Time to Ease Up

As the heat wave continues, we are taking steps to ensure that the greens survive the final stretch of the summer.  For the majority of the year we are pushing the turf to the limit.  With the weather now doing that for us, its time to ease up on our end.

Fertilizing #2 Green

This morning we are giving the greens a light application of a slow release organic fertilizer.  Add in a little extra irrigation and this should give the greens a boost for the weeks to come.  Yes, this may potentially slow the greens down, at this point we are more concerned with the health of the plant.  Along those same lines, we have raised the mowing heights on the greens.  The theory here is simple, more leaf mass equals an increase in the rate of photosynthesis.  As is often the case, these slight changes to our program may go unnoticed, however, often times it only requires minimal change in inputs to tip the scale back in our favor.

Obviously, the heat and lack of rain has been a concern.  What's almost more concerning lately are the low temps we are seeing each day.  This morning at 5:30 am, it was still 85 degrees.  In the these temperature ranges the turf really has no time to recover from the stress of the day before.  

 So far, greens are doing surprisingly well (knock on wood).  Honestly, at this point, rain may do more harm than good.  The good news is the days are getting shorter and fall is right around the corner.