Yes, I'm thinking about Autumn already. Why?, It's all to do with the devastating effect of Localised Dry Patch on many greens this year. I've ever had so many people get in touch. It looks like the more regular occurrence of extreme heat and long dry spells is demonstrating the problem of excessively sandy rootzones, much better than I could ever hope to explain...
The diagram below shows the process that many poorly maintained bowling greens experience over a period of years if 3 basic maintenance issues are not addressed as a priority. The top 3 issues on all fine turf are: 1. Thatch Control 2. Compaction Control 3. Turf Nutrition In addition to the top 3 there are of course other …
My post yesterday looked at the huge extent to which the top 100mm (4inches) of our greens have been subjected to sand over the previous 3 or 4 decades. Today I’d like to elaborate a little on my thinking about taking a green from that state to one of High Performance. The recovery process is …
You might read about the possibility of dealing with fairy ring by using fungicides, or even be advised to use such an approach. Fungicides could well be part of the reason you have fairy ring in your turf in the first place so it’s best not to go down this road. Applying fungicide now is a sure way to cast your green back into another spin on the Circle of Decline. The correct action plan is clear and simple.
I genuinely believe that it's possible to come up with a formula to fix your bowling green, regardless of it's current condition. This is due to one over-riding fact that I've discovered after looking at literally hundreds of greens. They are all at some stage of what I've termed the Circle of Decline. The critical factor in making this possible is simple. You must know what you are dealing with and there is no way to find that out without carrying out some hand dirtying investigative work. So let's get dirty!
As greenkeepers, we understand the importance of maintaining a healthy, vibrant and resilient green. In over 40 years of greenkeeping, however, I've noticed that a lot of what passes for greenkeeping has actually been very damaging to our soils, making it increasingly difficult to produce a good surface, reliably and economically.
A lot of greens are now difficult to maintain, exhibiting a host of common problems such as Localised Dry Patch, Moss Infestation, Excess Thatch, Disease, Thinning Grass Cover, Puddling, Bumps, Bad Runs and Dips
Done for you greenkeeping schedules. Instead of relying on guesswork, hearsay and myth, wise clubs are putting their faith in science and proven agronomic expertise to help them draw up the correct greenkeeping schedule for their greens. In this article we explain how you can easily tap into John's Master Greenkeeper expertise and have a "done for you' greenkeeping schedule for your green.
Mycorrhizal fungi and turf health go hand in hand. The symbiotic relationships that exist between our turf grass plants and soil fungi are critical to producing a high performance, perennial grass dominated sward. Here we look at the benefits of mycorrhizal relationships in turf and the techniques greenkeepers can employ to encourage them.
The soil food web has become an increasingly popular term in greenkeeping and bowling green management. The problem-solution-problem, or symptoms approach to greenkeeping has been exposed as fundamentally flawed by the diminishing list of available pesticides now available to turf managers. Is there a better way to manage greens...yes. And the extraordinary discovery is that a greenkeeping program that focusses on the green as an eco-system is fully compatible with producing tight, natural turf dominated by the fine perennial Fescue and Bent grasses.
If your green maintenance budget was cut in half this year what would you do?
Most clubs when faced with cuts to the greenkeeping budget, will try at all costs to keep the most important work in the plan. Unfortunately, important frequently gets confused with dramatic, which means that the big expense of top-dressing in the spring and autumn usually stays in the plan and I wish it didn’t for all the reasons I’ve explained over many articles.
Meantime, the work deemed less important and which of course is less dramatic is often sidelined or dropped as a result of a fear of what might go wrong if the big, sexy stuff is missed. These big jobs “must be doing a lot of good”, or so the thinking goes, because they’re so expensive and disruptive?
