Master Greenkeeper John Quinn is the author of Performance Bowling Greens, and several other titles on Greenkeeping, Club and Business Management.
While many assume surface-casting worms are shallow dwellers, the reality is more complex. Lumbricus terrestris, for example, is a deep-burrowing anecic worm—it constructs vertical burrows up to 2 metres deep but returns to the surface to feed on organic debris, which it pulls into its burrow.
Nitrogen is essential to turfgrass performance—it drives growth, colour, and density. But too much or too little, applied at the wrong time or in the wrong form, can do more harm than good. Spikes of growth followed by periods of stress are all too common with traditional nitrogen sources, especially on fine turf where consistency is king.
Localised Dry Patch typically rears its ugly head in June in the UK, but by then it is way too late to do anything about it. Once your green is displaying the large brown patches of desiccated grass and powder dry soil beneath, no amount of watering or wetting agent will bring it back fully this year. Now is the time to inspect your green and deal with it permanently.
Transitioning your green from Poa annua to bent/fescue is not only critical to achieving a Performance Bowling Green, but is actually a realistic goal. The spongy, soft turf associated with annual meadow grass is less than ideal for bowls. Common wisdom says that this can't be done without major disruption and that even after it is achieved it wont last. This article explains in detail how to undertake the transition of your green from Poa annua to bent/fescue turf and dispels the myths about stressing Poa. This is the way to change your green permanently and without fuss. It will also save your club money on maintenance, so what's not to like?
The management of bowling greens often presents complex challenges, one of the most prevalent being the occurrence of localised dry patch (LDP) due to hydrophobic soil conditions. Addressing this issue effectively is crucial for the health and performance of your green and wetting agents have emerged as a key tool in this endeavour.
However, concerns have been raised about the potential toxicity of commonly used chemical wetting agents, leading to a call for safer, more environmentally friendly alternatives.
