Bowls Green Maintenance for June, throughout May we have seen the temperature rise, although we have had some rain recently the warmer weather and high winds are drying thing out as fast as the rain is falling. Throughout June we want to keep the turf healthy and resilient during the peak growing season.
Tasks for June
- Continue to remove the morning dew from the green
- Aeration/ Topdressing
- Cutting
- Light verticutting and rolling to smooth out the playing surface
- Fertilising/ Wetting Agent
- Irrigation
- Disease control
- Monitor wear patterns
Dew
Throughout June, continue with brushing off the dew at your earliest convenience to reduce the disease risk. Light brushing will control the grain and improve ball roll.
Aeration
Continue with your monthly light spiking, Sarral roller or a small micro solid tining is the perfect piece of machinery to use if you have one in you shed. This will help alleviate surface compaction and enhance soil aeration. If you have a chance, a light top dressing with sand/soil mix will help maintain smoothness.
Cutting
Now your green should be down to your preferred height (4-5mm) depending on usage and grass health. You want to aim to be mowing your green at least 4-6 times per week, alternate your mowing direction to prevent the grass laying down and to promote upright growth.
Verticutting/ Rolling the playing surface
Continue with light verticuting to help reduce the lateral growth and get the grass standing up. If you have a light roller then run this over your green, this will smooth out the green and get the green rolling smoother and truer.
Fertilising
Continue with a balanced liquid fertiliser programme to support a steady, healthy growth. We don’t want to use anything with to high N (Nitrogen) as this will encourage big flushes of growth and this will affect the quality of play. You want to be aiming for something like a
12-0-6. It would also benefit adding some seaweed to the mix which will also help improve plant health and reduce plant stress.
Continue with applying you wetting agent monthly, this will optimise soil moisture retention and distribution, ensuring a consistent moisture availability across your green, making the most use out of water applied to.
Irrigation
As we are still in a fairly dry period, continue to water your green thoroughly every three days to encourage deeper roots growth, If you can, apply your water in the morning.
Avoid light frequent watering, which can lead to shallow rooting and increase drought stress.
Disease Control
Continue to monitor for any signs of disease. Watch out for dollar spot and anthracnose. Maintain good airflow, avoid watering at night and if needed use a fungicide to control any outbreaks.
Wear Patterns
As the green is now being used more frequently you may start to see wear areas appearing, rotate the direction of play and repair any high traffic areas and allow them to recover.
Keep your ditches trimmed/edged and cleaned to keep the surrounding of your green looking neat and tidy.
To see more Bowling Green Blogs
I hope you found my Bowls Green Maintenance For May of some help by MWTurfcare
