good idea. I think it's a sandy loam, so structure will be good. Any chunks or rocks will have to be removed as well. The school WILL close off the field or do whatever is necessary to help if someone is willing to help with the fields. After talking to Mark Sanders, the Athletic Director, we think that redoing the practice field might be enough to get the parents and boosters involved with more improvements as well as pride in the school. If anyone wants to contact the school directly, contact Mark Sanders at 612-668-4323 or Mark.Sanders@mpls.k12.mn.us , or email me. At this time, they've asked me to put a plan together to submit to the Mpls School District, because the powers that be won't allow any work to be done until it's checked over, even if volunteered. Estimates:80 yards black dirt spread and graded.300-400 pounds of seedFert - Sprayand irrigation. Looks like we're pushing for spring, which is OK because it gives everyone time to put the plan and materials together. More detail:We met with Tom Wosman, the Engineer in charge of South's Property and Mark Sanders, the Athletic Director. There are 2 fields. There is the main football field and the practice field. While both fields need work, the main field is in pretty good shape, although there are no lights, 2 porta potties (imagine this during homecoming), no ticket booth. They can't even sell hot dogs or hot chocolate. This field has such a high crown on it that the soccer players can't see the soccer ball from the other side of the field! Like I said, this field isn't bad, other than the crown and the fact that the irrigation system is composed of 1 zone with such low pressure, they can't diffuse the spray on the sprinkler headsThe practice field is another story.It's It's not much better than mud, knotweed and random patches of bluegrass. The field is uneven, and the day we were out there, there were puddles.There were rocks in it, and at least one concrete piece sticking out. The practice field is used by the students for all outside activities, so the danger of injuries is pretty good. Here's the article about Bluffton basballhttp://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/On+the+Record/This-baseball-field-is-not-just-any-baseball-field/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/462137?contextCategoryId=450That's All for now!Steve

Steve Hoogenakker
Teri Hoogenakker
Paul Hoogenakker
Kirsten Hoogenakker
Gerrit Hoogenakker
Showcase Landscape