Irrigation Water Quality for Turf: You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure

 Here is a recent article I contributed to Engage Agro's "the loupe" newsletter, talking about understanding your irrigation water quality. Engage Agro is involved in the sales and marketing of specialized and niche market crop protection. Tim Steen, Golf & Sod Business Unit Manager and Justin Parsons, Turfgrass Specialist can be contacted here.

 

 

Many of us utilize tools and technology for building and fine tuning our turf maintenance programs. These tools help us identify issues before they become problems and allow us the opportunity to be "proactive" with our management techniques.

How about your irrigation water source?

Many times we determine our water 'quality' by the quality of our irrigation system, capacity of the pump station and the size of our irrigation pond. Well, 'bigger isn't necessarily better' when it comes to the quality of our irrigation water source. A big pond with nasty water quality can mean, well, a whole lot of water that is really no good!
 

 

 

Irrigation water quality can be a challenge and changing your water source is very difficult and costly in most circumstances. So, it is what it is in many cases unfortunately. However, the true value is in having it regularly tested and a true understanding of how to best manage your turf with the water you have. I believe that soil and irrigation water testing need to come together in order to understand the true picture of your agronomic challenges. Many times, one will present a clue to indicate a problem with the other.

'Good' guys and 'Bad' guys

Your irrigation water is comprised of 'good' guys and 'bad' guys. The bad guys, such as sodium, might outnumber the good guys and contribute to a poor turf environment during prolonged irrigating periods. Learn how to deal with the 'bad' guys.
 

Do you aim to apply 1 inch of water on your turf per week? Did you know that: One acre inch of water containing 1063 ppm of salts, translates to 241 pounds per acre of salts. That's a lot of salt! And with it comes the potential to hinder turf growth under the wrong watering practices. Your irrigation system can apply elements from your water source (good and bad) at a much higher rate than any sprayer or spreader.

 

You Can't Manage What You Don't Measure

Understanding your irrigation water quality can be an important step in taking your turf management program to the next level. Look at the sources that contribute to the water that is entering your pump intake. Sample at your pump intake and sample each source that may contribute to the melting pot that is your irrigation water. This data can prove to be very valuable through those dog days of summer and prolonged irrigating periods.

Your Turn: Do you test your irrigation water regularly? How does it affect your turf environment and do you have a plan in place to manage it effectively? Let's talk!

Athletic Field Grow-in: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back.

Let's face it... municipal athletic fields get the heck beat out of them!

Recreational sports are popular and continuing to grow, Turf Managers are working with less tools and smaller budgets and are frankly spread too thin in many cases.

Understanding the components of your new athletic field project and putting a solid grow in plan together is very important to get your project "out of the gates" and successful. Newly seeded turf needs time, and the correct balance of soil, air and water.

"You can't manage what you don't measure"

Here are my thoughts...

Athletic Fields: The Truth When it Comes to "Hours of Use"

The "hours of use" that athletic fields are exposed to is a very important component to the their success. It is also a very common reason fields fail. This can be tied to many different aspects, such as the fields location, construction, maintenance and amenities.

Here's a video explaining a "biggie" when it comes to determining the "true hour of use" of municipal athletic fields:

 

InnoAgro #TurfPoll Results: What % of your purchases are based on price?

This weeks suggested #TurfPoll question comes from @DavidGoldstone1, asking how you make your purchasing decisions. David commented that many purchasing decisions are based on price, friendly relationships and trying out "the new guy" is sometimes overlooked.

This weeks #TurfPoll results suggest that price is definitely a driving factor for the Turf Professionals that completed the poll and that there has been a change in their purchasing strategies in the past two years.

My two cents...

I am not surprised by the results at all and I think most everyone has found that purchasing requires a little more thought, research or inquiries than they have in the past. I believe people (in general) purchase from individuals they trust and respect. In order to trust someone, you begin to think of them as a friendly connection or in a friendly way.

With that said, everyone deserves a chance... but it takes time to build trust and earn respect and sales professionals need to understand that. Something I have definitely learned in the past two years myself...

