With some help from the Treesdale maintenance staff (Thank you Doug!) we successfully aerified and topdressed all the greens last week. For those folks wondering why we go to all this trouble and have to disrupt play in the Spring and Fall, here is some insight into the process.
Why Aerify?
Core aeration is one of the most important preventative practices used on putting greens to improve the health of the turf. It's primary purpose is to remove unwanted organic matter from the upper portion of the rootzone. Aeration also relieves compaction, promotes gas exchange, and helps with water infiltration. If neglected, the rootzone will "seal off" and be unable to support healthy root growth, which results in weak turf plants that cannot survive summer stress.
How Much Is Enough?
While every course is different and must develop a program that fits their needs, the USGA recommends that 15-20% of the surface be aerified each year. Because our greens have slightly higher amounts of organic matter, we chose to remove 11% of the surface this Spring. Throughout the summer we will continue to monitor organic matter levels and then decide on the percent of surface removal for Fall aerification. Tine size and spacing is what determines the percentage of surface area impacted.
With good weather the healing process normally takes 10-14 days, and extra fertilizer is applied before and after aerification to expedite recovery.
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