Humic acids have come into favor recently in the turf industry. However, there is still a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to what they do and how to know if you really have good humic substances in your products. Lawrence Mayhew is back to talk about what are good humic acids and what are not. He explains how humic acids can help to biologically buffer a soil to fight problems with sodium and bicarbonate build up.

As a founding member of the Humic Products Trade Association (HPTA), Lawrence helped build the protocol that is now internationally accepted to qualify whether or not we are actually dealing with humic acids. We also talked about how humic acids can help any soil in building biological buffers that help to feed microbes and sequester toxins.

If you are dealing with wilt stress or localized dry spots don’t miss this podcast!

Managing over 100 acres on the 6th oldest college campus in the United States is not an easy task. Randy Haffling has been doing just that for over 14 years at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For the last six years, he has embraced a biological soil management program for the campus. This has changed the soil chemistry bringing the soil pH down by a full point. He has also built a level of soil sustainability that has kept the campus vibrant even during one of the worst droughts. 

In addition, his campus wide tree inventory allowed everyone to see the true economic assets that the campus provides to the community. This has allowed him to make stronger economic decisions when it comes to the tree population that is also managed with a biological soil management program.

This week’s EarthWorks Podcast features Brian Boll, Director of Golf Course and Grounds at Interlachen Country Club. We discussed an upcoming renovation of the historic club, the scope and materials selections, and the importance of preserving the history and architecture at the famous Minneapolis club.

We also delved into the effort the club has made to foster a welcoming and staff-centered environment. Enjoy the conversation!

This is the second of a two part podcast series with Joel Simmons and Peter McCormick, founder and maestro of TurfNet. Peter talks about his challenges, over the years, with depression, alcohol and other mental health considerations. He shares some of the warning signs and coping strategies that turf managers should be aware of. 

In Part 1, the topics ranged from McCormick's background in the greenhouse and turf industries, his rebounding from various terminations and the beginning of TurfNet. They also discuss COVID and its repercussions for TurfNet and throughout the industry, now and moving forward. Peter touches on business planning (or not), decision making, innovation and other factors that have enabled TurfNet to change the turf industry for the better over the past 28 years. 

Unvarnished and straight from the hip as McCormick is wont to do, this conversation explains and entertains with many career, business and life lessons and laughs.

This is the first of two sessions with Joel Simmons and Peter McCormick, founder and maestro of TurfNet. Topics range from McCormick's background in the greenhouse and turf industries, his rebounding from various terminations and the beginning of TurfNet all the way to COVID and its repercussions for TurfNet and throughout the industry, now and moving forward. They touch on business planning (or not), decision making, innovation and other factors that have enabled TurfNet to change the turf industry for the better as it has over the past 28 years.

In the upcoming Part 2, Peter talks about his challenges with depression, alcohol and other mental health considerations over the years along with some of the warning signs and coping strategies that turf managers should be aware of.

Unvarnished and straight from the hip as McCormick is wont to do, this conversation explains and entertains with many career, business and life lessons and laughs. Listen to the podcast or watch the video.

This week we chat with John Murray, equipment manager for the Federal Club and the Kanawha Club, both located in VA. We discuss how he juggles jobs at two courses, family life, and his unique craft of guitar building. John's background is diverse, ranging from managing a playground equipment company, to being a caddy, and finally an equipment technician.

Coming to the turf industry later in life, he brings experience that helps him manage all the things in his two shops. John’s unique skill set contributes to his ability to develop systems and organizational strategies.

We discussed how he became a luthier (a maker of stringed instruments such as violins or guitars), what he likes about that hobby, and how it relates to other things he’s tackled in his life. A self taught guy in all disciplines of his career, we think you’ll find this conversation very inspiring.

Chris May is the Director of Athletic Grounds at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In this conversation with Jack Higgins, Chris discusses the path that led him to his role today, how he innovates by working with the administration and coaches, and his experience with cool season Kentucky bluegrass fields in the heat of Georgia.

This podcast is a must listen for anyone in the sports turf industry who wants to turn heads!

Meet Jaime Sharp, PGA, formerly the director of golf at The Valley Club in Hailey, ID and current president of Advanced Scoreboards, LLC, developer of taskTracker job board software. Jaime chats with Kevin Hicks about the relationship between the golf shop and golf maintenance departments within a facility. While at The Valley Club, Jaime and superintendent Gerald Flaherty, CGCS, had a very successful working relationship based on intentional communication and a mutual understanding of each other's operations.

This critical partnership is often less than positive, but Jaime shares his thoughts on how to strengthen this relationship for a smoother operation. There are some great nuggets for you to take back to your own course to build a bridge between the golf shop and maintenance department.