Many thanks to David Goldstone for the question to this weeks #TurfPoll. Please leave a comment and a suggestion for an upcoming #TurfPoll and let's keep increasing the votes. I would much rather ask a question from "twitter turf land" than ask one of my own. :)

 

Does Your Greens Topdressing Sand Match Up?

Choosing a topdressing sand is not necessarily like choosing a variety of apples at the supermarket, but there are usually choices out there. Your geographic location can really determine the accessibility to good sand sources. Some Superintendents are limited to one or two choices while others have a good variety of suppliers.

What determines a good topdressing sand?

The cost?

The sales pitch?

The pit location?

Word of mouth from other Superintendents?

High quality topdressing sand suppliers usually separate themselves from the rest pretty quickly. They perfect their product through washing, quality control testing and they ensure the trucks are not contaminated with other aggregate. Nothing worse than a dirty truck box and contaminated product... been there done that, got the t-shirt.

But, does all that mean it is the right choice for you???

Taking the extra step and choosing an independent quality control testing program for your topdressing sand is a good choice. The most expensive sand will be worthless if you realize it is not compatible with your greens mix years later. That's a tough problem to fix and a tough conversation to have with your greens committee.

 

So, what should I be looking for?

Ideally, you want your topdressing sand source to be the same as the material the greens were constructed of. That is a perfect world... and probably safe to say it rarely happens this way. The same physical components of your sand compared to your greens mix will prevent or minimize a layer, and again layers or not cool. There are modified push up or capped greens that have an amended material in the upper layer. This has been a common practice as the game of golf has evolved along with expectations. In this case you are looking to have compatibility with that modified layer and continue on in the process.

So, what should I be doing?

• Hire an independent soils consultant or educate yourself on proper quality control (Q.C.) testing.

• Don't rely on a sample bag dropped of by the sales person. Take a trip to the pit and conduct your Q.C. testing on site or pull your samples from your delivered material if that is not possible.

• Don't rely on one Q.C. test to make your decision and don't rely on testing from one load.

• Make sure your soils consultant is using a high quality laboratory that is A2LA accredited.

• Ask your potential sand supplier for copies of their Q.C. testing and cross reference that with the physical testing your are having done.

The efforts and steps take now will give you peace of mind that you are choosing a product that is going to be right for you and your greens and save you potential problems down the road. We all know that applying topdressing sand is a lot more than loading up and "letting it rip"! It's a science of compatibility and getting results. Take the information you are being told about a product and back up your decision with high quality control testing from an independent source. It is tough to manage what you can't measure.

Your turn: Are you thinking of a new topdressing sand source? Have you been using one for a while? How did you chose your material and what steps did you take to ensure it's right for you? Let's share and grow stronger together.

IA #TurfPoll: Another Idea for Turf Managers to Compare Notes

 I have decided to start @InnoAgro as my business profile on Twitter. I have thought about this for a while but I feel it is a good way to separate personal with business networking on Twitter. No matter how you slice it, the two will merge but it gives friends and connections (I don’t like the term followers!) the option for connecting to what interests them the most. I am hoping to come up with some interesting things at @InnoAgro and continue to tweet about my experiences on the road as I visit my clients and friends on @tommargetts.

This is still an experiment , but I believe there is a way to separate the two and still stay personal. Because after all @InnoAgro is @tommargetts along with all of my clients, which I value greatly.

One idea I have is to post a turf related question every week, called “IA #TurfPoll”. I intend to throw a “hot button” question out to our wonderful world of “turfies” and post the results in an upcoming blog post along with my thoughts on the subject. I think this is a great way to look at what others are saying and how the stats stack up... because after all I am a data geek. I am hoping to coming up with some interesting ways to display the data, possibly through maps or charts. I think you’ll see what I mean once we get going on this. This week marked the first official “IA #TurfPoll” and was titled “Do you use organics?”. We received only a few answers for the first try, but still some interesting information!

The information below shows the percentage of organic fertilizers used for greens, tees, fairways and roughs. Check it out:

Thanks to all who contributed to the first “IA #TurfPoll” and I welcome your thoughts and ideas on how this can work. Please let me know if you have an interesting question for an upcoming #TurfPoll and again thanks to @bboyer925, @DavidGoldstone1 and @EricStrzepek who have thrown potential questions at me already! Special thanks to Greg Shaffer (@gtshaffer) from Elcona Country Club for offering some insight and advice on Twitter and social media. Big help Greg!!! I look forward to checking out everyone’s interesting information and turf related blog posts in the coming months.

