Category: Greenkeeping

October 13, 2024

Fix your bowling green step1.

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!

October 13, 2024

Seaweed and how it benefits your turf

Seaweed extracts have been found to improve the quality of fine turf by increasing turf density, colour, and uniformity. Seaweed extracts contain betaines, which are natural osmoprotectants that help grass plants retain water and maintain turgor pressure, so should be a key component in the management and recovery of LDP affected turf. It's continued use results in a green that becomes increasingly resistant to wear and tear.

October 12, 2024

Focus on Dollar Spot

As climate change reshapes weather patterns, Dollar Spot—a turf disease once rare in the UK—has become an increasing concern for greenkeepers. This article explores how rising temperatures and humidity levels have created favourable conditions for the spread of Clarireedia jacksonii, the fungus behind Dollar Spot. Learn how to identify the disease's distinct symptoms and discover effective management strategies, including the use of Trichoderma fungi and integrated pest management practices, to combat this new challenge and help your green recover from an outbreak. Stay ahead of the curve and maintain your green's health by understanding the full impact of Dollar Spot and adapting your turf care approach.

September 16, 2024

Soil Texture part 4, the Soil Texture Triangle.

So far on our investigation into soil texture we've discussed the problems of building sand castles, why you shouldn't let the Treasurer buy sand for you and a few other less important details like the complexity of sand, soil formation, particle size distribution, macro and micro soil porosity and we finished last time by looking at the famous Soil Texture Triangle

September 15, 2024

Bowls Green Soil Texture part 3

In the first part of this series we discovered that the ideal bowling green soil (or rootzone) will be 50% space, 5% organic matter, with the remainder (45%) being made up of mineral matter, namely Sand, Silt and Clay. These are the 3 universal mineral components of soil. Part 1 finished with an explanation of the soil fractions, 5 of which were sands of varying sizes.

In part 2 we found out a little bit more about sand and it's behaviour as a drainage medium and we discovered a little more about how soils are formed. We finished by looking at the importance of sand particle shape and size in bowling green rootzones.