One of the most important parts of my NotDressing Autumn Renovation Programme is addressing problems that are already in the green, rather than simply covering them up with another layer of sand.
And for a great many bowling greens, one of those problems is Localised Dry Patc (LDP).
LDP isn’t a purely summer problem. Although the brown patches might disappear as rainfall returns, the underlying water repellency in the rootzone doesn’t necessarily disappear with them.
That is why I’ve added ProWet Evolve G Granular Wetting Agent to the Bowls Central range.
The missing piece in the autumn programme
Throughout a hot, dry summer we might be working on stubborn dry areas with products such as Aquastasis and BioActive Yucca, combined with hand watering, aeration and careful irrigation.
Autumn allows us to carry on that work differently.
Scarification and hollow tining open the surface and create channels into the root zone. Instead of filling those holes with another load of sand, our NotDressing programme uses the opportunity to introduce materials such as Humigranule and BioActive RZ, helping to rebuild Humus, biology and root zone function.
Where LDP has been troublesome, Evolve G is the natural addition to that programme.
Applied after tining, the granular surfactant is worked into the open surface, where it can continue to help water move into previously difficult-to-wet areas.
And then nature starts doing some of the work for us.
Put the autumn rain to work.
We usually spend summer worrying about how much irrigation water we can get onto the green.
By autumn, water starts arriving for free.
The important question is whether the Soil can actually accept it.
A hydrophobic rootzone can still shed rainfall, allow it to run laterally or encourage water to follow preferential pathways while dry areas remain stubbornly difficult to rewet.
Evolve G allows us to use the autumn renovation window to start addressing that problem before next summer arrives.
Instead of forgetting about LDP until the first hot spell exposes it again, we can keep working on it quietly in the background through the wetter months.
That fits perfectly with the philosophy behind NotDressing.
We aren’t simply trying to make the green look renovated for a few weeks. We are using the autumn operation to change how the rootzone functions.
Simple autumn application
For a standard 1,500 m² bowling green, apply:
15 kg Evolve G after tining
That is 1 kg per 100 m².
It can be incorporated as part of the wider NotDressing renovation alongside the soil-building materials, seed and autumn nutrition.
For greens that have suffered from LDP this summer, I now regard this as an important addition to the autumn programme.
Don’t wait until the dry patches reappear next year.
Use the autumn renovation to keep the recovery going while rainfall, aeration, Soil biology and improved water movement can all work together.