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Author: John

Master Greenkeeper John Quinn is the author of Performance Bowling Greens, and several other titles on Greenkeeping, Club and Business Management.

Spring green renovation.

the new season is almost here

Spring bowling green renovation should be focussed on 3 main components:

1. the completion of the winter, deep aeration program
2. rejuvenation and aeration of the green surface
3. nutritional corrections

On greens in the non-drought affected areas of the UK, it should still be OK to carry out slit tining.

This is the last time we will get a chance to do this until autumn.

Two final operations with this machine will make all the difference to the greens ability to resist compaction in the early part of the season.

In drier areas, mini solid tining might be preferable and this can be done in addition to the slit tining in other areas.

If you have a thatchy green; identified by spongy turf, disease problems in winter and general poor health; you should scarify the green quite harshly in two directions to remove some of the fibre and mat that has built up over the winter months.

On healthier greens, where over-seeding was carried out last autumn you should avoid heavy scarification.

Lighter verti-cutting can commence once the sward is growing vigorously in May.

A question I get asked a lot is:

“ How much top-dressing should be applied in spring?”

The answer is a resounding “None”

Good luck with your spring bowling green renovation work.

Tomorrow we will have a look at turf nutrition requirements for pre-season

More detailed information on aeration here, thatch here and a range of one page factsheets here

Dealing with Snow and Ice on Your Green

A couple of years ago we were hit by severe snow and ice in some parts of the country and it raised a few questions about how best to deal with severe winter weather on bowling greens. I am re-visiting this today as a timely reminder now that we are in the winter season. Hopefully this will be a good omen and we wont get any snow this year!

The unusually early onset of winter in 2009 and 2010 created a few problems for most of us and seriously curtailed many winter maintenance programs.

We received a lot of enquiries asking for advice on dealing with the snow and ice on bowling greens and the aftermath of deep snow cover.

The main concern during and after snow cover is the potential for the outbreak of fungal diseases such as fusarium patch; and indeed, fusarium might well be encountered after the snow has melted. Although many clubs will have applied a preventative fungicide in the Autumn, this might not have provided total protection, but should have minimised the risk of attack.

When the snow has gone you might well find active areas of Fusarium and this should be treated with a curative fungicide containing the active ingredients iprodione  or chlorothalonil applied as per the manufacturer’s advice.

Many of the enquiries we have received have been related to the actual snow cover and clubs have been worried about the prolonged cover of snow and ice on their turf and have asked if they should be pro-active and do something to remove the ice cover. My advice would be to leave it and allow it to melt naturally.

Attempting to remove ice could result in damage to the turf, soil structure and grass plants.

Please also remember that even after the snow and ice has gone the underlying soil could still be frozen and any activity on the green could result in damage to the root system of the green.

Please make sure that the green has completely thawed by probing the soil before commencing (and catching up) with your winter maintenance program.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Localised Dry Patch Update

LDP Affected green after heavy rain

Already the relatively dry April and start to May has seen bowling greens suffering from Localised Dry Patch (LDP).

As we have discussed many times on this site before, this condition is a major problem for bowling clubs throughout the UK and if your bowling green is aready showing the tell tale signs then you need to take rapid and relentless action to avoid major disruption to your bowling green surface this season.

Meantime for greens already showing signs of the problem here is my Read more

Why is Thatch the single biggest problem in Bowls Green Maintenance?

We have had a few queries asking about thatch; actually a few readers asking for a definitive description of thatch and its associated problems, so here it is:

What is it?

Thatch is the name given to the mat of dead roots and shoots that accumulates on the surface of the green. Where moisture, nutrition and cultural practices are optimised for the desired grasses, thatch rarely becomes a problem. However, when soil air content is low, or if drainage is poor and the fertiliser program is not optimised for the prevailing conditions, thatch can become a problem. In severe cases the major root mass might only exist within this layer and this leaves the green susceptible to drying out in summer and to the heads “skinning” (loss of turf cover) in wet weather. Thatch is also a major contributor in the Read more

Achieving Excellence on a Budget

There can be little doubt that the green is one of the most important assets of any bowling club. It would seem obvious therefore that this is where the pursuit of excellence should begin for any club.  What is not so obvious, however is that the green is also where the greatest  savings can be made. It’s all about working smarter and not blindly following greenkeeping traditions that have prevailed in bowling for decades and which don’t always add value to the club or improve the green. Please browse this site to find out how you can optimise your green maintenance and ensure you are getting the best value for your budget.