GROUNDSKEEPING
A few years back this would have been
the month I applied a summer feed of
8-0-0, but with climate change I have
since put back our fertilizer feed until
later in the year.
August
This sees us continue with our monthly
action plans, but by now we will
probably be reviewing some pencil
tining to alleviate some compaction
& aid the penetration of water
through the soil. We will carry this out
throughout the summer on a ad hoc
basis dependent on the correct timing.
In conjunction with this I will have also
sarel roll throughout the year but will be
crucial we go into the Autumn in good
shape.
September
June
June tends to be just making sure we
keep our moisture levels constant
which is important. We will be cutting
every day & will sporadically use the
greens iron to keep things smooth.
On top of this we will we will hand weed
if the need arises. By now we are just
on the routine monthly applications
of seaweed wetting agent & the top
dressing are applied fortnightly. This
continues until October.
July
July is more of the same, but by now
we are really concerned with moisture
levels, but to help with this we will hand
water. It is important we don’t over
water as we want to help the fescue
thrive & keep the poa at bay.
GroundskeepingJournal.co.uk | Sept/Oct 2019
Early September will see us tine the
greens again & continue with the sand
dressings. At this point, I will overseed
a pure fescue mix into them at around
18g/m2 to take advantage of the soil
temperatures. The height of cut will
still be retained at 5mm, however I may
attempt to roll a few times instead of
cutting to help the new seedlings along.
If required, we will not roll or cut to help
protect the seed.
October
With the nights drawing in & disease
pressure at a high risk, we will do
everything possible to dispense of
any moisture & keep the greens dry.
Cutting will now be slowing down so we
will roll occasionally or alternatively,
dewy the greens.
Remnant weeds still lingering will
be hand picked so as to avoid any
chemical applications.
November
If we are likely to verti drain this is the
month we would do this. The majority
will try to go earlier, but due to playing
demands, we tend to stick to this
month.
We didn’t verti drain last November and
slitted the greens instead. We did this
four times last November at two weekly
cycles. Another procedure I carried out
last November for the first time was
give the greens an 8-0-0 granular feed.
The weather pattern was changing and
I feel this was a necessary change to
our plans. This meant we went into
winter very healthy & with a much
better plant adapt to disease. It meant
I wasn’t chasing for growth in the early
spring. In fact I will not have applied
any fertilizer until May thus helping the
greens perform better than ever.
December
December allows us to ease back on
everything, but we still seem to get
some growth so find ourselves still
cutting once a week. With the slit
tining continuing, we still try to apply
very light sand dressings if the weather
is conducive to this. Of course, as
usual we will dry to keep the greens dry
by dewy brushing the greens.
This is my guideline but is always
changing. This plan works for me but
every course is different so it really
depends on your site ,weather patterns
etc as to how you manage your greens.
I hope this proves a helpful insight as
to how we manage ours here at Royal St
George’s.
www.royalstgeorges.com
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