Well here we are, the clocks have changed and the evenings are drawing out nicely. We have had some very sunny days of late mixed in with some good old fashioned April showers. This combination coupled with the optimum ground temperature results is grass growing like crazy. So do we want the grass to grow or not to grow. The answer is both. How do we achieve this? how can we control the growth over a four day bank holiday? we use a Plant Growth Regulator. We have applied this to fairways, tee's, collars & approaches using our hydraulic sprayer. The PGR we use is called Primo MAXX and has many benefits if applied correctly and more importantly at the correct time. It must be applied onto a dry leaf and not mown for 24 hours allowing the PGR to translocate into the plant. Trinexapac-ethyl is the active ingredient in Primo MAXX that works by redirecting plant growth. It specifically targets the gibberellic acid site responsible for cell elongation in grass. Not only does Primo MAXX inhibit vertical growth, but actually diverts plant growth downward into the root system to produce increased food reserves and lateral stem development. This in turn produces a thicker, healthier sward that better equips the grass plant to become more drought and heat tolerance, helps with moisture loss, reduces the seed heads on Annual Meadow Grass (Poa annua) and allows the plant to use irrigation/rain water more efficiently. We mix the Primo MAXX with a water soluble fertiliser and sulphate of iron.
The pictures below show our foam bout marker in action. The marks where we have sprayed so we don't over spray and damage the turf.
The pictures below show our foam bout marker in action. The marks where we have sprayed so we don't over spray and damage the turf.
This year we have decide to use a white paint around the inside of the hole. This should make the hole more visible and keep the holes in good shape for longer. Below there are a few pictures of the tools we use. Click on the link below to see a video of the 360 hole painter in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkUUQO5k1xc
A granular fertiliser was applied on tuesday 22nd. This is what we call our base feed. It contains 3 different types of nitrogen and depending on the size and length of the chain molecule is how long it takes to release its nutrition. The longer the molecule the longer the release of the nutrition will be. There is a long, medium and short chain molecule in the product we applied. The short gives us an immediate response, medium will last for 2-3 months and the long will trickle the nitrogen over 6 months. the idea of this is to produce as even growth as possible. There is a ratio of 1:2 nitrogen - potassium. Potassium is particularly important at this time of year because it really helps with root development and helps the plant defend itself against stress i.e. cutting heights, traffic, heat stress. Unfortunately this may slow the pace of the greens down for a little while until the first phase of nitrogen kicks in.
Other news
Believe it or not all the bunkers have been edged, weeded and had the stones removed. We have also pushed the sand around and added where needed. It looks like they need doing again (the joys of spring) as i said in my previous blog bunkers are very time consuming. The 10th bunker has a coat of creosote. we will be continuing with the top dressing programme when we can. the greens were penciled tined 2 weeks ago with a 5mm tine.
Hopefully this week we should find our if Andrew Armstrong and Matthew Clark passed their NVQ level 3 in Greenkeeping & Sports Turf Maintenance
Thank you for reading and remember there is a form to the right hand side if you have any questions or queries needing an answer.
The Greenkeeping team
Hopefully this week we should find our if Andrew Armstrong and Matthew Clark passed their NVQ level 3 in Greenkeeping & Sports Turf Maintenance
Thank you for reading and remember there is a form to the right hand side if you have any questions or queries needing an answer.
The Greenkeeping team