Watering in plant health products

Sometimes we apply plant health materials that need to be watered into the soil to be effective. Timing these applications with rain is useful way for us to be most efficient.

We have been making periodic applications targeting soil pests or soil health all season, and in season’s past also. Normally we must use the irrigation system after the spray to move the material down to the soil. Especially when it has been this dry nearly all season. Using the irrigation system works pretty well and certainly gets the job done most of the time. But just like the grass responds so much better to a nice, cool rain, using a storm to water in our products works better too.

Rain is consistent. Our sprinklers are engineered to put out a certain rate of water, over a certain area, and we can calculate and manage this process. However, nozzles wear out, operation in the field never matches exactly to tests, and natural conditions can alter how the sprinklers operate. None of that applies to rain. It falls everywhere, at the same rate, at the same time (over an area as small as BWRC). This makes it ideal for watering our products down into the soil- nothing is missed, and everything is moved at the same time.

So, the key is trying to time these applications with rain. It is much harder than it sounds- we can’t just go spray whenever it is raining. If it is raining too hard our material could wash away. If it rained too much previously, it could be too wet to drive our machine on the turf. What if the rain is about to stop? What if the rain is too light? What if all the conditions are just right, except we are not due for an application that needs to be watered in? These are all factors in trying to get the timing correct. But when circumstances align just right, we are able to make the appropriate application on time.

We haven’t had the chance to naturally water our products in much this year. But, when we can, it is an opportunity to accomplish our goal just a little better than we can with our irrigation system.

 

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please remember to remove any bunker sand that may be stuck to your spikes before walking on the greens.

Also, as part of a Golf Committee initiative to improve course etiquette, we have included links to videos teaching proper on course etiquette. Please take a moment to watch:

Ball Marks - How to properly repair

 

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org