Grass

[C.Ronaldo]

So how did our grass hold up this year?

[JuliquE]

*thought this was a grass appreciation thread, since we may have seen the last of it*

[bigredone]

Gummy, with lots of red hairs.

[jloome]

The whole thing of playing on it when it wasn't ready reeked of manipulation. We never had these problems in past years; as soon as the front office is talking about the Argos and artificial turf, we suddenly have shit grass.

[OgtheDim]

Gummy, with lots of red hairs.

Even after we traded Ecks?

[Auzzy]

The whole thing of playing on it when it wasn't ready reeked of manipulation. We never had these problems in past years; as soon as the front office is talking about the Argos and artificial turf, we suddenly have shit grass.

I dunno, last winter's weather was really bad, right into spring. BMO Field surface was really poor at the beginning of the season, and other MLS grass fields with similar weather were also awful. They need a thicker tarp to be able to warm up the field in late winter when we have weather like that. But they can't use a thick tarp here because they're restricted in the chemicals they are allowed to use. Moisture would wreak havoc under a thick tarp. I really think they need grow lights though, that could have helped.

BTW this isn't really an argument for hybrid grass either. Wembley Stadium (which has a Desso GrassMaster surface) is not doing well with only 3 NFL games on it per year.

[Cashcleaner]

^ Agreed. The pitch did start out in pretty bad shape this season. It improved significantly as the weather got drier, though.

[Fort York Redcoat]

*thought this was a grass appreciation thread, since we may have seen the last of it*

The ship hasn't sunk just yet...

[JuliquE]

The ship hasn't sunk just yet...

I know.. just my passive-aggressive bid to discourage it changing.

I wouldn't mind Desso Grassmaster, you know.. but, I'd be weary of the ratio they'd decide on.

[Alonso]

By the end of the season it was the best grass pitch that BMO has ever seen. Lot's of room for improvement though... they would water it at the half and players would lose their footing during play. I don't think they've figured out the best way to go about it yet.

The best thing for grass to survive a winter is an insulating layer of snow.

The tarp just fucks it right up by smothering it.

[Pookie]

By the end of the season it was the best grass pitch that BMO has ever seen. Lot's of room for improvement though... they would water it at the half and players would lose their footing during play. I don't think they've figured out the best way to go about it yet.

Thank you for saying that. I get that watering the pitch makes it "faster" and can, in theory, lead to better tactical passing.

What I didn't get is why they would water BMO while it was raining… or when there was rain in the forecast (and presumably they have the same weather radar App that I have showing it will be raining soon).

[jloome]

By the end of the season it was the best grass pitch that BMO has ever seen. Lot's of room for improvement though... they would water it at the half and players would lose their footing during play. I don't think they've figured out the best way to go about it yet.

The best thing for grass to survive a winter is an insulating layer of snow.

The tarp just fucks it right up by smothering it.

My understanding was that the undersoil heating was supposed to prevent winter issues.

[Auzzy]

By the end of the season it was the best grass pitch that BMO has ever seen. Lot's of room for improvement though... they would water it at the half and players would lose their footing during play. I don't think they've figured out the best way to go about it yet.

The best thing for grass to survive a winter is an insulating layer of snow.

The tarp just fucks it right up by smothering it.

My understanding was that the undersoil heating was supposed to prevent winter issues.

There were some interviews with the turf guy early in the season, about the special issues of last year's extreme winter. Snow cover is great in theory, if there's enough snow to protect the grass from the cold. (Alot of grass & other plants got freezer burn last.) And especially if you can afford to just wait for the snow to melt and the grass to start growing normally in the spring. That doesn't work if you want to play footy on there in March, especially in a cold year.

The undersoil heating certainly helps, but not enough especially in a winter as bad as last year.

Oh, I found the article, here's more info: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle17673374/

[jloome]

There were some interviews with the turf guy early in the season, about the special issues of last year's extreme winter. Snow cover is great in theory, if there's enough snow to protect the grass from the cold. (Alot of grass & other plants got freezer burn last.) And especially if you can afford to just wait for the snow to melt and the grass to start growing normally in the spring. That doesn't work if you want to play footy on there in March, especially in a cold year.

The undersoil heating certainly helps, but not enough especially in a winter as bad as last year.

Oh, I found the article, here's more info: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle17673374/

Wow, who knew it was so complicated. I take it back; not a conspiracy, just bad scheduling/insufficient budget.

[Shakes McQueen]

Last winter was one of the worst in my living memory. I remember one two week spell up here where it was -30C seemingly every single day. And by March the snow banks in my area were probably 4 feet tall. It was awful.

[Red CB Toronto]

Last winter was one of the worst in my living memory. I remember one two week spell up here where it was -30C seemingly every single day. And by March the snow banks in my area were probably 4 feet tall. It was awful.

When I was on the pitch in January it looked like it had really taken a massive beating , that was a few weeks after the big Christmas ice storm. It did vastly improve over the season.

[GabrielHurl]

They were doing this at Wembley this week

[C.Ronaldo]

manly crochet?

[lobo]

Gummy, with lots of red hairs.