With more rain on the way Wednesday and Thursday, we are applying some granular nutrients to tees and greens today and tomorrow. Above, this organic fertilizer is being applied to tees. Organics make for some really good fertilizer on most grass surfaces. Personally, I don't like using them (organic fertilizers) on sand based putting greens because their nutrient release characteristics aren't always predictable for a number of reasons. I prefer products (mostly liquid fertilizers at low rates and frequent weekly applications) that offer us total control over the growth rate of the turf.
The product above is being tested on 4 of our greens...#1, #2, #15 and #16. This product is new to the market, a startup company in State College, PA that is using past research from the Horticulture Department and applying it to turf. The results have been pretty positive thus far. Below, you can see how much is required...30 lbs. per 1,000ft2 (this is a lot compared to a other fertilizer rates). After it's applied, the green looks white. It's being applied now because it needs to be worked into the aerification holes.
Magnesium (above) and Calcium (below) are two primary components of my greens program. Calcium is applied monthly in the form of Calcitic Lime. While pH isn't an issue at HCC, our rainfall is. The excess rain strips the root zone of nutrients, particularly calcium. The ratio of nutrients in the soil affects a number of things. For example, pH can be high or low. It even affects other nutrients by binding to them and not allowing them to be available to the turf. A good example of that is a coastal golf course that has a high salt content in their irrigation water. Superintendents who deal with that issue, make frequent gypsum applications because the Calcium and Magnesium can bind to the salt in the soil making it easy to leach from the root zone.
