Desiccation occurs when the water loss from the turf exceeds uptake and transport from the roots. Desiccation can only occur when there is no snow cover. Desiccation occurs from soil drought when their is minimal soil moisture and no precipitation. This occurs when the ground is frozen and the roots of the grass are unable to replace the water because it is frozen. Another thing that can cause winter damage is Freeze injury / Crown Hydration. This occurs when the temperature is extremely cold or there is a rapid drop in temperature. When this happens the water inside the plant’s cells freezes and damages the cell membranes causing the plant’s cells to die. The third thing that can cause winter damage is called Anoxia. Anoxia is a condition that can occur from snow and ice cover and even protective covers. It is a result of different gases that build up and get trapped under the snow and ice cover or protective covers. This causes there to be no gas exchange and the turf plant will evenly run out of the energy it needs to survive. Anoxia can usually be detected in the spring by the foul smell that will come from the green when you take the turf cover off. This is a result of the gases that have been building up and trapped all winter.

There are a few things you can do to prevent the causes of winterkill . To prevent Desiccation you can irrigate the turf prior to freezing, you can install snow fences to encourage snow build up on the greens and you can apply mulch or light topdressing on the greens before it gets cold out. A few things you can do to prevent freeze injury / Crown Hydration is fertilize late in the fall and increase the mowing height before winter. To prevent Anoxia, it is recommend that you put proper venting in your protective covers or not use covers at all. Overall, I feel that we can never really control the problems that cause winterkill but we can help prevent some of the damage from being as severe.

References/ Resources

Tough Turf Surviving Winter

GreenMaster, April 2007, By Pam Charbonneau

Preventing Winterkill

The Grass Roots, May 2008, By Dr. John Stier

The day started off with a speech from Dr. Tom Hsiang about different ways to cope with the pesticide ban, and new alternatives to treating turf grass for disease and pests. He showed some results on new products he was testing out and how they were working, he also threw lots of jokes into his spceeh to keep the audience listening. The second speaker we heard from was Ron Scheidel. He talked to us about his company and some of the new things they are doing to save money in these tough times. He also told us about how some business opportunities don’t work out and how some do.  He also shared with us some facts about growing sod and how they manage the company Green Horizons Sod Farms. The third and final speaker was Keith Bartlett and he talk to us about how they were preparing St. Georges golf club for this years Canadian Open and the new renovations they were doing to the course. He also told everyone how  to save money, how to make sure to budget properly and not to construct things that are going to cost a lot of money in the long run.

The first year students in the turfgrass management program would like to thank all the people who were involved in the symposium. Big thanks go out to our three speakers Ron Scheidel, Keith Bartlett and Dr. Tom Hsiangs. The turfgrass students would also like to thank the many sponsors who donated money and door prizes for the event. Last but not least a big thank you goes out to the Cutten Club for supplying the venue for they event.

Many people think when growing turf grass that you can just throw down some seed and you will have beautiful grass. However,  there are a few main components that you need to consider when growing turf grass. Some major components you need to consider are: air, light, soil, water and temperature.  As Robin Stafford the superintendent at Islington Golf club says, “ these components determine how well or how bad your turf grass is going to grow and plays a huge factor when growing turf grass”.

These five components play a huge part in growing turf grass. Temperature is a huge factor because if it is too cold or too warm, turf grass will not grow properly. For example, if it is too cold when you plant grass seed, the seed will not be able to germinate and start to grow. Two other major components in growing turf grass are light and water. Light and water affects growth and other factors like disease and photsythines (plants food). For example, if you attempt to plant grass under a tree, it will not get much light which will cause it not to grow and the creation of photsythines will not occur. If the grass is wet all the time it will also be vary vulnerable to disease. Soil is a huge part of growing turf grass. Having good soil can make the world of difference. For example, if you have calcares/clay soil your turf grass will have a hard time growing.

Overall, all these components play a major roll in growing and maintaining turf grass. When trying to grow and maintain grass, take these components into account  and try to make them as good as you can with what you have to work with. This will result in your grass being a lot stronger and less vulnerable to disease and death.

These days golf courses are always looking for new ways to be greener and do things that are good for the environment. From buying more fuel efficient equipment to building and supplying animals with new habitats to  recycling and setting up proper washing stations, eco-friendly ideas are popping up everywhere. These are just some of the small things courses are doing do be greener and more environmentally friendly.

This year while working at Sally Creek Golf Club we took a big step in being more environmentally friendly and building a reputation as a green golf course. From buying biodegradable  plates and cups in the club house, to setting up a major recycling program, this allowed us to cut down on the overall garbage collection by almost seventy precent. The club also purchased some new fuel efficient equipment. One big thing that I was involved with was building fifty five bird houses and five bat house which we scattered throughout the course, to improve the animals habit at the course. We also planted one hundred and fifty new trees around the course in different locations.

Overall, by doing just a few little things like the ones I mentioned above, can really help your golf course’s reputation of being green and environmentally friendly. It dosn’t take much to do your part in going green. If more courses did some of the things like I mentioned above we would all be better off and be able to enjoy the game of golf while also helping our environment.

On Friday November 27, 2009 the first year students enrolled in the turf management course at the University of Guelph, are holding a symposium. The symposium’s purpose is to inform people who are involved in the turf industry on “How To Do More With Less” in these struggling times in the turf industry. The symposium is being held at the Cutten Club in Guelph and starts at 8 a.m. and will end around 2 p.m. lunch and refreshments are included.

