Covid Practice Plans (Green Building -- please tell me I'm not nuts!)

[DShepley]

I'm the psychopath who saw a brown circle in my green while waiting for kids to get off of the bus, and shoveled a patch to find out if there were any more.  So far so good though I did find a couple of spots that might be small patches of grey snow mold.  Eager to see what the melt the rest of the week reveals.  The brown circular patch could possibly be pink snow mold, though I'm leaning more towards it being remnants of 'yellow snow.  The green has been under constant snow cover since December 26th with no thaw until the past week.

[DLiver]

I'm liking the shovel lol. It's so nice when the snow starts to go and you can start walking on the ground.

[DShepley]

25 minutes ago, DLiver said:

I'm liking the shovel lol. It's so nice when the snow starts to go and you can start walking on the ground.

It was the least invasive of the bunch...I also use it sometimes to top dress as well.  My daughter doesn't seem to mind.  The forecast for the rest of the week looks promising for melting the remaining snow!  Can't wait to start fussing over grass!

[golfsticks]

Would covering the green with a tarp solve the spot issue, and long winter exposure?   Know zilch about it though but I know some courses used to cover greens in winter.   Precious kids too, pushing it in was an old Zinger practice drill- she just may be a natural.    Could heated greens be far behind.  

[DShepley]

Just now, golfsticks said:

Would covering the green with a tarp solve the spot issue, and long winter exposure?   Know zilch about it though but I know some courses used to cover greens in winter.   Precious kids too, pushing it in was an old Zinger practice drill- she just may be a natural.    Could heated greens be far behind.  

Yes and no I suppose.  I treated it for snow mold but not sure a tarp would do much to prevent that anyway.  The tarps to cover a green are pretty specialized and expensive.  They have to let moisture through so that the green can breathe though I do think that they spur quicker green up and growth due to a greenhouse effect.  It should grow through it okay I expect.  I think tarping does more to prevent damage from ice.  I don't think I had any issues with ice though time will tell as I should see most of the green emerge by the end of this week.  What I uncovered so far looks pretty typical for my area of the world, but I am learning as I go.  I do have lots of seed left and will be over-seeding when weather permits.

[Chip Duffer]

Overall, it looks to be in pretty good shape for being under a blanket of the white stuff for about 3 months.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how beautiful this is going to be in the later spring. You did a heckuva job on that green DShepley! 

[kb7]

Thank God things are thawing up north. I was getting some real bad anxiety waiting for an update on this green.

[DShepley]

A grey day up here in the north, but we caught a mild night and a lot of snow melted, (yesterday afternoon there was still 4" of snow on most of the surface).  Rain on the way today which will make a sloppy mess but....it won't be long until we're putting!  Overall it looks like it faired well through the winter.  There are a few small circles of grey snow mold but pretty minimal.  The area around the back edge is a bit brown but I'm hoping that this is dormancy and not damage from ice, etc.  It was also the first to thaw so it's possible this could be wind burn?  Who knows?? Amateur Greenskeeping is hard and this is the first winter I've been through so I'm sure there I have a lot to learn.  I am excited for warm weather and to see this green up!

[Chip Duffer]

9 hours ago, DShepley said:

A grey day up here in the north, but we caught a mild night and a lot of snow melted, (yesterday afternoon there was still 4" of snow on most of the surface).  Rain on the way today which will make a sloppy mess but....it won't be long until we're putting!  Overall it looks like it faired well through the winter.  There are a few small circles of grey snow mold but pretty minimal.  The area around the back edge is a bit brown but I'm hoping that this is dormancy and not damage from ice, etc.  It was also the first to thaw so it's possible this could be wind burn?  Who knows?? Amateur Greenskeeping is hard and this is the first winter I've been through so I'm sure there I have a lot to learn.  I am excited for warm weather and to see this green up!

That is really a thing of beauty you created there Sir!

[DShepley]

Just chipping away in my yard....many more days of this to come.

