Posts Tagged ‘Dave Wilber’

Its time for all of us to go through some kind of Transition. 

For the Turfhead, it usually happens sometime before Memorial Day. Regardless of what sort of climate you find yourself going to war in, there is going to be a metamorphosis, wherein somehow, some way, your turf goes from something to something else.

Warm season grass jockeys have always understood things along these lines pretty well… and today are fortunate enough to have some tools to induce transition like the end of a long awaited bus ride. It wasn’t always easy before this. 

Cool season folks have some of the same, wherein grass wakes up to the thrashing of the dew whips and flogging of the spray rigs after a long winter nap. It may not be as dramatic as Bermuda emergence, but there is still a move from what was… to what will be.

 Second, (and this is the really tough one), you need to stop doing things for Miss Spring Turfgrass of Right Now and begin courting Miss Dog Days of Summer of Job Keeping.

It’s the “what is” (now) that gets missed. I’ve blathered on about the soil thermometer enough by now that you know I feel anyone not getting deep into soil temp data is going to miss something. So that’s a “given”, as it were. What else can get missed? How about not looking at your fertility moves with an eye as to what “creating some now” may do to you later. Yup, Wally the Grass God, those big cheap apps of ammonium sulfate seemed like just the ticket for the Cinco de Mayo Scramble and Macarena Dance attendees to be able to revel in the amazing green grass of your creation. But when the grass is knee deep for the Independence Day Backwards Course Challenge, then who really wins? Dead even perhaps? Let’s hope for no high soil temps in your future if you decide to play this game.

Transition is this amazing time of patience when all of us have to really get out two things: First, the Crystal Ball, wherein you remember to rub and see that somehow, some way, longer days and higher temps are coming — and that’s a fact. You may not know the hour and the day, but it is darn sure coming and making a few calendar oriented predictions is way important. Second, (and this is the really tough one), you need to stop doing things for Miss Spring Turfgrass of Right Now and begin courting Miss Dog Days of Summer of Job Keeping. Getting the second one to say yes is a much harder job. But she won’t still stick around if you decide to put all your focus on impressing Miss Spring.

Plan your transition, carefully. Watch the soil temps. Ease up on the fertility. Groom a little. Topdress. Dial in heights of cut and mowing patterns. Lay off the water (read This Post about that topic) and if you do water, do it perfectly. Test your soil and water to eliminate guess work. Don’t get so close to the grass you can’t see. Clean your office. Train your crew. Don’t swing at any high pitches because you’ve been bored or because someone wants more from the turf sward than it is ready to give.

I would warn you that I do not attribute to nature either beauty or deformity, order or confusion. Only in relation to our imagination can things be called beautiful or ugly, well-ordered or confused.
Baruch Spinoza (Dutch Philosopher of the 1600′s referring to the Tulip Breeding of the time)

Often spring comes and with it a good deal of Turfhead confusion about fertility. It may seem a simple reaction to whatever weather is or is not happening at the time. And certainly, warm or cool season climates have interesting spring weather and interesting challenges. That’s nothing new. So why all the questions, consternation, hand waving and intimate part length measuring that seems to go on every spring? I’ve tried to figure out what causes this and have a few answers.

(by the way, if you haven’t read Frank Rossi’s latest piece on not giving in and being true, I suggest you do that ASAP. Here is the link: Rossi’s True Piece)

Think you maybe remember those late season apps last year, but haven’t really done the math as to how much nutrient really went out? Buzzzzt. Wrong Answer.

1. Turfhead Can’t Or Won’t Remember Last Year (Or Years): I get it. Last summer or any number of memorable summers before it was, on some level, so bad that all you really want to do is forget. But the truth is there have to be some details that you must find a way through the pain and access now. In your efforts to keep your job via your spray rig, what actually went in (or didn’t go in) the spray tank? What went (or again, didn’t) go out in the spreader last fall whilst you were hooked to IV Jack Daniels in your office? Is this Spring’s weather really that different from Springs of the past? Yes, everyone says its different, but is it really and if so, how? I get your brain is fried. But there are and should be records for these kinds of things and its a good idea to do some work with them. Think you maybe remember those late season apps last year, but haven’t really done the math as to how much nutrient really went out? Buzzzzt. Wrong Answer. Don’t know if you have carryover N from last season? Bzzzzt. Wrong Again.