Eric Richardson, Director of Grounds at Essex County Club in Manchester Massachusetts, may be the hardest working turf manager in the golf industry. He has taken on one of the most iconic golf courses in the industry and improved it, bringing it back to the original Ross design and exposing rock outcroppings not seen in decades. Tree removal was an ongoing focus.

Eric had big shoes to fill at Essex, as he is one of only a few superintendents to hold the title in its over 120-year history. On that list of former superintendents is the architect Donald Ross. The Essex Club's history is rich and the house that Ross lived in during his time there is still on the property. However, the real story here is the amazing changes that Eric and his team have made for the better.

Lorabeth Catterson and Madison Rudsinski are rising stars in the golf course industry and have been active volunteers at some of the biggest tournaments in the game. Both recently volunteered at the US Open at The Country Club in Boston and we talk about how wonderful that experience was for everyone involved. They were also both volunteers at the groundbreaking 2021 US Women’s Open at the Olympic Club and reflect on that experience as well.

What is the life of an Assistant Golf Course Superintendent like? We discuss this and more in a fun and informative conversation.

Bob Searle, golf course superintendent at The Abenakee Club on the coast of Maine, talks about his passion for building soils on his golf course and the challenges of what the Maine coast can do to a golf course year-round.

Many golf course superintendents think that it must be easy to grow grass that far north, but Bob breaks down that myth and shares stories of tough winters and some harsh summers as well. His passion for his career is evident in this interesting and sometimes funny conversation!

Fred Walters, the former publisher of Acres USA, shares stories with us about his father Chuck who founded the Acres USA magazine and book publishing business. Acres USA is the voice of sustainable agriculture and has made famous many of the top agronomists in the business today like Dr. William Albrecht and our own co-founder, Jerry Brunetti.

This is a unique, fascinating, and entertaining conversation with one of the innovators in all of agronomy.

Our good friend Jerad Minnick is back to discuss the onslaught of a season they have had at the Maryland SoccerPlex. It’s July, and the weekend-long tournaments that started at the end of March haven’t stopped yet. Listen to some of the solutions that Jerad has devised to prepare the fields for such a busy schedule.

This talk dives deep into agronomic solutions, but you’ll also love hearing about the Sports Turf Institute Apprenticeship program he has implemented at the SoccerPlex.

In this week’s podcast, Kevin Hicks talks with Kevin White, CSFM of the University of Portland. White brings a unique perspective to the sports turf world in that he manages both natural grass surfaces as well as an artificial turf baseball field. We discuss the management of both surfaces, including his annual fraise mowing practice on the world class soccer pitch as a means of weed control and what it takes to maintain safety standards on artificial turf.

His history ranges from golf course construction to a stint in the culinary industry and finally managing top quality sports turf. We even brought back the “lightning round” with some tough questions for our guest.

Travis Hogan, the Sports Field Manager for the Kansas City Chiefs, talks to us about the differences between golf course management and managing a sports complex at the highest level. Managing a complex for a Super Bowl Championship team is not without its challenges especially in an environment like Kansas City.

Travis talks about how he juggles big concerts, Monster Jam football practice and games all on the same fields. He was one of the first to use Northbridge Bermuda grass on his fields and talks about his agronomic philosophy that keeps his fields some of the best in the NFL.

This is an excellent talk for anyone starting a new job! Our guest Louis Pitcock of the Avalon Golf Club in Cape May County, NJ chats with Jack Higgins about how he balances his expectations with that of his coworkers and bosses.

Beyond that Louis and Jack have a great time reminiscing about their working relationship over the past dozen plus years.

A casual live chat with chemist Lawrence Mayhew giving an item-by-item breakdown of the macro and minor elements and their importance to plant growth. Lawrence Mayhew has been a fertility and humic acids specialist his entire career and we talk about what each element does for the plant and for the soil biological population.

This may be a non-conventional take on a subject important to all turf and ornamental growers. When both the good and bad are discussed it is usually soil biology that benefits and that is what Lawrence has done on this podcast.

Tyler Bloom, owner and president of Tyler Bloom Consulting, returns to give us an update of the state of the workforce for 2022. Tyler founded his consulting business at the beginning of the COVID pandemic to address concerns with workforce issues in the turf industry.

In today’s industry the single biggest conversation continues to be “how do we find qualified employees?”. Most golf courses and sports complexes report that they are about 40% down in staff and it is not getting any better. In addition, play is up substantially and golfers’ expectations are not changing much.

Tyler’s company specializes in helping turf organizations find, hire and manage new employees to work in the industry. He shares his insights on how to manage new employee expectations and some ideas on what to expect as we move forward.