High-sand bowling green rootzones are often biologically sterile. Biostimulants help to rebuild microbial life, improve root mass and nutrient cycling and reduce dependency on chemical fertilisers
Category: Natural Greenkeeping
Worm Casts —and what to do about them
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.
Dealing with Leatherjackets: Chitin v Chlorantraniliprole
TL;DR: Greenkeepers are facing increasing challenges due to climate change, outdated practices, and pest infestations. While Chlorantraniliprole-based insecticides might offer a quick and temporary fix, they disrupt soil microbiology and pose environmental risks. The withdrawal of pesticides, however, presents an opportunity to work smarter and in harmony with nature.
Chitin, found in insect exoskeletons and fungal cell walls, plays a crucial role in soil health. When broken down into chitosan, it enhances plant growth, improves soil structure, and stimulates beneficial soil microorganisms. However, conventional greenkeeping can disrupt these natural processes, leading to a deficiency of beneficial substances like chitosan.
By reducing reliance on artificial inputs and reintroducing natural substances like chitosan, we can restore the soil's natural balance and promote healthier, more resilient turf. Chitosan enhances plant growth and productivity through soil conditioning, plant health stimulation, microbiological associations, biocontrol, and bioremediation. Thus, chitosan plays a multifaceted role in the soil ecosystem, contributing to soil health, plant growth, and disease and pest resistance.
Managing turf disease effectively
Managing turf disease effectively, cheaply and permanently is well within the grasp of every greenkeeper. The soil in our greens already holds all of the answers to this, or at least it should do. Some of the routine work we do on greens is more damaging than beneficial. The need to manage turf disease more effectively gives us the perfect excuse to start returning our soils and grass plants to their natural disease resistant selves, much to the benefit of our members and clubs. John explains how to manage turf disease outbreaks simply and with reference to vegetarian sausages :-)...may contain nuts!
Finding the Sweet Spot in Bowling Green Performance
The Sweet Spot in greenkeeping is when your green's Physical, Chemical and Biological components come into line to deliver results you couldn't previously have imagined were possible. Hitting that sweet spot is a lot simpler than you might imagine too, as focus on the soil's biology will naturally correct some of the worst Chemical problems and compensate for some of the worst Physical ones. There should be no problem "selling" this idea to your club either as first of all it saves money and secondly it massively improves green performance and consistency.