[DShepley]

I felt like I should be doing work on my green, so last night I gave it a light sand topdressing and brushed it in with the push broom.  It was a bigger workout than it should have been, (I've been pretty good at holding the couch down lately and am in horrible shape)!  I did enjoy a tasty pint when I was finished and I'm looking forward to the rain that is expected in the next couple of days.  I think that will really wake things up.  We haven't had any precipitation since the snow melt and things are getting pretty dry.  The light sand topdressing will be a frequent activity over the next few months in an effort to get things rolling well and once the soil temperature warms up enough, I'll over-seed after top dressing and brush the seed in as I sweep the sand through the canopy.  

[Nels55]

Are you planning to aerate the green?

[DShepley]

1 hour ago, Nels55 said:

Are you planning to aerate the green?

No, not unless it needs it in the fall.  There is a growing trend to do frequent light topdressing which reduces the need to aerate as frequently.  As well, since there hasn't been a full year of growth, there still isn't much of a thatch layer that would require a core aeration.  Now, I may punch solid tine holes in it to allow water to penetrate deeper into the root zone if needed but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

[dcrocketman]

First cut this spring. In the next couple days height will be dropped drastically.o

[dcrocketman]

My green will be aerated the third week of April . DShepley you don’t need to aerate yours. It’s young and has very little thatch or organic material .

 

[dcrocketman]

Oh yeah if you notice a bunch of trees were removed 

[DShepley]

10 hours ago, dcrocketman said:

First cut this spring. In the next couple days height will be dropped drastically.o

Are you cutting at the same height where you ended in the fall?  I'm debating cutting mine today just to smooth it out as there has been a bit of growth, (not as much as yours).  Your's really greened up well, mine is getting there slowly though I expect I will see a significant change in April.  I'd like to drop some seed on some spots that were struggling but don't think my soil temp is quite there yet.  Also...have you done any fertilizing yet this year?

Edited March 30, 2021 by DShepley

[DShepley]

Well....my mowers fired up with some fresh fuel and since it was 15C, I took a run at knocking the fuzz off....windy today!  I think it looks pretty good for March.  I wish my dog didn't pee on the snow in the fall to make that dead circle, but I'll scratch some seed in there once the ground temp allows as well as in the spot in the lower right corner that continually washed out last year...not that I have a drainage problem, but just that we only seemed to get rain 1.5" at a time last summer!  Further, I have some bare spots from the damage that the cutworm and possibly the worm castings created last year, (second picture).  My Super Intendent friend tells me that I should mimic a verti-cut with a stiff fan rake as this will promote lateral growth, (the plant regrows from the severed spot).  Wouldn't it be great to have a verti-cutting mower??? I think so, but my wife probably not so!  If this fails, I will brush some over-seeding in with a topdressing in April when the soil temp allows.  The third picture is a bonus....it's the sound of my short game getting sharper while I practice in my own yard in March and enjoy the heck out of a tasty pint.....hahahahahahahahahahahaha (Queue the maniacal laugh!!!)

[golfsticks]

Looks like it came in pretty good getting ready for a season of holing.

[dcrocketman]

16 hours ago, DShepley said:

Well....my mowers fired up with some fresh fuel and since it was 15C, I took a run at knocking the fuzz off....windy today!  I think it looks pretty good for March.  I wish my dog didn't pee on the snow in the fall to make that dead circle, but I'll scratch some seed in there once the ground temp allows as well as in the spot in the lower right corner that continually washed out last year...not that I have a drainage problem, but just that we only seemed to get rain 1.5" at a time last summer!  Further, I have some bare spots from the damage that the cutworm and possibly the worm castings created last year, (second picture).  My Super Intendent friend tells me that I should mimic a verti-cut with a stiff fan rake as this will promote lateral growth, (the plant regrows from the severed spot).  Wouldn't it be great to have a verti-cutting mower??? I think so, but my wife probably not so!  If this fails, I will brush some over-seeding in with a topdressing in April when the soil temp allows.  The third picture is a bonus....it's the sound of my short game getting sharper while I practice in my own yard in March and enjoy the heck out of a tasty pint.....hahahahahahahahahahahaha (Queue the maniacal laugh!!!)

