Fusariummy

I'm getting to the point where I've been around long enough that I have seen a lot of different practices come and go at my golf club. In the 10 years I have been a superintendent here at Pender Harbour we have made a lot of changes for the better. We all know that each course is unique and no one solution fits all situations. Here I will share some of those things that I used to do but no longer do and why. Maybe I will inspire you to ask yourself if these practices are right for your course. 1. Verticutting I used to verticut regularly. Twice a year I would go deep and aggressive and once a month I would go nice and light. I haven't used my verticutters for a few years and here's why; When I evaluate a practice I like to ask myself what is it accomplishing and can I accomplish the same thing for less money or in a way that will help me achieve my goals of reducing pesticides and disease pressure. The purpose of verticutting is to remove surface organic matter. Verticu...

The greens have a white tinge each spring due to the poa annua seed head. No, I'm not talking about tearing your greens apart with verticutters to try and reduce the puffiness.  Arguably one of the biggest issues with poa annua is that it will produce seed heads even when maintained as greens height turf. This seed leads to puffy turf conditions which leads to bumpy and slow putting conditions. In Canada, there is no chemical control for seed head on poa annua so we are forced to live with this issue. Back before I had a roller we would have a very difficult time with seed heads. The greens would be so puffy that it would stall our mowers when we tried to mow them. We would often go out with the verticutters to try and remove some of the seed head material in an attempt to reduce the puffiness of the greens. This often was a failed effort and usually only helped spread fusarium around the already stressed turf. I haven't used my verticutters in years for any reason. I also don...

Last year I wrote a Debbie Downer article about phosphite and how it isn't as environmentally friendly as you might think. Just because it is marketed as a fertilizer doesn't mean that it doesn't have an environmental impact. We all know the impacts fertilizer can have on the environment. Disease is no big deal these days (knock on wood) I use the total cost of pest control and the EIQ to quantify my pesticide use . Even though the EIQ is flawed, it's the most user friendly and useful way to measure the environmental impact of a product applied to a golf course. With my data collection I have found that by incorporating phosphite into my disease management strategy I have been able to keep costs and the EIQ relatively unchanged. That means that the phosphite makes up for its cost and EIQ in reductions in cost and EIQ of traditional pesticides. So in the end there really is no difference, on paper anyway. Since I incorporated phosphite into my disease management program...

Aside from a little N (4kg 21-0-0 on 0.4ha if you are wondering) these greens haven't seen any fertilizer in 4 months! When something comes along like the MLSN it is natural to have doubts. When you decide to commit to something like the MLSN these doubts can get the better of you if you aren't careful. In this post I will share my experience dealing with the mental impacts of making such a drastic change to the way I fertilize grass and how you can hopefully find success in the MLSN without full on panic and terror. Don't worry, it's going to be just fine in the end. I might have been one of the first people to fully commit to the MLSN guidelines because the minute they were released I was all in! They just made so much sense to me as they described what I was seeing in the field and not what things like the BCSR described were happening in the soil. Basically, before the MLSN I was applying fertilizer and not really seeing any impact of those applications. I had also ...

In January I had the honor to speak to the members of the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendent Association. I was asked to talk about my experience with the MLSN. Here is my presentation as I presented it. I really enjoyed speaking and hope to do more of it in the future! If you or someone you know would like me to speak at your event let me know and we can try and make it work. Listening to what other superintendents are doing has always been my favorite. Thanks again WWGCSA!

Ravens tear up this area of poorly rooted turf. Notice the water logged yellow turf. It's thatchy here. For the past few winters my course has suffered from "grub damage." The real source of the damage is the ravens tearing the poorly rooted turf up in order to eat the grubs.  Where most might first think that the Ravens are the problem I have a different approach which I have described in the following video. Simply killing the ravens will not solve the problem. Never mind the fact that ravens are a very intelligent and important species on the Coast, they aren't the problem in this situation. The  Squamish Nation  sees ravens as " a key part of many North West Coast legends and stories. In many stories the raven teaches us about life and right from wrong. The raven is often misbehaving but never boring. He symbolizes change in life, creativity, and humor. A key figure in Northwest Coast legends, the raven is involved in many creation stories and is also recogni...