The need to get out there and do something if you’ve been locked in all winter is a strong force akin to getting salmon to swim upstream.

2. Turfhead Listens to Historical Gabbing Rather Than Flying By The Numbers: In making decisions about agronomy, timing has nearly everything to do with success. From our agricultural roots, when to plant and when to harvest are key decisions. But the farmers I know (or turfheads) who really get it, will listen to the tales of “never seeing it this cold” or “never seeing it this warm” at the coffee shop and head to their specific place of business to look at the real indicators. A soil thermometer doesn’t lie. You can package it any way you want into technology, but at the end of the day, that little soil thermometer, if it actually makes it out of the cupholder of your cart more than once a week, can tell you tons about what the real agronomic trend really is. Yes, the calendar is really nice for the planning of the 9-hole Couples Club’s Post Easter Ozzfest, but it won’t tell you if the greens may need some extra incentive to heal when you aerify 2 weeks prior to the event. Close your ears and open your eyes (and again) records. Most of what people say is just plain not accurate, just fueled with excitement or whatever.

3. Turfhead Just Can’t Stand It and Gives In To Performance Art: I get it. Painting tee markers and grinding reels and all that winter stuff just gets old. The need to get out there and do something if you’ve been locked in all winter is a strong force akin to getting salmon to swim upstream. And hey, you are tired of the sales monkey showing up all the time complaining about how slow it has been, so why not pick up that fertilizer a little early and get him out of your office and get yourself into a place of sanity on spreader or sprayer. That sort of thinking usually earns me a phone call or a dozen, wherein we figure out what to do as it snows on the 1/2 pound of N you just put out. There just isn’t any reason to rush into primo grade fertility. I guess this move right here is why I’m such a big advocate of some kind of dormant feeding and in most cases doing it with some carbon in the works. Because nature has this amazing trick of giving us what we need and not always what we want.

Let’s be all Zen and live in the now and what better way to show the world than to simply want more for all your grass children.

4. Turfhead Just Has To Change The Program: Doesn’t seem to matter is last year was complete boon or bust, a lot of us just want to change for the sake of change itself. I mean, gee Wally, you went to all those meetings and trade shows and seminars and they all had cool new stuff to talk about and so, why not try that new product you’ve never even seen before for your first applications. Oh and why trial with it, everyone else is using it, just rock the roll. Makes perfect sense to me. Of course that same thinking runs ships into icebergs, but hey, it’s only grass, right?

5. Turfhead Want More: Hulk Smash! This I get as well. Whatever success you had last year is last year. This is this year and this year is by Gopod gonna be better! Let’s be all Zen and live in the now and what better way to show the world than to simply want more for all your grass children. I get it. I do. This is typical “Type A” behavior. And there are so many of us out there. But the point is that this kind of agression, while being hard on shirts with nice logos when you turn all green and stuff, often makes for numbers 1-4 above to combine in a can of mental spinach that has you pushing for radical May conditions and opening yourself up to a radical summer of no love. There isn’t any reason to go to hard. We can and often we do, but that peaking too early thing has real disadvantages. When the Turfhead combines the Zen of being in the moment and the Tantra of holding back a bit, it’s usually a great combination.

Ok, so what’s the agronomy of this? The practical is pretty simple:

1. Go back into your records and make sure that you have accounted for every 100th oz. of fertility that went out last year, or didn’t (which is usually the case) and think about making some adjustments. Missing the key Potash app. Not so good.

2. Look at the historical weather as it applies to the weather you are having now and make honest assessment. What you will learn is that there are differences and if you can access exactly what they are, you can plan the key applications needed for the times they need them.

3. Soil Temperature doesn’t lie. A few hot days, a few cold days, but what are the soil temps doing? What’s the trend? Invaluable info.

4. Rushing things with Nitrogen rarely works. At the same time, not having any carryover can be a dark hole. Don’t know? Test.

5. Sorry, but spring isn’t the time to be trying something new wholesale large scale. Trials are good. But if you don’t have any experience with it, your spring temptation may lead to summertime disaster.