I dropped my H.O.C. to 0.115.

Won't fertilize for awhile... when I aerate i will.

Your green looks great,

[DShepley]

8 minutes ago, dcrocketman said:

I dropped my H.O.C. to 0.115.

Won't fertilize for awhile... when I aerate i will.

Your green looks great,

Thanks.  I'm at about 0.156 currently and have a target in mind of 0.125 though I would like those damaged spots to fill in first and expect that I'll need more top dressing to smooth the surface.  I'll let things wake up with rain and Mid April start with Urea applications.

 

[DLiver]

You guys sound like full-fledged superintendents! 🚜

[dcrocketman]

2 hours ago, DLiver said:

You guys sound like full-fledged superintendents! 🚜

Its tough to grow grass at that height. I have killed mine many times

The price of learning is very high

[DLiver]

4 hours ago, dcrocketman said:

Its tough to grow grass at that height. I have killed mine many times

The price of learning is very high

So true. I don't think the average golfer understand how tiny the grass blades are on greens.

[DShepley]

Sounds like we are in for a province wide four week 'Stay at Home' order and a good chance golf courses are going to be instructed to close starting tomorrow.  It really sucks since in the two counties that make up our public health district, there are only 20 active Covid cases.  So, here we are, one year from when this crazy project began and things are looking just as grim as last spring!  The upside is that the work paid off and I will at least have yard golf to occupy me for the next month.  I mowed the green and apron today and things are coming along well, now to hit some chips and putts before playing what might be my last round for the next month.

[jholz]

Wow, that green has come along amazingly! Really unfortunate about the dog spot. You are a lucky man!

[DShepley]

3 minutes ago, jholz said:

Wow, that green has come along amazingly! Really unfortunate about the dog spot. You are a lucky man!

Yeah...she's a good puppers though!  I'll scratch some seed in there with some peat moss and it will bounce back in no time, (hopefully with that bare spot beside the bunker as well).

[stryper]

7 hours ago, DShepley said:

Sounds like we are in for a province wide four week 'Stay at Home' order and a good chance golf courses are going to be instructed to close starting tomorrow.  It really sucks since in the two counties that make up our public health district, there are only 20 active Covid cases.  So, here we are, one year from when this crazy project began and things are looking just as grim as last spring!  The upside is that the work paid off and I will at least have yard golf to occupy me for the next month.  I mowed the green and apron today and things are coming along well, now to hit some chips and putts before playing what might be my last round for the next month.

 

Complete Covid insanity, and completely unnecessary.  Glad you have the resources to find a satisfying diversion amidst all this chaos.  Then again, a month of nothing but short game work will undoubtedly pay big dividends when you’re back into action.  

[Tupperwolf]

This thread is so awesome, I've been silently following along for a long time.

 

Sorry to hear about the course closures.  I am the complete opposite of a covid denier, etc mindset.  But golf is about the safest activity anyone could do, and its mental benefits (just being outside and engaged) are so important.  People need an outlet.

 

Anyway, I feel the potential frustration.  Your home green is something to be proud of for sure!

[DShepley]

10 hours ago, Tupperwolf said:

This thread is so awesome, I've been silently following along for a long time.

 

Sorry to hear about the course closures.  I am the complete opposite of a covid denier, etc mindset.  But golf is about the safest activity anyone could do, and its mental benefits (just being outside and engaged) are so important.  People need an outlet.

 

Anyway, I feel the potential frustration.  Your home green is something to be proud of for sure!

Thanks.  Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not a Covid denier, just frustrated living in rural Ontario and continually being shut down in various ways due to a problem that largely exists in the larger cities.  Enough about that though, we can't change it anyway, we can only try to make the best of it.  Luckily, golf courses were spared during this latest stay at home order and are allowed to stay open which means that not much will really change for me, so...happy happy!  Thanks for following the thread.