To deal with this issue “How To Do More With Less” we have organized three speakers who are well known throughout the turf industry. These speakers include Ron Scheidel (president of Green Horizons sod farms), Keith Bartlett (superintendent at St.George’s Golf and Country Club, location of the 2010 Canadian Open) and Dr.Tom Hissing ( University of Guelph Pathology expert). We hope the information these speakers provide will educate and motivate people in the turf grass industry in order for the industry to remain successful during these tuff economic times.

People who may be interested in this event may be people in the sod, golf course, sports field or lawn care industry. For more information on this event, please check out the event website (www.turfintoughtimes.weebly.com) or the facebook group called “Turf In Tough Times Student Symposium”. For essential information, contacted a student enrolled in the turf grass management course at the University of Guelph or RSVP to Rae Urwin at (www.rurwin@uoguelph.ca) by November 19,2009.

The first thing you should do before putting your equipment away for the winter is add fuel stabilizer to the gas, this will help the gas from not going bad from sitting for so long. Also, turn the fuel valve off if it has one. The second thing you should do is remove the battery if you will be storing your equipment in a cold place. This will prevent the battery from freezing due to cold temperatures. If a battery freezes then it will no longer work, which means you would have to buy a new one come spring time. Keep the battery somewhere warm once removed. Another thing you can do to your equipment is spray essential parts with some sort of lubricant to prevent them from corroding and rusting. Last but not least, if you’re storing your equipment somewhere  mice may be, make sure to scatter moth balls around the equipment. Mice can cause huge problems with your equipment if they get into it and build a nest. They may eat wires and damage key components to the equipment which may end up costing a lot of money to fix.

Overall, taking some time to store your equipment properly for the winter months and doing theses few simple steps will help matain your equipment for the future. It will also help when getting your equipment back out once spring rolls around.

Pete Sinuita, the golf course superintendent out at Copetown Woods golf and country club says, “ everything starts from the shop,the way you keep your maintenance shop will represent how you look after the course”. For example, if you keep your shop clean and organized you will probably keep the course clean and organized. Pete also says “ a clean shop is a safe shop”. If you have stuff all over the place and your shop is a mess then that leads to a vary unsafe work environment. One more thing Pete says is “ keep your equipment clean and well maintained”. Keeping your equipment clean and serviced will allow your every day maintenance to run more smoothly and will help maintain your equipment for years to come.

Overall keeping a clean and organized shop will represent the way you keep your golf course. It will also prevent accidents and make every day work run more smoothly. Keeping your equipment and tools clean will also keep them in good working condition for years to come.

Irrigation Blow Out

The irrigation pipes need to be blown out in preparation for winter so they don’t freeze and crack. This is done by hooking a big air compressor up to the pipes and blowing all the excess water out from them. As the air from the air compressor is pumped through the irrigation pipes, the water is pushed up and out of the sprinklers heads. This is repeated multiple times until all the water is blown out and the sprinkler heads are just blowing out air. Once the water is all out of the pipes they are sealed off and ready for winter.

Overall, blowing out the irrigation pipes before winter will allow the irrigation system to run smoothly year after year without any problems. This will help lead to less irrigation breaks; which could cause huge problems on the course and provent costly repairs. This is just another way for you the golfer to get the best golfing experience while playing at Sally Creek Golf Club.

The first thing you want to do before laying sod is break up the soil that is going to be beneath the sod. This will help the roots of the sod take faster. Once you are done breaking up the soil, rake the soil out and make sure it is flat.  When the soil appears flat you can begin to lay your sod. It is easiest to start laying sod from the outer edges of where you want it to go and work your way in.  It is very important when laying sod that you stagger the seams of the sod and make sure that it is pushed firmly up against the other piece. This will make sure that the sod doesn’t lose moisture as fast, making it less prone to drying out and dying.  Now that your sod is laid, the most important thing to do is water it. Ron Schiedel of Compact sod says, “ Watering sod is the single most important tip for successful sod installation. Effective watering increases sod laying success by a whopping 99% so water, water, water”.  Now that your sod is watered allow two to three weeks for the roots to establish before allowing any high traffic activities on it.

Sod Roll

Following these easy and simple guidelines to laying and installing sod should allow you to produce a healthier greener lawn. This will also help the job go more easily with fewer problems and prevent problems from occurring with your lawn in the future.

There are many factors when considering buying a piece of equipment like buying new or used, leasing or renting and make and model.  When buying a piece of equipment you need to consider if you want to buy new or just go with a used piece. Both have their advances and disadvantages. Buying new will insure that you know exactly what you are getting but will be much more expensive. Buying used is a lot cheaper then buying a new piece but you may not know exactly what that piece of equipment has been through. You also need to take into consideration if it makes sense to buy a piece of equipment, when you could rent it. For example, would it be worth buying a piece of equipment if you were only going to use it three times a year? If so maybe your best bet would be to just rent it when you need it.  Another consideration when purchasing a piece of equipment is the make and model of that piece.  There are lots of different makes and models of equipment out there today like John Deere, Toro, Stihl, Jacobson and Lawn Boy, just to name a few.

Toro Equipment

Every make of equipment has their own little differences but when it comes down to it, it depends on their reliably and your own personal preference.

Overall when selecting equipment to buy, take these small factors into consideration and they will help you create a better work environment and help you get the job done faster and to your perfection.