6. Observe. Things like clipping yield can tell you a ton about timing. Tie this observation into soil temps and historical info and you just might become Amish enough to not believe the hype.

I received this today in my email from a source that shall go unnamed because she/he/it is dumb enough to use the word Doctor around my name. Kind of like using the word Beautiful around Susan Boyle. She can sing, however. I can’t.

“Dear Dr. Wilber

In a post in the TurfNet Turf Blog Aggregator this week, Sean McCue of Castle Pines said, “While driving around today I noticed an interesting phenomenon from applications of iron and other biostimulants to some of our trees. We have been treating a handful of weakened trees as a result of using effluent water for irrigation purposes on the golf course. We have been applying this special mixture every two weeks to help buffer the salts found in the water and soil that is harming the trees. and saw…”

I don’t understand how iron and biostimulants can help buffer salts.  I thought that was a calcium thing. Or were they just present in the complex applied and happened to cause the green-up he saw?  Please explain.

Thank you.

From one of the thousands of turfies eager to suck knowledge from your brain.”

Ok so…first off, If you don’t know Sean, you should. He’s an amazing guy and hats off to him. He’s like all those guys in Colorado, not much to do this time of year (kidding) (sorta).

When I read his whole post, it really is talking about a greening turf effect and not really the whole of his tree salt management program, so time to be general. The real keyword here is buffer.

In a lot of cases when we see Sodium and it’s redneck cousin Bicarbonate (read: hard water) working trees over from irrigation water, we simply test the tree well and treat accordingly.

To buffer basically means to resist change. When we talk about the Buffering Capacity or a Buffering Solution in science, we are finding ways to understand a limitation in change. So Sean is saying here that he has a brew of Iron and some BioStim stuff and he makes apps every couple of weeks to help the trees at his place resist the changes that may come from the use of effluent water and the additional salts that come with said water.

It really isn’t always just a calcium thing as far as application goes. One, the iron he is applying may make some of the natural soil Calcium Carbonate, that is usually very tightly held (read: highly buffered) release a bit (read: create Free Lime). The carbon from his biological also helps sequester salts and keep them from being plant available. So the combo of the two makes for some good results. Water doesn’t affect the tree as much. Some green-up of turf happens, which may lead him to work with this technique on a larger acreage basis. Pretty good things.

In a lot of cases when we see Sodium and it’s redneck cousin Bicarbonate (read: hard water) working trees over from irrigation water, we simply test the tree well and treat accordingly. This can mean some addition of Gypsum or Lime or perhaps the addition of something like Iron Sulfate to help release what we have there. A good water test and a good soil test and someone who actually knows how to read both can do the trick.

Thanks to Sean for being a good thinker and “my wishes to be anonymous” question writer who had a good question despite being a chicken.

This is the time of year when people find reasons to list what they are thankful for.

I’ve never been much for doing what everyone does. And I’m not real big on lists either. The creative types and Perez Hiltons of the world are apt to take the opportunity to list what they aren’t thankful for. Some of them don’t seem to be thankful for much of anything.

In further evolution of the species, a lot of people seem to be thankful for is the ability to miss the annual family show down. The option is to stand in line at Wal-mart all day Thursday for the Black Friday deals.

I’ve got something left over in my brain from Mad Magazine or something like that wherein I often think of things as Hot and Not . You know, kind of an ongoing brew of what’s really happening and what is to dislike.

Here it is in list form, because this blog won’t Vulcan Mind Meld as of yet:

Hot:

1. Apple Products. You can’t deny the innovation.
2. Foster The People. Great band, great guys, including my friend Sean Cimino on guitar.
3. Mini Cooper. If there’s ever a car for the future, the Mini has made a statement.
4. Phosphites. Nothing has made more of a difference in more spray programs.
5. Organic Fertilizers. Never a better time for choices and cost-effectiveness.

Not So Hot:

1. Professional Sports. Yes, you all don’t make enough money—so stop playing and go work in the chosen profession of your college major.
2. The Irrigation Industry. Control Systems=FAIL. (see #1 above for an option). Cost=FAIL (if we are ever gonna build golf again it has to be different).
3. Hybrid Cars. Sorry Prius and Voltheads, but #3 above and the TDI and small turbo engines from VW, BMW and Ford are winners without 900 pounds of battery cells to worry about.
4. General Managers. That’s right, ask for your Super to save the club another hundred grand.
5. Trade Shows. I’ve never really understood them, but even the big ones are on life suppport. Ever meet a vendor that likes a good trade show?

