Irrigation Improvements

If the drought this summer served any purpose it was to point out the weaknesses in our irrigation system. This fall we selected a handful of these areas to increase our irrigation coverage. Today we started on an area along the cartpath on #2 Black Bird. We hope to increase the turf density by providing this area with more consistent irrigation.

 

The pictures below illustrate the process. This is the first irrigation install project for Tyler and Dusty. For their sake, lets hope it doesn't leak next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evidence That Winter Still Exists

   

       

Moving Large Caliper Trees

Due to new tee locations on a few holes on Gray Hawk, we were forced to move some trees. Last week we fired up the 90" tree spade and, after the repair of a hydraulic leak, went through the process of moving them.

Moving trees with a trunk caliper greater than 8" is not a process I am entirely comfortable doing. Trees of this size need a much larger root system than the 90" spade is able to transplant. The removal of such a substantial chunk of the trees roots will often lead to death and always leads to a few years of stunted growth. That being said, we do own the spade and have a very capable, experienced operator, Joe Kirk, so we attempted it ourselves. In the end, if the trees don't pull through, we haven't lost too much.

I have included some pictures below of our spade and a video of the process. The video is not of our moving process but our process followed the exact same steps. If you are interested in planting trees in your own home landscape, this time of year is an excellent time.



Late Season Fertility

The videos below show my assistants Jeff and Nate wrapping up our late season fertilizer application.

If you are out playing this weekend, you may notice the course is wetter than normal. This is because we have been watering this fertilizer in as we apply it. The fertilizer we used has both a polymer and sulfur coat protecting the nitrogen. Water acts as the catalyst for the release of the nitrogen. This coating gives us a little more control over the nitrogen release and will hopefully protect some of that nitrogen over the winter, leaving enough to feed the turf when the soil warms up in the spring. Hopefully, it will also be around to help stimulate any new spring seedlings that emerge as a result of our dormant seeding.

The hot dry summer took its toll on our non-irrigated areas so we have ramped up our late season fertility program to include these areas as well. In total we have fertilized 180 acres of maintained turf over a two-week period.  

 

 

Drain Basin Work

 

Sophie had to come out and inspect the drain basin construction. She agrees that is some good looking work.

 



 

 

 

 

Success of Dormant Seeding

Still dealing with turf damage from the drought? Take a look at the following article. It can help your lawn heal faster next spring.

Improving success of dormant seeding
Oct. 10, 2012

Turf areas are still in sad shape across the region and damage ranges from complete death of turf to a significant loss of turf density on affected areas. We are now out of the window for late summer seeding. Dormant seeing is the next best timing after late summer seeding for establishing cool-season grasses. Following is a summary of points to maximize success of dormant seeding.

• Timing: Any time after soil temperatures are about 40F in order to guarantee no germination until next spring. Seeding between Thanksgiving and St. Patricks’ Day is a good rule of thumb.
• Soil preparation: Though simply broadcasting the seed and allowing it to work into the soil naturally through frost-heaving can be effective, it is better to improve seed-soil contact with aerification, powerraking, tilling, power-overseeding, or some other form of cultivation. Wet or frozen soils will likely determine which cultivation is best for each situation, but maximizing seed-soil contact is essential for successful dormant-seeding.
• Species: Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue work best, but avoid perennial ryegrass since it may germinate in a mid-winter warm-up only to die in ensuing cold temperatures. Buffalograss can also be dormant-seeded.
• Seed rate: The typical recommendation is to seed at 10-25% higher rates than normal to account for seed loss via erosion, animal feeding, etc. Seed Kentucky bluegrass at 3.0 lbs/1000 sq ft, tall fescue at 10 lbs/1000 sq ft, and buffalograss at 3.5 lbs/1000 sq ft on bare soils. These rates can be cut by as much as one half if overseeding into existing stands with thin turf.
• Mulch on bare soils: Mulch is likely not required, but may reduce potential erosion or seed movement. A tackifier will be required on the mulch to minimize wind loss during the winter. Hydroseeding can be used on bare soil if air temperatures are warm enough. Erosion blankets or sod should be used on highly erodible areas.
• Fertilizer: Starter fertilizer should be applied next spring as the seedlings emerge. Apply 1.0 to 1.50 lbs P2O5/1000 sq ft depending on soil test levels. This same fertilizer and same rate should be applied again four to five weeks after emergence and maybe again at eight to ten weeks after emergence depending on the density of the new stand.
• Irrigation: Dormant-seeded areas will need irrigation just like any new seeding. Irrigate as often as needed to maintain moisture in the top ¼” of soil, which may mean irrigating once or twice per day. Irrigate less regularly and in larger volumes as the seedlings establish. However, dormant-seeded areas may need irrigation all summer as these relatively young plants will not be mature enough to withstand drought stress.
• Mowing: Early mowing on any newly-seeded area encourages lateral spread and quick fill-in. On most areas, set the mower 10-20% lower than the regular mowing height for the first 3 to 5 mowings to encourage the most rapid fill-in. Mow as soon as the first few leaves of the seedlings reach the mowing height and mow regularly thereafter (in spite of only apparently affecting a small percentage of the plants) to maximize fill-in.
• Weed control: Dormant-seedings will be emerging early next spring so most PRE herbicides cannot be used over dormant seeded areas. However, early weed control is critical to minimize weed competition and maximize establishment. In some cases where weed pressure is high, it is justified to apply herbicides early at the risk of turf damage. Even if damage occurs, the remaining turf will likely recover and thrive in the absence of competition. Regardless of the product selected, be sure to refer to the label for specifics. Once the seedlings are mature enough, PRE herbicides including dithiopyr, prodiamine, or pendimethalin can be applied, and this will likely be at the approximate timing of the second application in typical sequential applications of PRE herbicides (mid-June).
• Mesotrione (Tenacity™) or siduron (Tupersan™) can be used in the seed bed and will likely provide three to four weeks of PRE control of crabgrass.
• SquareOne™ (quinclorac+carfentrazone) can be applied within 7 DAE of tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass for POST control of crabgrass and broadleaf weeds.
• Mesotrione (Tenacity™) can be applied POST to Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue at 28 days after emergence (DAE) to control crabgrass and some broadleaf weeds.
• Dithiopyr (Dimension™, Dithiopyr™) can be applied once the root system is well established and after at least two mowings for PRE/POST control of crabgrass.
• Quinclorac (DRIVE XLR8™, Quinstar™ ,Quinclorac™, and others) can be applied PRE or 28 DAE of Kentucky bluegrass and anytime over tall fescue for POST control of crabgrass and some broadleaf weeds.
• Carfentrazone (QuickSilver™) can be applied at any time after seeding for POST broadleaf weed control.

Stay tuned for more information on seeding and you will hear much more about repairing drought-damaged turf at the Nebraska Turf Conference in Lavista on Jan. 8-10. Registration and information will be available at online at www.nebraskaturfgrass.com shortly.

Zac Reicher, Professor, Turfgrass Science, zreicher2@unl.edu