The world of Twitter is an awesome learning tool!

Please free feel to leave a comment, #TurfPoll question or idea below. Let’s all learn and share together.  

 

Try Engaging Your Turf Staff and Watch Them Spread The Blogging Love!

I read a recent blog post unrelated to turf that refueled some thoughts on managing turf teams. We all know there are many, many challenges when it comes to turf management and staffing might just be at the top. We all fondly remember "the year" where our team was dialed in and conversely we remember the “not-so-good” year where we pulled our hair out!

Retaining seasonal employees can be a challenge to say it nicely.

I feel strongly that engaging your employees in your maintenance vision and simply listening, can produce great results. Ultimately, I don’t feel people stay at a job for the money… at least on a committed level. Sure money is absolutely necessary, but you have to feel inspired to get up at crazy hours and do crazy work. Let’s be honest… look in the mirror and I think I just proved my point. :)

Why not try engaging your employees in your turf blog?

Being consistent with your turf blog is a "challenge", right?

Spreading the good word of responsible turf management is always "challenging", right?

Being consistent with your turf blog is a "goal", right?

Engaging your turf teams is a "goal", right?

The younger generation understands technology, blogging and social media, right?

You see where I am going w h this???

Try engaging your turf staff by encouraging them to contribute an article to your turf blog. I think this could be a wonderful opportunity to promote your staff, give them a sense of entitlement and get some great ideas for your golf course! They can give a detailed overview of their particular job, post some nature photos or their "take" on a recent course project.

I don’t think handing over this much power has to be scary. Just lay down the ground rules on what you expect out of your blogging and give them an opportunity to submit a draft. This could be an opportunity to tweak their submissions for publishing and gives you a chance to chat on a different level with your staff member’s one on one.  

Here are some excellent blog posts on creating a blogging team, getting a team buy in and letting them write. They are totally unrelated to the turf industry but they definitely fueled my thoughts for this blog post.

Why not try engaging your turf team in contributing to your blog? Take some work load off of your plate and give them a chance to spread the "turf love"!

Your Turn: Does this idea make sense? Let’s hear some other awesome ideas in how you engage your staff members and create a team environment? Let’s share and learn together!

 

We Look at "Organic Matter" Differently as Turf Managers

Organic matter is something that we often do not want to see, hear or talk about in the turf industry. We typically interpret organic matter as "bad". In fact, we really use the term organic matter much differently than most agricultural Professionals. As Turf Managers, when we hear organic matter we think thatch. Right? Yes, thatch is surface organic matter that is in the initial process of decaying. An organic matter that usually keeps us awake at night figuring out how we are going to manage it in an "cultural practice unfriendly" turf world. We all know we have it and need to deal with it, but it isn't always that simple.

Let's take a different look at Organic Matter

Let's take a quick peak at the many benefits of "Soil Organic Matter" as written from Dr. Luke Baker, Agronomist/Laboratory Specialist, Brookside Laboratories, New Knoxville, Ohio.

Please visit Brookside Laboratories website and Luke Baker's biography. Here is Luke's article explaining Soil Organic Matter...

Benefits of Soil Organic Matter (SOM)

1) SOM is a slow release form of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur for plant nutrition and microbial growth.

 

2) SOM has considerable waterholding capacity and thereby helps to hold water in soil.

 

3) SOM buffers against changes in pH or acidity of a soil.

 

4) SOM's dark color enhances absorption of energy from the sun and helps to warm soils.

 

5) Organic materials are the cement that hold clay and silt particles together, thus contributing to the granular or crumb structure of the soil, resulting in both a more porous soil, and greater resistance to erosion, especially erosion by wind.

 

6) SOM binds nutrients ions (potassium, calcium, magnesium, for example) in the soil that otherwise might be leached or lost from the surface horizons.

 

7) Organic constituents in the humus may act as plant growth stimulants.