I’m pretty sure that neither one of those lists covers it. But it is a fun exercise to put your mind around. For most people the cold list is much easier than the hot list.

Personally, I have a lot to be thankful for and a lot that needs to change. Isn’t that always the case? Most of all, I’m thankful for the friends and clients that I’m close with. Those people who have embraced Turfheadism, not as a disease to be hidden from our “non Green” friends and unturfheadlike families are unique and wonderful. Who couldn’t be thankful for them and those like them (us)?

I’m convinced that one of the main reasons that Turfheads dont embrace the concept of application of Organic Fertilizers is pretty simple—It Stinks.

Seriously. Who really wants to offend the olfactory senses of the Tuesday 9-Hole Ladies Group after a wonderful application of decomposition on Monday? It’s a pretty easy answer, that one. We’ll get to the should you or should you not use and how to use organics later. For now, a few tips on dealing with the assault on the nose that stops people from doing something great.

Tip #1: Pick Right. What a product’s parent material is composted of is going to affect the nose. And if it’s not handled very well in the assembly, it’s not going to handle itself well in the nostrils. And an odor of any kind of Ammonia is a dead giveaway that something isn’t right. If it snaps your head back like smelling salts, its all wrong… Stay away.

Tip #2: Date Right. You’ve found what you think is the perfect product. Instead of bringing in a truckload, how about taking a couple bags, preferably not next to the house where they hate your 5am start time and spread a little and see what sort of kiss you get. You need to calibrate the spreader anyway, right? Turn on a sprinkler after you spread it and see what getting it wet does. Go out the next morning and use your nose. Half of getting it right is knowing what it does.

Tip #3: Marry Right. Courtship has gone well, you know the one that brung you to the dance and the smells you are gonna get and you can afford the dowry, so now buying, storing and applying should all be pretty easy. If this one smells a bit at time of application, but water fixes that, then you have your answer. If the dry smell is benign, but water brings up a bit of a flare, you know what to do and when to do it. Organic products require a little thinking and even though they may not be the most beautiful at the dance, the performance later is worth using the veil.

His product of choice would go down and right after, he would apply some Gypsum and then a fertility spray with some Molasses. Ding. A whole new way to keep the bedroom interesting and the smell was gone.

Tip #4: Talk Right. It’s time to be creative when you have to do what you have to do. This is why the dating phase is so critical, you know what’s coming. Inside of this communication. It’s not a bad idea to let everyone know what you know what you are doing. If the application just has to go out when it has to go out, make sure you’ve communicated well and talked about the great benefits and complete safety some new odors might give. 

Tip #5: Create Right. I’ll never forget a Turfhead who had some troubles with what the golfers were saying about his organic fertility program coming up with a great idea. His product of choice would go down and right after, he would apply some Gypsum and then a fertility spray with some Molasses. Ding. A whole new way to keep the bedroom interesting and the smell was gone. Creative and fun and worth the effort, no one complained again. Often adding some other carbons and some minerals of your own acts as a wonderful filter for the nose. Beyond simple.

There’s 5 quick tips to help you help yourself and make a difference in dealing with an Organic Fertilizer, when you know it’s the right thing to do. Now go hug that pretty new bride of yours, even though she smells!

There are times when it is just too much fun to get some credit and by goodness we don’t get enough.

When everything and everyone does what they should in event golf, then a lot of people nod their heads and say, “Yup, that’s what was supposed to happen”. That’s not true. If you’ve ever seen what goes on at a huge golf event, then you understand that really just about every decision is about keeping something from going wrong or keeping someone from jacking something up. What is supposed to happen is a course-wide total implosion where each and every golfer and corporate event tent gets sucked into the pump station inlet live on the Golf Channel. That’s what supposed to happen. Keeping it from happening at a Major is doing the job and doing it right.

David Feherty is a nutball, but he’s my kind of nutball and so seeing this video makes me happy. For Ken and Kasey and every last TurfHead involved, congratulations for an outstanding event.

Take a look at what Feherty has to say: