Bowls Green Maintenance For March, It has been a fairly mild Winter overall, but very wet, being one of the wettest on records. Heading into March we are all wondering what sort of weather we are going to have.
Bowls Green Tasks for March
- Continue to remove the morning dew from the green
- Remove worm cast with a switch
- Localised Overseeding
- Cutting and Aeration
- Moss Control
- Light verticutting and rolling to smooth out the playing surface
Fertilising - Light verticutting and rolling to smooth out the playing surface
Dew and Worm Cast Control
Throughout March, continue with brushing off the dew at your earliest convenience. If the worms are still active then remove any worm casts from the green. For best results, wait until the casts have dried and then use a switch cane or brush to smash the worm casts up. If you attempt to do these while they are wet, they will smear, look unsightly and smother the grass which will cause issues.
Localised Overseeding
If your surface have been scarred by disease or has lost grass coverage due to issues like shading, saturation, pest, some localised overseeding and top dressing may be required. Lightly spike the area and hand cast the seed over and working the seed into the holes. Lightly top dress these areas but be cautious not to have the top dressing to thick and smothering the grass to already have there.
Cutting and Aeration
If the temperatures start rising and we are getting some steady growth, start to reduce your winter height of cut down slowly. If your preferred wither height was at 10mm then reduce down to 9mm. If you was at 8mm then reduce down to 7mm.Reduce the height by a couple of mm over the moth but do this in stages. Increase the frequency of cut to 2 times a week if required. Only do this if the warmer temperatures and growth are consistent. If you have a sarral roller, start running this over the green to help with air movement in the upper profile. This method will be less disruptive as we get closer to the playing season.
Moss Control
For those who may have not already treated for moss, with the wet winter we have currently had moss may be encroaching into your green. An application of lawn sand or spray application of iron sulphate will help to control the moss, the product will dehydrate the moss and this will turn black. As we move into spring, the moss can then be removed with light scarification/verticutting.
Verticutting/ Rolling the playing surface
With the playing season now in sight we want to start concentrating on getting the green running true and smooth. If you have verticutting units then give your green a light verticut, this will lift any lateral growth and get the grass standing up. If you have a light roller then run this over your green to remove and lumps and bumps that may have accrued form worm cast, footprints etc……. By doing this over the coming months will start to smooth out the green and get the green rolling smoother and truer.
Fertilising
The green may be looking a little pale/ yellowing. As things start to move after the wet winter we have just had, a cold start fertiliser like a 10-5-5 +Fe can be applied to the green to help get thing moving.
Disease Control
Continue to monitor for any signs of disease. If the weather stays damp and the temperatures start to rise then this is the perfect conditions for disease outbreaks.
I hope you found my Bowls Green Maintenance For February of some help by MWTurfcare
