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About this blog

Joe Fearn is a professional groundskeeper. We writes about reconciling economic, aesthetic, functional, and environmental needs in the landscape.

Entries in this blog

Magnificent Monarchs

Last year, my 7 year old son found a Monarch caterpillar and brought it home. We put it in a jar with some leaves and sticks, then looked up how to care for it. We found out that Monarchs only eat plants in the Milkweed genus (Asclepias). I have been a longtime fan of Common Milkweed since I first smelled its blossom in Virginia. I found some on a roadside, and also would harvest it from a patch on campus. Over the next week or so, that caterpillar ate and ate and grew and grew. Knowing little a
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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Sustainability, Budget, and the Landscape Design Concept

Writing a recent blog about the future of grounds and landscaping got me thinking about how potential future changes could alter what my grounds management looks like. It then lead me to wonder about sustainability (what in the world does that mean?), and how that could change my grounds management too. The possible changes stem from the pursuit of sustainability that is being advocated by both those in our industry and those outside of it. But which pursuit the right one?   Sustainability...
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

0

Rethinking Restoration

Here at Drury University we have several tracts of land that we want to restore. When I say restore some may say restore to what? Many people conjure up images of native meadows or woodlands. Our campus project has the meadow option in mind. In our work, restore also generally means to return an area to some previous state of vegetation, and to repopulate with some various native plant material. Restoration can be carried out for several reasons and is widely recognized as a viable option in gro
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

1

What I have learned from TurfNet...

Please do not think this blog is shameless pandering to a site I am a member of. I joined TurfNet first as a user also contribute now as a blogger. I found TurfNet while looking for resources on general turf maintenance and sports turf. While TurfNet is focused on the golf industry, there is much information applicable to these other fields.   One of my main interests is in an organic-based approach to turf management that focuses on natural processes over chemical intervention. Fortunately I
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

These Geese Were Cooked… Literally

About midway through my green career, I spent a year working on a golf course here in Springfield, Mo. While this length of time doesn't warrant me any position of golf management authority, it did give me some appreciation for my brethren in golf, and some empathy for what golf course workers of any capacity might face. I know that there is almost nothing that compares to the intricacy of managing a green. I loved mowing greens, even double cutting in the dark before an early tee time. I did no
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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Thinking on Quality...

To start, I want you to please imagine a car. Imagine a Toyota Camry, XLE package. For those of you that have a little bit more imagination, maybe even a Toyota Avalon XLE. This car has leather interior, power everything, a full touring package and even a Bose stereo. I think we all would agree this is a nice car. This isn't some trumped-up entry level car with plastic goodies on top trying to convince you it is nice. This is a NICE car. But it isn't a Mercedes. The Mercedes (go ahead and imagin
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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Pursue Sustainability Where You Find It

Several weeks ago Drury Grounds was asked to collaborate on the installation of several raised beds to be planted with vegetables and herbs. The produce from these beds would be used in the dining halls and by individual students. Local produce (also native plants) grown as organically as possible (applies for turf also) is a great nod toward a sustainable system. My problem was that the project itself did not maximize sustainability in both its concept and its construction. This made me realize
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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Remember When You Enjoyed Your Job? (!)

Here at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, we are in the middle of a spring droughty period. While 13 days without rain is not too hard to manage, I am beginning to feel the initial twinges of water concern. Knowing that we will be experiencing a normal hot/dry spell in summer, I count on spring rains. I am sure everyone understands what I mean.   While we have started our irrigation on our high value turf (the native plants are just fine), much of our mowing and blowing is still dusty
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

The Budget/Quality/Sustainability Paradox in Grounds Management

Grounds managers make a living balancing components in the landscape that can have undesirable effects if not maintained in the right doses or at the right time. For instance, irrigation is needed in the correct amount, but too much can result in disease, drowning, or shallow rooting. Plants need nutrients in the proper amounts, but availability can fluctuate by leaching, soil pH, timing, etc. Most of the cultural practices necessary to create a high quality product require the right efforts, in
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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Random thoughts on sustainability

Writing my last blog about the future of grounds and landscape management got me thinking about how potential changes could alter my current programs. It then lead me to wonder about sustainability (what in the world does that mean?), and how that could change my grounds management too. As I pondered these questions, I began to wonder what steps are to achieve the sustainability goals I believe in and support. In no particular order, and without saying that these are the absolute answers, here a
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

Preparing for the Landscape of the Future

Recently I watched a video on TurfNet TV from Randy Wilson, called Ten Years from Now. It, of course, takes place ten years in the future and talks about the scarcity of fungicide, fertilizer and diesel fuel. Even effluent water is being bought by a bottled water company rather than being used for irrigation on their course. Buddy laments they should have gone half organic when they had the chance, but they were worried about being ridiculed by the "Dark Green Fairway Movement". It is truly a gr
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

4

Riding with the boss...

