LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF AGRONOMY
Dear Member ,
February started with some cold artic air . It seems that this was unusual for this area . A lot of the tropical plants had some frost or freeze damage . We will see if they rebound . We plan on cutting them back and removing the damage now that the threat of frost or freeze is no longer a factor . Hopefully they will bounce back !
Even though the courses remain very busy , we are trying to continue our cultural programs . We aerified the right siede of the ninth green on Deer to get some air in it and aid in its drainage . We added a soil amendment , which is a ceramic product , that will assist in creating a void for better air flow and water drainage . I will apply this product every time we aerify the greens this summer . This will help the greens immensely . We look forward to being able to do this as it will help the greens breathe better . For now , we will be spiking the greens bi-weekly until we can core aerify them towards the last week of May .
We have been approved for the Deer Run irrigation renovation . I know some have questioned this move , but I will try and shed a little light on the project . Southwest Florida Water Management District is the agency that monitors and polices water usage , whether it is for drinking , agricultural , or other means . As you know there are many people moving to Florida and the state is growing fast ! So , water conservation is very vital to our sustainability . We report our water usage monthly as it is regulated . If a property reports a higher number than what is allotted , it causes an audit . Continued over usage can result in a fine until it is brought back in line with the permitted amount . It does not matter to them if we are in a drought or not , you must stay within your allowed amount . We use soil moister meters to check water saturation and only apply what is needed . This is monitored daily . Too much water is not a good thing either , it can rot the crown and cause shallow rooting , which makes the grass want more water due to faster evaporation . We want deep roots that make the grass stronger and less susceptible to disease and stress . Sun N lake did a study in 2018 through an outside agency and there were some deficiencies both in the pump station and the dated hydraulic system . There was an agreement made that the property would try to bring it within compliance when possible . Through this agreement they elected to renew our consumptive use permit . The new system will allow us to water more efficiently and put the water in the proper places . The Bahia grass and the outer roughs will no longer be watered after the system is installed . I am sure you have noticed how long it takes for the current heads to come on and off . This makes it impossible to water effectively . We will be able to apply the water only where it is needed . Currently we must shut the system down and drain it in order to make a repair . This is very hard on all the mainlines and causes it to shutter and hammer , which causes additional leaks . We are trying to plan a start date of June 6th for the project . We will work most of the aerification and maintenance around the closings . The plan is to try to keep 27 holes always open during the renovation . We will keep you posted as we get closer .
We have applied our second application of pre-emergent wall to wall . This will give us a head start on the summer annuals such as the goose , crab , and the tropical signal grasses . This process will help us continue to grow weed free turf .
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