Baseball field grass questions...repair

[Luck e 1]

Background:

The ball field get used very heavily from April through July. We get on it as soon as we can in the spring. So some areas get pretty beat up, and become pretty thin/uneven. There are no blatant bare spots, but it just has many patchy spots.

It does get water every day...and currently there are no teams that use it from now until next spring.

Problem:

If we wait too late into the fall to overseed then the grass will be so fragile when we get on it in the spring that it will probably get trampled and die off (I am guessing). But the bad areas are probably not extensive enough to tear it all up and lay new sod.

Questions:

Seeing that it gets good water and full sun, and there is no traffic until next April, what is the best way to help thicken the bad areas?

WOuld it work to aerate it and over seed right now in early August to allow the seed to mature before next spring?

Thanks guys...

[LwnmwnMan2]

Yes, you are absolutely coming into the time to overseed, for the very reasons you stated.

Get a good starter fertilizer and put down with it.

Personally I'd back off the water every day, chances are you're over watering.

3 soakings / week to total 1-1.5" is plenty.

At the school district we mow, they would water every day, but the roots never had a chance to get down into the soil, so it always looked like it was drying out.

Fertilize a little more often, water a little less and your grass will be better off, hold up better.

[Luck e 1]

I wish I had the power to tell them not to water every day...but I will say that it is a very sandy soil so it drains extremely well. Even if we get big rains it drains very fast. They did that so there would never be cancellations due to unsafe field conditions.

So I am good to go to plug and overseed (using a good starter fert)?

[LwnmwnMan2]

Yes, you can do that.

If the budget allows, and they keep watering, do you know what their fertilizing schedule is?

I've got a couple of town fields that I fertilize for, and they water every day as well.

We used to mow them, but we would have to mow them 3-4 times / week.

Anyways, if you don't do the fertilizing, they should be fertilizing 5-6 times / season, since they're essentially washing out all fertilizer (if they fert at all to begin with).

[Luck e 1]

I don't think they fertilize that much...I should ask, and then see if they will do it more...or just do it myself.

[LwnmwnMan2]

That'll do the best for the root system, which will help keep your grass together.