Start Date – Spring of 2016
Client – Elmwood Park, N.J. Board of Education
Location – Athletic Playing Fields Elmwood Park High School

Lincoln landscaping was contacted by the Elmwood Park Community to initiate and maintain an “organic” turf management program and upgrade the High School Varsity Soccer, Baseball and Softball fields.

At Lincoln Landscaping of Franklin Lakes, we like to refer to athletic fields as PLAYING FIELDS, to ever remind us that these are children and young adults playing games and interacting via sport activities. As such, it is proven that children absorb pesticides at then time the rate of an adult.

Therefore; with the above in mind, providing a safe environment and and playing turf is the very core of our mission and tenets here at Lincoln Landscaping. Passion for environmental stewardship drives our company. Daily decision making is based up a thorough knowledge of organic processes and transitioning from a chemical product approach to an organic approach is our specialty.

Within the scope of this endeavor, here we have a neglected field. We always begin our work with an analysis of the soil by taking a soil test. What we found was a soil composition that was highly acidic and low in organic matter with a compounding factor being the very heavy compaction of this medium by all the activity over the years; the result being a weed infested (knotweed and plantain) playing area.

We began by core aerating and overseeding. Core aerating, the process of puncturing the surface of the soil, mitigates these problems by allowing oxygen to be introduced into the root zone, carbon dioxide to escape, and water and nutrients to more easily flow through the soil profile.

We then fertilize with a poultry based transitional fertilizer. Lack of nitrogen is the primary reason that “organic” systems and/or programs fail. To maximize poultry litter’s nutrient value, we incorporate it into the soil. Forty to 70 percent of the total nitrogen is available during the first six weeks. The remaining nitrogen will be slowly released as organic residues decompose.

In addition to being an excellent source of plant nutrients, poultry fertilizer can increase the soil’s water infiltration rates by improving its structure. On a short-term basis, poultry fertilizer can also increase the soil organic matter content.

For an in-depth look at this process and the scope of this transition to organic maintenance from chemical dependence we have provided a video time line of our progress thus far.