Keeping the bowling green eco-system in balance is important in order to minimise the exposure of our grass plants to a range of environmental stresses. These stresses can be thought of as environmental constraints to growth and regeneration and can come in many guises, such as a shortage of light, water, nutrition or extremes of temperature. Conditions within the soil …
Biotic and abiotic factors interact with each other. For example low oxygen levels in turf (abiotic) will affect the health of the turf roots directly when the soil becomes increasingly acidic making it harder for roots to extract nutrients from the soil, and indirectly by reducing the population of beneficial bacteria (biotic factors) which play a role in breaking down organic material to release nutrition.
Life after pesticides for bowling clubs, what a scary thought, or is it? Master Greenkeeper John Quinn explains why he believes the death of pesticides could be the start of a revolution in bowling green performance.
Essential Greenkeeping tasks for April include Scarification, moss control, microbe boosting, disease prevention and keeping the surface clear of worm casts. Now is the time to make soil nutrient balance corrections and to get some starter fertiliser and bio-stimulants on to boost soil microbial activity and get the grass growing well. Take advantage of my soil analysis service for a positive start to the season with a done for you greenkeeping schedule.
Essential Greenkeeping tasks for March include aeration, moss control, microbe boosting, disease prevention and keeping the surface clear of worm casts. Now is the time to make soil nutrient balance corrections and to get some starter fertiliser and bio-stimulants on to boost soil microbial activity and get the grass growing well. Take advantage of my soil analysis service for a positive start to the 2019 season with a done for you greenkeeping schedule.
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!
Greenkeepers are bombarded with turf problems in the form of disease, weeds, pests and disorders. Now, with many pesticides being banned and unavailable it’s time for us to take back control of our turf. The good news is that it is actually easier without chemicals, because we are forced to learn more about the underlying causes of problems and become more familiar with the ecology of our greens.
Winter Greenkeeping Strategies have to a large extent been based on preventative fungicide, putting the green to bed and hoping for the best. This overlooks the huge opportunity greenkeepers have to make a real difference through applying some sound Winter Greenkeeping Strategies right through the closed months.
Successfully dealing with fairy ring in fine turf is a challenge facing many greenkeepers, but one that can be broken down into easily taken key steps. The conventional remedies that feature the use of fungicides are simply dealing with symptoms and can guarantee only one outcome; temporary relief followed by a worsening of the problem over the longer term. In this article you'll find a pesticide free, long term solution that also alleviates the short term symptoms.
