This subject is so important to the future performance of bowling greens that I would say it is essential for greenkeepers to understand this subject over any other.
The physical condition of the soil in the bowling green is the most important aspect of bowling green maintenance because it impacts every other aspect of green management. The physical properties of your soil dictate everything from drainage, nutrient availability and pH right up to green speed, green smoothness, consistency and ultimately whether or not the green performs to a high standard.
But what do I mean when I say Soil Physical Properties?
On greens that have been managed in the conventional way for any length of time i.e. using pesticides and inorganic fertilisers, it’s likely that the soil microbe population will be significantly depleted. There might also be gaps in the eco-system, essentially “missing microbes”.
Understanding your greens soil analysis report isn't always at the forefront of thought of those who instigate the soil test. Too often it is merely a fertiliser sales tool with the advice given taking very little notice of the results received.
Greens soil analysis results are often confusing and use terms that are not easily understood in relation to greenkeeping practice. In this article, John sets out to change that by taking apart a typical greens soil analysis report and explaining it in terms we can all understand. More importantly it relates the results to maintenance.
On grass areas where there is little or no human interference in the form of excessive fertiliser and pesticides, such as in meadows or parks, the thatch layer will almost always be at the optimum level for a continued healthy turf/soil eco-system. This is due to the soil/plant relationship being in balance; a strong and sufficiently lively soil microbe population releases nutrition from the thatch layer as it decomposes naturally.
In the green renovation phase we are mainly concerned with the physical and quick reduction of the existing thatch layer, A process that will create vastly improved soil conditions and will encourage the increase of soil microbial activity.
I’ve sometimes asked readers of this blog to take on board some fairly lofty principles, which at first, might seem unrelated to the real world of daily greenkeeping with all the incumbent pressures and demands it brings. Bowling green performance is a long term game and consistently paying attention to 3 key principles will pay great dividends. In stark contrast to this we have the chopping and changing of techniques, materials and ideas I see and hear about at clubs all over the UK which almost always results in disappointment.
Autumn Bowling Green Maintenance always raises a lot of questions. Top dressing continues to be the most concerning topic for many readers. Should we top dress? Is it OK not to? And...if we do, what should we use? Master Greenkeeper John Quinn answers readers' most pressing queries about Autumn Bowling Green Maintenance.
For rapid development and lower cost maintenance of seeded or turfed sports surfaces
Sports Turf Root Developer is a high quality inoculant containing a range of different species of beneficial endo-mycorrhizae and a range of beneficial bacteria species. Containing 50,000 propagules/g of mycorrhizae and 10⁷ of bacteria (20 different species & strains) in an optimised ratio, Sports Turf Root Developer provides an ideal solution for populating root zone soils and establishing biological activity.
In this article we take the soil samples you removed in Fix your bowling green Step1 and look more closely at them to discover what's going on under your green. This is one of the most valuable practices that any greenkeeper can undertake as it can reveal a wealth of information about the condition of your green that you could previously only guess at.
Last time, I introduced the subject of Disturbance in bowling green ecology and maintenance. I finished by posing the question; How can we use disturbance theory to our advantage in our quest to create a Performance Bowling Green? To answer that, let’s look at what might constitute Disturbance in the average bowling green. As greenkeepers we …