Monday, July 20, 2015

Skies and soils

As a golf course manager, I spend a significant amount of time looking up and down. The view above has been interesting this year. Dark clouds have dominated the view above.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the amount of water that leaves the soil through the plant. ET rates for individual crops are different as one may expect.
The below screen shots are interesting, if you compare the ET with rainfall for this month, ( based on a radar estimate, which I think is under estimated) rainfall outpaces ET by an inch. This means that we have a surplus of water in the soil. The situation is the absolute reverse of what we typically see thus far in June.
That's good right?
Not exactly, we actually want some dry down in the soil. The view down below is of waterlogged soils. Wet soils are not good for roots, they are oxygen deprived environments, and healthy roots need some air. We are not real crazy about the current condition of the soil, and we are using a few tools in our arsenal to combat the situation.
We will be spiking the greens this week to try and get some air exchange. We are also making chemical application to try and move some water down through the soil profile. We will be spending the next few days look down for sure.
Looks like a great week!
Please continue to support our great club.
Presidents cup this weekend, the Don Powers Cup awaits,
Turf

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