Greens News – August 2018 Rainfall: August 30mm
July 46.5mm
June 36.5mm
May 32mm August has continued in the same vein as the previous 3 months. Conditions remain dry but at least the high temperatures have subsided. It has without doubt put pressure on an aging irrigation system and also on our storage capacity as supply is running low. Maintenance Week:
There were many processes involved with aeration week beginning with a double pass with the verti-cuts. This helps to refine and thin out the surface to allow the top dressing sand to firm and dilute the thatch. To improve drainage, a 12mm solid tine was used to a depth of 200mm. Top dressing began with each green receiving between 1 ½ - 2 tonnes of sand. This was allowed to dry to maximise the amount of sand we could brush into the tine holes. We followed up with a second pass of the greens, this time with 8mm solids to help close up the larger holes aiding recovery. A final drag mat to lift the plant and disperse any excess sand pre cutting and the greens where irrigated to wash in the sand. The following week we started over seeding. It is a difficult process trying to integrate new seedlings into a competitive environment such as a greens sward. There are serval mechanical methods for surface preparation such as hollow/solid tinings, scarifying or disc and dimple seeding. Over the years we have tried several methods with moderate success. First of all I arranged to meet with our local Barenbury seed rep to establish best practice and what we could do with the equipment available to us. Pot seeding was his recommendation combined with scarifying. Utilizing a set of old 12mm tines, we punched holes to a depth of 10mm. Creating in effect a small ‘pot’ for seeds to germinate in (approximately 4 million across 1ha of greens). At a sowing rate of 5g/m2 (70,000 seeds/m2) we applied 50kgs of seed to the greens using a drop spreader on loan from the Oaks Golf Club. It is a more accurate method of applying the bent grass seed than using our own cyclone spreader. We then followed up with applying a further 30 tonnes of sand to cover the seed. It is vital that the seed has contact with the sand/soil and not the thatch layer for it to establish. We shall see if we have been successful in the next two weeks. Gareth Williams, Course Director
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