Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Topdressing Cocktail

From time to time we have small areas on our greens that thin out or get scalped.  I have been trying to figure out a way to heal these areas in at a more rapid pace and at the same time disguise or camouflage them.  We have applied liquid fertilizers to these areas and have also used turf paint but these attempts just did not fix the problem and heal the grass in.  Well, I'm glad to say that I think we have come up with a simple fix that so far seems to be working great and I wanted to pass it along to anyone else that might have similar issues on their greens.  We came up with a blend using Emerald Profile Porous Ceramic Product, Nature Safe 8-3-5 fertilizer, and our green topdressing sand.  The "ratio" that we have been using is about a Bobcat scoop of the green topdressing sand, four 50 pound bags of Emerald Profile and one 50 pound bag of Nature Safe 8-3-5.  The mixture is blended in a pile and then loaded in the back of a utility vehicle. We are using the Profile to absorb any moisture from the algae that is almost always present in these weak areas and we use the Nature Safe as a completely safe fertilizer source that has no chance of burning the turf.  Granted we really don't know the exact rate of Nitrogen is being applied to these areas but we are sure they are healing in fast and once the mixture is worked into the turf and watered in you can't tell what we have done.  Areas that have been topdressed on Monday are 90 to 100% healed in by the end of the week. 
Topdressing blend


Blend after being worked into the greens surface but before watering in

On a personal note, I want to introduce the latest member of the Carter household.
Hannah's Beagle puppy
Bailey Blue
ATTACK!!!

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