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Bio Liquid Fertilisers- their role in Performance Bowls Greens

I often mention that for a Performance Bowling Green, you should be using Bio Liquid Fertilisers and in an earlier article I briefly discussed some of the key characteristics exhibited by what I would term a Performance Green and these were:

  1. A green that performs well from the get go every year.
  2. A green that is consistent throughout the season
  3. A green that is economical to maintain
  4. A green that fights off disease, drought and cold largely on its own.
  5. A green that your members will relish playing on

I then went on to give a couple of hints for starting the transition from a conventionally maintained green to a Performance Green. These were to stop routinely applying sand based top-dressing and to start as soon as possible to use Bio-Liquid fertilisers throughout the growing season.

The top-dressing debate has raged on this site for a long time now and I think I’ve been joined by a few converts along the way. However, I do understand how difficult it is to be the man driving against the traffic on an apparently one way street!

So with top-dressing already enjoying quite a bit of coverage on the site, I will leave it aside for the moment to concentrate on my other hint, which was the use of Bio-Liquid fertilisers.

But, first of all; what on earth are Bio Liquid Fertilisers?

A Bio (biological fertiliser) is one which contains carbohydrates in addition to the stated nutrients (N.P.K) often derived from minerals. The fertiliser can also contain other organic nutrients, amino acids etc.

Bio Fertilisers, of course, provide the plants with the basic building blocks we expect from fertilisers in the form of the essential soil nutrients, but the carbohydrate portion also nourishes the soil micro life (micro-organisms). This results in healthy plants and a healthy soil which allows us to produce better bowling surfaces consistently and predictably.

Research (Parent 1996) has shown that an active microbial flora means healthy plants, stable structures in the growth mass, reduced leaching of nutrients, and increased availability of a range of nutrients. Studies have also shown that micro-organisms – entirely naturally – produce antibiotics and vitamins which are actively absorbed by the plants.

As greenkeepers then, we should spend as much time thinking about the health of the soil as we do about achieving a fast, smooth surface as the two are inextricably linked. A simple and effective way of improving conditions for the micro life is to add carbohydrates, as a lack of available carbohydrates is the most limiting factor for the growth of soil micro-organisms (Parent 1996).

In addition to the above an active soil micro life is of major significance, as the micro-organisms contribute to the formation of stable soil aggregates via the discharge of polysaccharides. These are formed via adsorption of polysaccharides, which attach to clay particles. This is important on all greens, but the process is especially significant on sandy greens with low Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), as it helps to reduce the leaching of nitrogen from the soil.

These polysaccharides form compounds with iron, aluminium, zinc and copper, and make them more available to the grass.

The micro-organisms also provide an invaluable service in breaking down organic material, which increases the breakdown of the thatch layer. This breaking down (mineralisation) releases nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, iron and other substances for the benefit of the plants.

With their content of carbohydrates, Bio fertilisers favour an active microbial flora. In comparison with traditional inorganic and organic fertilisers, this makes it easy for the greenkeeper to reduce the overall application rate of a range of nutrients, including nitrogen, allowing us to maintain our greens more economically and in a more environmentally aware manner.

We’ve seen that readily available carbohydrates are of major importance for the soil micro life, but the grasses also benefit directly from the application of carbohydrates – in particular, sucrose – which is available to them, as these can be absorbed to a minor extent directly by the leaves (Parent 1996).

A carbohydrate store in the plant is important throughout the entire growth season, as carbohydrates act as a direct source of energy in re-growth if/when the grass is exposed to injury, disease, stress and wear. The plant’s carbohydrate content is also an extremely important factor in the grasses ability to survive the winter (Beard 1973).

 

Bio Liquid Fertilisers from Bowls Central

Traditional Bowls Green Aeration

Rob emailed with an interesting question about using the old fashioned forking method of aeration during periods when the green is excessively wet, like now probably in many parts. Here is Rob’s full question and my reply to him earlier. If anybody has views on this subject please feel free to share:

Do you know anything about the traditional ‘raise forking’ or ‘graip’ aeration methods that were used? What kind of forks were used? (straight? curved? how thick were the prongs?) and how deep did the go down ? etc.

I am interested in such traditional techniques and yet cannot find out any information about it?

After the snow the greens are absolutely soaked through and I wondered if trying this traditional technique might dry them out with minimum disturbance?

Well, although I have used the method (under duress) in the past, I didn’t have all of the answers I would have liked for Rob:

Hi Rob and Happy New Year

I am not aware of any special equipment for this, but I have done it.

Usually this was with a normal garden fork; the technique was to work backwards and push the fork in as far as possible at intervals equivalent to the space between the tines on the fork so as to create a square hole pattern.

After pushing the fork in to full depth (6 to 8 inches) you wiggled it about and heaved it backwards slightly before removing and moving on to the next.

Back-breaking and very labour intensive mind you.

Before going to extreme measures it might be worth checking that the ground isn’t still frozen at some point below as this might be causing the slow down in drainage.

During the winter I recommend using a deep slit tiner as often as possible, which automates this procedure to some extent and has a very good effect on compaction related problems like this.

You can find articles on this here:

Last week I shared some links to resources including the most suitable machinery for this work; you can see that article here:

If any reader has some light to shed on this subject then I would be very interested to hear it.

John

Performance Greens and Thriving Clubs: Action Speaks Louder than Words

Performance Greens and Thriving Clubs go hand in hand. There can be no denying that the most important aspect of any club is the sport itself, so it stands to reason that clubs with great greens have a better chance of thriving than others.

I have a growing band of enthusiastic users of my Performance Bowling Greens and Club Survival eBooks.

I say “users” rather than “readers” because I think there is a vital difference between the two.

I have written these eBooks with the intention of them being used as practical guides or manuals and it is great to see so many of you putting them to good use already.

But…It can’t be over emphasised that Implementation is the vital component of any project and I would encourage everyone to not only read these publications but to make a promise to yourself and your club to get on and take Massive Action on the back of your reading.

There is no better time to get started than right now!

Here is what some of our readers are saying:

Myself and my Club Kearsney Bowling Club have a lot of faith in John Quinn and are building our green improvement scheme around his book ‘Performance Bowling Greens a Practical Guide’ which was purchased by the club for our grren keeper and playing member Graham Perrinn. Bowling Club Survival and Tournaround eBook is just the guide for clubs to get a grip of and encouraging new members to come to the club. It will also once, the project is up and running, show to club members, in laymans language, how the club is running, what we can do to improve our image and how and where the money is distributed to make it a Club others will want to join. Thank you John for all the information you distribute amongst us willing Club Officers and Green keepers to make the game of Bowls continue into the future.
Regards Colin Thompson, Treasurer of Kearsney Bowling Club. Colin Thompson

 

 

Completed our first slit tining last Sunday, two directions second at 45 degrees to first. No rear roller on our machine; see what you mean about tails. Our machine only goes 100mm deep but we hope to undertake tining as often as weather will permit over the closed season.
Many thanks for your help and advice. Graham Wood

 

Just a line or two to thank you for some wonderful advice on bowling greens. I have recently been appointed greenkeeper at Sutton Coldfield Conservative Club.I have 38 years experience of golf greenkeeping but your advice has been invaluable. When i took over,the green was in a pretty pathetic state. But, with lots of work and manhours,it is turning around pretty well. It is good to know that there are people around that can offer their advice for free and are willing to help in this wonderful profession. Thanks once again for all you do for us novice bowling green guys.
Best regards,
Jim Guest

 

Performance Bowls Greens-Making Best Use of Winter

Time is marching on and most greens have had their autumn renovation works completed and the greens have been “put to bed”, which is my least favourite phrase in bowling green maintenance.

There should be no question of putting a green to bed for winter, as the next few months are the most vital of times for starting your journey towards a performance bowling green.

Bowling green maintenance has traditionally concentrated on the bowling season and greens have to a large extent been almost neglected during the winter.

The 2 main problems that greens suffers from and which are the root cause of almost all of the difficulties we encounter on greens can only really be tackled head on during the winter.

First among these is thatch and if there is an excessive build up of thatch on your green you should be taking appropriate action now to reduce this mechanically before it gets too cold.

The remainder of the winter right up to March or thereabouts should be peak compaction relief time; this is the only time when you can tackle it properly and the best technique to use is pedestrian, deep slit tining.

So if you are not out doing this now, don’t be surprised if your green isn’t performing very well next season.

The trouble with neglecting this work is that it just can’t be caught up with again during the season, which results in a very early deterioration in condition once the season is underway; in many cases the green doesn’t really get growing until well into the late spring period. Meantime the green is being subjected to further compaction and wear at a time when recovery is limited due to cold soil and weather. If this is combined with last year’s compaction and thatch which hasn’t been dealt with properly in the close season then tgreen can deteriorate beyond recovery very early in the season.

Let’s re-cap on some of the major problems that arise from neglecting this work:

Flooding, puddles, un-even playing surface, Localised Dry Patch, bare areas, poor use of fertiliser/increased fertiliser requirements, disease, more pesticide required, more water required, moss, weeds, poor runs, slow green surface, inconsistent rinks, unhappy members etc.

Now is the time to be getting on with the early stages of renovation which will lead to a performance bowling green for your club in the future.

Irrigation for Bowls Greens

Further to my previous post a lot of clubs have been in touch recently to ask for advice about irrigation systems; mainly about the cost of installing them.

Readers of my ebook Performance Bowling Greens a practical guide will know that I am not a big fan of the industry accepted standard for bowling green watering systems. They simply don’t work well enough.

Where standard irrigation systems are struggling to apply enough water to help with fending off LDP or indeed to apply sufficient water as part of Read more