Posts

Frank Rossi and Carl Schimenti had a discussion on the Cornell Turfgrass Show about soil testing, fertilizer, the Park Grass experiment, weeds, and some good ways to sell fertilizer. Also, that perennially hot topic of silicon.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the turf GvX. And I’ve been checking my calculations to make sure I’ve got a somewhat standardized method to get the GvX number for any day.

I’ve been looking at some growth ratio data, and I’ll share a few ideas here. Jason Haines introduced this as the turfgrass speedo, and I think that’s a good name for it.

Normal range of test results Soil test phosphorus (P) is present across a wide range in golf course putting green rootzones. I looked at ATC data from putting greens for the past five years.

I’ve taught a seminar that goes through 10 things I’ve learned about clipping volume. One of those things is this: keeping track of the total quantity of clippings year to date and as annual totals is useful.

Soil nutrient levels are dynamic. They change. In non-saline situations, the nutrient levels go down as the grass grows and uses some quantity of the soil nutrients.1 This is why the SLAN medium ranges seem so high, and why the MLSN method of soil test interpretation is so much more precise when making fertilizer recommendations for turfgrass.

When a creeping bentgrass green is sixteen years old, do you expect to find some Poa annua in it? I do. When I see greens that age without noticing any Poa plants, I pay attention.

I’ve not been an advocate for zoysiagrass (korai) greens when bermudagrass greens are a viable option. The reason for this is ball roll. With the same maintenance, bermudagrass greens have a noticeably smoother and faster ball roll.

I made my first visit to Myrtle Beach two weeks ago for a seminar with the Palmetto GCSA at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. I knew there were a lot of golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area, but until I visited in April and saw all the ryegrass, I didn’t realize that so many courses there overseed in the autumn.

Figure 1. The snow-covered landscape of central Hokkaido in mid-March 2024 when the growth potential was 0 but the DLI was fine. In a recent ATC Doublecut discussing light and temperature, I mentioned that I’d calculate potential DLI for the recording location, check the actual DLI for the recording location, and share that information.