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

[mallrat]

Pythium isn’t a huge issue where I live (Oregon) because we aren’t often hot/humid enough. If I remember correctly use 150 as a general rule, heat + humidity over 150 and you need to be very careful with your watering.

[MoaningM]

Fantastic project, Im quite envious..

[dcrocketman]

Mefanoxam is great for damping off

[DShepley]

Thanks, it's been a lot of fun so far. Tonight I spoke with the superintendent at our club and he is going to come over tomorrow afternoon to spend some time with me. I think I have some damping off happening and he is going to give his opinion on that as well as give me a run down on my mower set up, maintenance etc. He is also bringing along some lapping compound so I can backlap my reel to sharpen it. I'm quite happy to have the consult!

[Fairways_and_Greens]

My front tire on my BX 25 likes to go flat too

[DShepley]

There is a story to mine. I was moving a bale of hay that was a little too heavy with my bucket and had the tractor in 4WD. I turned the wheel when stationary and managed to peel the tire free of the wheel and off of the bead. I took it to a friend who is a mechanic and we got the tire back on but it had a slow leak for nearly a year and a half. I would have to put air in it every time I used the tractor until.....I started moving sod and bushes while building the green. I ran the tires hard for a whole day and now it doesn't leak. I think the amount of weight I had in the bucket while moving the sod, combined with the higher pressure finally got it to seat properly in the bead. In the picture, it wasn't flat, (they only run at 25lbs pressure), but the weight of that bush had it squished pretty well.

[Ty_Webb]

This thread is passing so far over the top of my head it's like a glimmer in the sky, but I'm loving it. Great stuff.

[DShepley]

Okay. Today the Superintendent from my home course came over for a visit to diagnose some issues I was having with my green, (potential damping off). I'm so lucky to have support close by that is willing to help a crazy person like myself who is trying to 'eat an elephant' one bite at a time. Anyway, ...he took a look with a magnifying looking glass in several places and took a few core soil samples. His diagnosis was quite encouraging as he thinks the fungal outbreak is minimal and in check. We have had a very odd spring so far and have had next to no rain for the past month, (apart from 1 3/4" that fell in an hour and a half a week or so back). He showed me a core sample identifying that my watering isn't penetrating deep enough into the root zone, (root zone is very dry and crumbly while the surface soil is wet), and said that when the weather conditions get like they are, sometimes the soil on the surface tends to repel water. At our home course, he said that surfactant treatments have had little effect and are in short supply so he opted to slice the greens because he knows he can get water to travel down a hole. For a very reasonable fee, he offered to set up his aerator for a tight pattern solid tine aeration to be completed tomorrow night, (so long as everything goes smoothly at the course tomorrow), and he feels this will make a world of difference. Some of the stress I am seeing he thinks is due largely to the weather conditions and lack of adequate water in the root zone. Once the aeration is complete, I will apply fungicide again and water it in so it reaches the roots to cover my bases. Apart from taking the time to talk me through the green, fungicide and watering strategies, he also gave me a run down on mower set up and maintenance. He gave me a feeler gauge to set the tolerance between the bed knife and my reel and also brought me a tub of lapping compound and walked me through how to backlap my reel to keep it sharp and how to test if it is sharp. He left telling me that if I see anything odd going on to feel free to call him. I'm so so happy about this! Here is my view from my watering routine tonight, (his suggestion is that when it is dry like the current conditions, I should water in a liberal amount in the evening and follow with a moderate watering in the morning to knock the dew off. Also if it is very humid and dry I can spray the green down mid day to lower the surface temp).

[mallrat]

What fungicide does he have you spraying? Did he talk with you about surfactants and/or wetting agents (we refer to them as different products but not sure how everyone else does).

One thing most people don’t realize is that Supers generally LOVE their job and are more than happy to talk/ help out when asked. Many won’t stop talking once you get them started in all things turf care

[DShepley]

So....update from tonight. I mowed the green tonight before the superintendent from my club showed up to poke some solid tine holes for me. He mentioned that due to the type of weather we have had, this is one of those times where surfactants don't really have an effect. Given that my green is still growing in, we agreed to go the route of solid tine aeration. It was a slick machine he brought, (John Deere), and made quick work, (I'll have him back to take cores when it comes time to deal with thatch). Anyway, we got it punched and I gave it a healthy dose of water to make the roots happy. When I was done, I rolled the surface back down with the reel off on the mower as the aeration had softened it up. I also had time for a couple quick pints while I watched the sprinklers turn.

