A Few More Photo's

A few photos I forgot to post.  They were taken while inspecting the turf under the tarps on April 27.

Second Assistant - Scott Elliott and Old's College Intern - Andrew Smith Inspect the 12th Green

Scott and Andrew take closely inspect the turf under the tarp on #8

Another Tool for The Tool Box

The following video is some footage I shot on Sunday April 24^th while checking on our tarps as well as some footage from yesterday when we mowed the 13^th green for the first time.

The crew and I have been monitoring the temperatures, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, as well as watching moisture and checking disease pressure under the tarps.  This will be a daily occurrence until the tarps have been removed.   It has been a long winter and it would be a shame to regress over the final few weeks.

The 13^th green in the video clip is the first green that we applied black sand to encourage melting.  We purchased the black sand through one of our local distributors who obtain the sand through Grass Roots Agronomics in Idaho.  As of two weeks ago we have applied the sand to all 19 greens.  To date 16 of these greens are now 90% clear of snow.  We have also completed some side-by-side trials using black organic fertilizer and black sand.  I will try to get some pictures of those plots on the blog in the next few days.

1 10 13

I was just leaving the golf course for Easter dinner with friends and these three numbers went through my head. 

1 - We are down to one foot of snow at the shop which is the first time since November 2010.  It is nice to see the last red number on the snow pole.  There is still plenty of snow on the upper portions of the course but I am encouraged to see the numbers dropping.

Last Red Number - below 1' at the shop



A little melting to happen - 29" of Snow Still on #3 Green

10 - The first double digit high temperature of the year  -- we hit 10 degrees at 1:30 PM today.  The last double digit high temperature was on November 6^th when we reached a high of 10.6.  That is 168 days between double digit highs.

We Are Not the Enemy

A couple of days ago I attended a talk put on by the Canadian Cancer Society and Wildsight.  Their guest speaker was Paul Tukey, the head of Safe Lawns, an environmental organization out of the United States.   A screening of the film “A Chemical Reaction” which is produced by Paul was shown.  This film is about the by-law banning pesticides in Hudson, Quebec and the ensuing court case.   After the screening, Paul took questions about growing organic lawns and banning pesticides in Canada and the United States.

Wildsight Meeting

The imagery and message in the film make a compelling case to ban all pesticides.  Many of his points regarding organic gardening are worth pursuing for home owners.   The challenge for all of us is to remove ourselves from the emotional arguments and imagery that surround the issues of pesticides.  When the emotional issues are removed and sound scientific methods and facts are used, better decisions and debates are a result.  The use of science as a decision making tool should be applied to both sides of the pesticide debate. 

During the question and answer session Paul also stated that golf courses “are not the enemy.”  I thank Paul for that statement.  Often golf courses are used as examples of intensive pesticide usage.  One of the biggest challenges I have as a golf course Superintendent is the image that we are constantly spraying the golf course with pesticides.  At Greywolf, the majority of the time our sprayer is used, it is applying liquid foliar fertilizers to key areas on the golf course.  We use these foliar products because we can apply them directly to the turf.  There is no run-off of these products into the water shed and therefore less potential for environmental damage.  We applied these foliar fertilizers directly to the turf in the area we want to treat.  They are applied when weather conditions are appropriate further reducing the chances of run-off.   Another advantage is that these liquid fertilizers are less reliant on soil temperatures making them more useful to the turfgrass.    At Greywolf we often do not achieve soil temperatures that make traditional granular fertilizers available until June.  But most people associate a sprayer with pesticide usage and, thus golf courses often have an image of intensive pesticide usage.

Update from Three Green

Some quick video shot yesterday at #3 Green.  We can finally get a wheeled vehicle to the green as we completed clearing the cart path last week. 

I make reference to seeing the Gator in the video.  Sorry I could see it.  Too far away for the camera! 

More Sampling Results

We continue to sample the greens.  We continue to see good results.  No signs of snow mold, anoxia or ice damage. 

Sample from #4 Green after rewarming in shop

Sample from #4 Green taken on April 1, 2011 - after rewarming

I was hoping the need for samples from our greens would be done by now but the long winter and late spring will necessitate the continuation of this program.   The biggest concern is no longer anoxia under the tarps.  Anoxia is the depletion of oxygen under the tarps.  The oxygen and carbon dioxide levels under the tarps continue to look good.  We sample under the tarps with an oxygen and carbon dioxide monitor weekly.  I am hoping the edges of the tarps will be exposed in the next two weeks.  This should help the turf under the tarps breath a little more. 

My main concerns are now snow mold and crown hydration.  Snow mold has two forms---Pink (Microdocium nirvala) and Grey (Thypula spp.).  Generally these two diseases occur when there are cool and wet conditions around the leaf blade or crown of the plant.  Snow cover is not required but as their name implies, these diseases thrive when there is snow cover.  Generally golf courses will see these two diseases as the snow recedes.

As part of an integrated pest management program we apply plant protectants in the fall to prevent snow mold from occurring while the turf is covered with snow.  The protectants provide us with 120 to 160 days of protection.  As of April 10 we will have been under snow cover for 160 days.  With our protectants reaching the end of their cycle and the melting snow providing the cool and wet conditions snow mold thrives in, we will be keeping a close watch on disease pressure on our greens.

Loosing It?



Usually by this time of year we are loosing our snow pack.  Not this year.  Instead of loosing it, we have had a net gain this week.  We received 15 cm of new snow on Saturday, 7 cm of snow on Monday and now at least 17 cm last night.  It has been a long spring so far but skiing is phenomenal.  This is the last week of ski hill operations and with the fresh snow and more in the forecast, Panorama has the best spring skiing conditions since I arrived here.

 

Snow Levels 4:00 PM April 6

 

Snow Levels 8:00 AM April 7



But this is supposed to be a golf course update and not a ski report.

Applying Black Sand to Practice Green

In order to deal with all the snow, the crew has been trying to assist Mother Nature melt snow over the past few weeks.  We have been spreading black sand onto the surface of the tarped greens.  The black sand attracts and retains heat and therefore speeds the melting process.  The end goal is to expose the tarps so we can speed their removal and get the golf course open quicker.

 

Black Sand on Practice Green - Now Under Snow

Assistant Superintendents Colin and Scott have been carrying out this arduous task.  It requires the right weather conditions - freezing cold temperatures in the morning followed by no snow and lots of sun.  Freezing temperatures in the morning are required in order to apply the sand to the snow surface.  Freezing temperatures allows Colin and Scott to walk on the surface without breaking through the snow.  They spread the sand by walking behind rotary fertilizer spreaders.  The sand is a dried product that comes in 50 lb bags.  This allows the sand to easily flow through the spreaders.  The 50lb bags allow for easier transportation around the golf course.  Not the easiest job when you are into moving pallets of 50lb bags by hand through winter conditions.  These guys have done an outstanding job and faced a few set backs. 

Weather has been the main setback.  Sun and no snow have been in short supply.  Every time we find a window to spread sand, it seems to cloud over and snow, wasting hours of work.  I have been joking that there is no need for snow making at Panorama next year.  If the mountain needs snow, the crew at Greywolf will apply black sand to a couple of greens and within eight hours it will snow.