Friday, March 24, 2017

Seedhead Suppression...."Minimalist" Style

I'd like to thank everyone for checking out my first post, "I Was A Total Sellout".  I'm pretty stoked about the attention it received, but I definitely feel the need to clarify my actual intent.  Micah Woods wrote about my blog post (I'm genuinely flattered he did) and I think he explained MLSN and the entire "minimalist" approach to greenkeeping much better than I ever will or can.  You can check out his writings concerning my blog by following the link below.

http://www.blog.asianturfgrass.com/2017/03/ive-waited-far-too-long-to-voice-my-opinions-concerning-this-extraordinary-profession-of-greenkeepin.html

To lay out an example of how my mindset has totally changed by the lessons learned from the minimalist, or as my boy Nadeem Zreikat prefers to describe as an "efficient" (which I totally get!) approach to greenkeeping, I just recently applied our second application of Embark (green label) to suppress the  seedheads on our, as you can most likely surmise, predominately poa annua greens.  In years past I would've added a heavy rate of chlorothalonil, a pinch of N to "mask" the discoloration Embark "might" cause, and a product, which I will not name here (yet),  that supposedly enables locked nutrients in the soil to be readily available for instant plant uptake.....

This season, I simply used Embark.

It's not like disease pressure is insanely high during the month of March in Newark, Delaware, and there certainly wasn't any active disease on the putting surfaces.  So in an effort to be, "minimal" I decided not to add chlorothalonil.  Nitrogen was left out the mix because, in my newfound approach to being a minimalist greenkeeper, and by trusting the growth potential model for applying N,  I truly felt the plant would use little, if any N during the month of March in the Mid-Atlantic.  Particularly at the wimpy rates I've used in the past when I was a total sellout superintendent.   And I have big plans for the mystery product I didn't throw in the tank, but have used religiously for the past 5 seasons that claims to unlock elements in the soil.   This season it will be applied on select areas of the golf course, while other areas will receive nathan.   My hypothesis is that this product is not doing shite for the soils, and I've been totally duped of the past five years.

I hope this explanation clarifies how I personally interpret the minimalist, efficient, alternative, environmental,....or whatever adjective you deem appropriate to describe, what I firmly believe, is the ideal approach to greenkeeping.

Coming soon.....Why I'm the Walking Greenkeeper

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting such a great article! I found your website perfect for my needs. It contains wonderful and helpful posts. Keep up the good work!. Thank you for this wonderful Article! webstagram

    ReplyDelete