[DShepley]

Well, it seems we only ever get rain around here in nearly 2" increments of very fast downpours. Yesterday afternoon a very heavy rain again. This morning I went out and gave the green a trim and inspected for damage. Most of the new seedlings were flattened by the rain though I believe they will be okay. I had some topdressing and seeding done that unfortunately washed away though overall I think the green is looking better. We are supposed to get a couple days of rain this week and a potential thunderstorm, so I will hold off on anymore seeding and topdressing until later in the week. This cut was at 5/8" and I will lower to 1/2" for the next cut. I also plan to order sand to finish my bunker this week, (before the weeds take it over).

[mallrat]

Tip for your bunker, either sod or plant grass seed. When it’s at the point your green is at (pre-mowed) say 2-3” long, spray the whole bunker with round up. This dead grass will act as a cheap bunker liner. Drop the sand down on top of it, water it in then run a plate compactor over it. Drop in another layer and boom, good to go.

Have you put drainage In or a place for a (we call them) bunker Richard.

[DShepley]

Thanks. Yes, I posted above regarding the French drain I built and I will be spraying round up and laying a covering of landscape fabric before tamping the sand in. Happy to report that after two heavy rainfalls of more than 1.5" in under two hours, the French drain worked wonderfully.

[cardoustie]

I’m ready to come by with my 64*, coming in hot

[berndgeurts]

Wow your green is really taking shape. Already beginning to look like a nice green carpet.

Curious to see what direction this will go. You post with such enthusiasm.

I have a hunch you'll be building a second green in the opposite corner of the property to play 2 holes back and forth....

Greenkeep up the good work :-)

[DShepley]

The green is coming along well. I lost some progress due to a couple of heavy rain events that washed some seedlings away so I will be topdressing and overseeding those spots in the next day or so. As for another green, this one will be plenty, (the other corners of my yard are taken up by a small orchard, a horse pasture, and a free run chicken area.

[Chip Duffer]

That is really becoming a thing of beauty! I really appreciate you sharing the journey.

[DShepley]

Haven't had an update for a few days. Just watching grass grow and drinking beer for the most part over here. I top dressed and overseeded a few spots last week and they are starting to show signs of life now. Hopefully a couple more weeks of grow in before I can start lowering the cut height from 1/2".

[Chip Duffer]

That is truly special. Great setting too!

[DShepley]

Just finished mowing and watering the seedlings. Looks like the topdressing and over-seeding worked out well. Still at 1/2" cut height but optimistic I will have enough fill in to start lowering in about 3 weeks.

[DShepley]

Haven't posted for a few days as I was in Niagara Falls for a quick 4 round golf trip. Our weather has been crazy hot for the past week with no break in sight for the next week, (33*C daytime highs), and no rain until next weekend. Luckily while I was away, my wife was kind enough to keep things watered and my seedlings made great progress, (hopefully I can coax them through this hot spell). Cheers to her! This was my watering view tonight after a mowing this afternoon.

[DLiver]

Really looking good!

[DShepley]

A very hot stretch of weather this week has me thinking about surfactants. The commercial products are not available to home owners like me, (at least in my area), though I did find several great testimonials on a bunch of lawn forums touting Johnson's Baby Shampoo. So, today I applied 6oz on my green before watering it in. My hope is that it makes my watering more efficient through this hot spell and I plan on repeating the process every couple weeks as needed to see if it helps soften up my soil. The water seemed to penetrate and not bead up on the leaf blades and everything smelled baby fresh!

[justasgood]

Well at least you'll have no more tears........

[mallrat]

Just a heads up on mowing and topdressing. MKe sure to give the sand a day or so to water in. The sand is really hard on the reel

[2bGood]

wow, I love watching this progress

 

[Chip Duffer]

DShepley, that is really some progress. It's almost hard to believe it's been just over 2 months on this, but it sure is looking great! I admire the continued growth and your efforts (as well as that of your Bride) in creating this beauty. Like 2bGood, I too love seeing your project progress.

[DShepley]

Thanks, it sure has been a welcome distraction in these crazy times. Learning every day!

[Jobu]

I would have made it facing the opposite corner so there would be room to hit 30-40 yard pitches.

[DShepley]

I have room to hit 60-70 yard pitches depending where I go on my yard. It's built in the corner of a property that is 1.5 acres.