Summertime??

Growth

It will come honest, summer I mean. As you the golfer get eager to play on smooth and true greens, we the groundsmen of Phoenix are keen to provide such surfaces however mother nature is showing who's the boss.

At phoenix our turfgrass species are a mixed bag namely Poa Annua (annual meadow grass) Lolium Perenne   

(rye grass) over time I would like to gradually change these species to a more sustainable mix with a high Agrostis (bent grass) percentage, but this will take time and resources so for the immediate future we need to continue the improvement program on our greens and the quality and playing characteristics will improve.

Cool season grasses (uk) optimum growth temperature is around 20c as this falls so does growth until the soil temps reach 5c and growth virtually stops. Applied nutrient i.e fertilizer has to be converted into a form that plants can assimilate and its the soil bacteria that does this process called the "nitrogen cycle" below 5c this bacteria is virtually dormant as the temperature rises and the soil fauna kicks into action so does our grasses, meadow grass is very slow on the uptake at cold temperatures to add insult to injury the season is approximately two weeks behind however this situation can change rapidly.

Just look at the winter wheat in the fields, it is said that during march the wheat should be able to hide a hare, as it is now a mouse would have trouble hiding! 

Without soil bacteria plants could not exist, an acre good soil has the same weight as an adult cow in bacteria!!