Tis is an aerial view of Graff’s Turf Farms. Photo courtesy of the Graff family

Chicago. Te freight cost more than the sod did.” Te Chicago NBC-affiliate television station came to Graff’s Turf Farms and followed the sod to Soldier Field. Tey were going to come back and watch the opening game with the Graffs, but that got preempted by the O.J. Simpson slow-speed car chase.

Often the sports turf manager will come to the sod farm to check on their grass during custom sod production for sports venues. Graffs grew the turf for the new home of the Denver Broncos’ Invesco Field (now Sports Authority Field) at Mile High Stadium, which opened on September 10, 2001. Ross Kurcab, sports turf manager at that time, came to the farm once a week during the grow-in and he brought his camera. Randy says, “I drove the tractor/seeder and Ross rode on the back filming the grass being planted. Ross was like the turf doctor, giving me a prescription of exactly what kind of grass was to be planted, how it was to be fertilized and maintained, even providing the mower, which Betsy got to run until the grass was harvested.”

Randy Graff at work during the Denver Mile High Stadium sod installation. Photo courtesy of the Graff family

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Betsy says, “One day, when Randy was inspecting the Broncos’ turf field, he noticed what looked like turnips in the grass. Te technology of mixing seed was primitive in those days, often done on a concrete floor. So we figured a few vegetable seeds had been left on the floor from a previous mixing. But we called Ross to come scour the field with us. All together we found about 10 turnip plants sticking up. Tat was too crazy.”

TPI Turf News March/April 2017