I recently toured campus here at Drury University with my boss. The touring was nothing unusual as I try to see the whole campus on a regular basis. What was different this time was what I learned on the tour. I saw the campus through another person's eyes, and an important person's eyes at that. I came away with a conclusion that I didn't particularly like. Campus never looks as bad as when I tour with my boss. He saw things that I had seen, but had put a different priority on. He also saw thin
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

0

Stem Girdling Roots (SGRs)

I have planted hundreds of trees in my career. Actually I think there is a real possibility I have planted in the thousands. Not multiple thousands mind you, but more than one thousand. I have also had to take care of those trees for many years after installation, and have had an opportunity to track many successes and some failures. My survival rate for the trees I have installed is very good, over 95%. Also as an ISA Certified Arborist, I have to study about tree culture, and am ethically boun
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

Spring Fever...

I admit it, I have Spring Fever. Just this past week on January 28, here in Springfield, Missouri we hit 67 degrees. The Drury University Grounds Crew was out doing a number of jobs that were more about preparing for spring, and less about killing time in winter. We mulched leaves, cut back perennials, spread some mulch, and even continued work on a stone patio that had been idle for more than a month due to conditions. I even started determining quantities of seed and fertilizer for some early
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

0

A Deeper Look at Diversity

All of us in the green industry are likely familiar with the concept of diversity. Diversity is the principle that tells us the more variation we have in our landscape, the better we are able to maintain the health and function of that landscape. Normally diversity applies to different plants from different genus and species thereby avoiding monoculture and taking advantage of the variation of plant attributes. It also applies to pesticides (e.g. fungicide FRAC codes) to avoid creating pest resi
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

0

Grounds Forensic Pathology

From time to time in grounds maintenance things don't go according to plans. At these times it is common to hear the following sentiments: "What happened?" "What is it?" or one of my favorites, "I don't know what happened." When everyone is looking at you for an answer, the good supervisor becomes a forensic pathologist and detective, seeking evidence to solve a riddle. Through inquiry, experience, and logic, you can normally build a case and answer these questions to everyone's satisfaction.  
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

0

Market your trees to market your course...

I recently read a summary of the Property Profile and Environmental Stewardship of Golf Courses, published by the Environmental Institute for Golf, an offshoot of GCSAA. This document puts golf courses in a deservedly positive environmental light, particularly with regard to non-turf areas -- which many golf courses have increased in size (44% of surveyed courses since 1996).   Forest and woodlands and something more In this profile summary, forest and woodlands represent 137,768 acres. While
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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OK, so what is Third Way Green?

Simply put, Third Way Green is my philosophy on landscape management (while GC Superintendents are very specialized for their task, they are certainly landscape managers). I call it 'Third Way' because there are currently two dominant landscape management approaches (an intended simplification), neither of which adequately fulfills the desired landscape potential. So there needs to be a 'Third Way' that fulfills all the benefits we are seeking from our landscapes. 'Green' comes from a focus on e
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

Being the New Guy...

Being the "new guy" can be difficult. When entering a new position or situation it is only normal to feel some uncertainty and to try to come up with strategies that make transition easier. Having been a kid in a military family and having switched positions several times in my green career, I have learned several tips for making the best of a new situation. Now as a new TurfNet blogger, I am in the new guy ranks again. Don't come on too strong. The team that you are entering into has a histor
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

2

You Can't Play Baseball in a Tallgrass Prairie... and Killdeer Won't Nest on a Soccer Field

We are pleased to welcome Joe Fearn to TurfNet as a contributing blogger. Joe is the Grounds Supervisor at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, and is an ISA Certified Arborist/Municipal Specialist and PGMS Certified Grounds Manager.   Several years ago I was talking to a local member of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). I was asking about a quandary I was faced with and I wanted another perspective. I had recently taken note of a patch of neglected and disturbed ground
Joseph Fearn

Joseph Fearn

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