Special Weather Statement

You may have noticed this term used recently on weather.com if that is where you get your weather information.  We thought we would send out a special weather statement of our own for this week.  This type of forecast is not very accommodating for turfgrass growth, and it looks like it will be hanging around for about 8 days.  A 2 day stretch of weather like this normally is not a problem, but a string of days like this is something that will be very stressful on the turf.  Check 2 of the posts from last year for a better understanding:

Turfgrass Temperature Stress, Part 1: Optimal Temperatures

Turfgrass Temperature Stress, Part 2: Water

Because of this forecast we are planning on doing several things differently this week to prevent any undue stress on the turf.

-We will be raising the height of cut on the greens through this period of heat stress.  We do expect this to noticeably slow the speed of the greens.  This will give the grass a better chance to make it through with less injury.

-We will be altering our mowing frequency also.  Even mowing the grass in these conditions can be very stressful to the plant.

-We will have many more ropes up to better control traffic in stressed areas.  We may also restrict carts if conditions become severe enough.

-We will be altering our normal water schedules.  This may include applying light applications through the day, so you may see heads running on the course.

-Dry spots will probably show up this week.  Dry spots will be more welcome than risking excessive moisture on the surface to encourage unwanted disease pathogens.

-We have made plant protectant applications with our normal spray schedule.  However, this week will also be a very high disease pressure week.  You may see us out on the spray this week making an application if it is necessary.

We are not looking forward to being outside in this type of weather this week, but we can take breaks in the air conditioning when necessary.  Unfortunately, the grass is not able to do that.  Anything we can do to relieve the stress on the plant will help.