A busy week is planned..... a mow, a spike and a spray week.
I was chatting with a very respected local golf greenkeeper, and he tried Cyren (leatherjacket control insecticide) with a penetretive wetting agent. The result was fantastic he said. I then asked of he had considered adding liquid aeration as well, as he thought that was a great idea. So this week that will happen. Hopefully bye bye to the leatherjackets. That will be great news. The action of this insecticide is that it drives the grubs to the surface, so it will be very visible if control is effective, also a banquet for the birds!
I will be meeting up with an expert from a company called Symbio. They have been around for more than 20 years, and specialise in biological control. I have used several of their products in the past, and probably will do again next year! Will be interesting to hear about any new 'break through' products that they now have. I am sure they will have some 'must have' very expensive ones!
09/11/2013
The weather at last has turned more seasonal, thee was a touch of ice on my windscreen at 6.40 am, and it will inevitably mean that growth will just about stop until spring. But got the leathejacket control applied earlier this week and it is 'nice' to see a few pied wagtails feasting on the very immature leatherjacket grubs driven up to the surface by the insecticide.
Whilst I was walking up and down the green I was thinking about all sorts of things. One of them was the organic versus mineral fertiliser! I was fortunate enough to have spent my childhood on a farm, a great place to grow up. Thinking of what we got up to today health and safety would just freak out! But when we got home, Mum would run a bath and off we went to the bathroom. If she was very angry she would put in some Detol, to help clear up the scrapes and grazes, but the smell would stay with you for a few days after. If she was chilled out, then it would be salt she added to the bath water to act as a mild antibiotic / disinfectant. A bit like swimming in the sea is great to help heal surface wounds. So what is salt? Sodium Chloride if my memory serves me correctly? Interestingly nearly all the chemicals that end in 'ide, or 'ate, or 'ite are also salts, yet we merrily throw them onto our soils. Yes I agree that the occasional light application of mineral fertilisers will not do much harm, over a longer period of time there will be a cumulative effect on the micro biology of the root zone. I, you will be pleased to read, will not be going into this in any more details, but if you want to read further then search The Soil Food Web and be prepared for a lot of reading!
The basic difference in how these two basic types of fertiliser work is that a mineral fertiliser feeds the plant directly Simple as that, it is also easily leached out, etc... Organic based fertilisers work by feeding the micro organisms in the root zone, and they in turn feed the grass plants, and then they in turn give some back to the root zone and the process goes on.
So what is happening to the green. Well I have stuck with my principles and applied fertilisers that are 80% organic with added micro biology. This will feed both the root zone and the grass plant, and will in time result in a healthier root zone. When you take into account that I have had to spray a fungicide onto your green three times this autumn, whilst at Seafield Gardens the greens there have not been spayed at all with any fungicides since the autumn of 2012! That is what I am hoping to achieve at Iford Bridge. It will take a season or longer to get there, but it must be healthier for both the members and myself to play/work on a green that has a healthy root zone and it not being treated with loads of chemicals on a routine basis. I am not saying that I will not use chemicals, but only use them when all else fails. This will take some time, but I am confident that I will prepare for your 2014 season an improved surface to bowl on!
The coming few weeks will see routine aeration, brushing, etc..... being carried out, and I am hoping that the green will remain above the water level this winter. Well we can all hope!
27/11/2013
Not so much going on now the weather has become more seasonal. pretty much routine now. Iron for moss control applied today, and the usual brushing and spiking; a mow every 7 to 10 days just about does it.
We all, well most of us, have sayings we love and some we do not! When I get asked if I have 'put my greens to bed' yet, really gets my goat! There is no such thing as all greens are living things, they just slow down, not stop! Rant over.
Next week a feed of mollases and compost tea is planned weather permitting, with the usual brushing, mowing and aerating.
The green is looking good in most places, but in a few spots the sward density is low, so this slow growth is appreciated. A early spring is what I hope for, as play will start in April 2014. From my point of view to early as the green will not repair itself until growth is underway.
31/12/2013
What a difference a few days make.....
Christmas Eve..
Just a celebratory firework, a first for me though!
Then Boxing Day....
Was then thinking that a couple of good, seasonal cold nights and we could all go skating!
But no, Alan and his gang of willing helpers manned the pumps and now all is back to normal.
No much to report other than the flooding which regrettably got into the club house and did considerable damage.
But hey ho, we are nearly now into 2014 and putting my positive head on and now looking forward rather than backwards.