 

8) SOM is a major component of the carbon cycle estimated globally at between 1,500 and 2,000 billion metric tons. The soil pool is about twice the size as the plant atmospheric pools. Agriculture worldwide has reduced the soil carbon pool by an estimated 50 to 80 billion metric tons. Ironically, the losses have provided the space that add- ing or sequestering more carbon in soil requires.

 

9) SOM plays a major role in the soil's ability to tie up or absorb potential pollutants (including pesticides). This provides a safe storage place where microorganisms can degrade often toxic materials over time.

Therefore, it is essential that we build SOM levels. Without SOM, soils quickly can become degraded and lose their productivity.

Luke Baker, Ph.D.
Agronomist/Lab Specialist, Brookside Laboratories

 

Your Turn: Are you thinking about organic matter a bit differently now?

 

Why "Free" Isn't The Best for Your Turf Soil Testing Program

It is fun to get things for free! We get free samples from a trip to the supermarket and open our mailboxes to discover "freebies" all of the time.

Do you rush across the aisle to pick up these handouts OR are you the one that avoids eye contact and just keeps on walking?

Freebies are cool, but they are usually something like a mini granola bar that only teases your hunger or a packet of soap that does a half a load of laundry. ;-)

What is the other reason we keep on walking to avoid the freebies? Usually because there is a push for commitment or a “sales pitch” attached, right? After all, nothing is REALLY free and in nearly all cases “you get what you pay for”.

Building a fertility program is a very important part of the overall success of your turf conditioning. Having an accurate understanding of your soil nutrition in relation to your turf species and specific goals… gets results!

Here are a few important reasons why I think free soil testing is NOT the best strategy for building a solid fertility program:

Is it REALLY free?

Maybe, just, maybe the offer of soil free testing will be built around the promotion of specific fertilizer products. Now, I am not saying these products aren’t great, but are they a necessary piece of the puzzle to achieve "YOUR" turf conditioning goals? Or do they include additional elements that are already at sufficient levels in your soil. Money wasters!

Unbiased equals freedom

Sure, there are plenty free soil testing opportunities out there, however investing in recommendations from a truly independent professional is very powerful. Imagine working with a consultant that specializes in soil and turf nutrition and provides you a plan that can be shopped around to any product supplier.

Now that’s powerful and empowering!

Understanding testing methods and interpretation

 Every soil test is not the same. There are specific extraction methods to suit certain soil types. Make sure the person you are putting your trust into understands the correct testing methods and interpretation. Soil sufficiency guidelines can be very general. I work hard with clients to understand every aspect of their maintenance program and together we use this data to develop guidelines that are specific to your property.

Who’s doing your data interpretation?

Is the technical product rep doing your interpretation or is the testing laboratory? Has the lab ever been on your property or have they ever met you? Do they understand your challenges, goals and priorities? Ok, the technical rep has been on your property, he/she has gotten to know you. That’s good right? Sure, but are they thoroughly trained to understand the labs data and how it relates to the REAL world?

 

An independent Soil and Turf Consultant does this work every day!  

Spend some time to consider your challenges, goals and objectives for your turf fertility program. Review your past programs and identify the weaknesses. Test your turf soils regularly to take the "guess" out of planning. Consider working with an independent Soil and Turf Consultant that has your best interest at heart and empowers you to make the fertilizer choices YOU truly want.

Your turn: Let’s hear your strategies for setting your turf fertility program? Does it include soil testing? Do you have the power to make the choices you want?

 

It’s Difficult Not to Snarl and Bite When Our Turf Leash Gets Tight!

I would like to share a quick story with from this past week…

Minding my own business…

I grabbed the leash and decided to take our dog (Casey) for a walk on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I took a short cut through a small park that runs alongside of the river and dam system in town. As I reached the top of the set of stairs beside the dam I noticed two toddlers and a dog laughing and running towards us. It was a surprise meeting for all of us and I noticed a mother and another toddler following shortly behind. I quickly noticed that this dog was not on a leash and my dog was. Right away this dog’s fur stood upright on its back and started coming towards Casey. Both dogs sniffed and greeted each other as all dogs do and things seem to be fine. But, within the blink of an eye, the strange dog showed its’ teeth, snarled and lunged at Casey. The tussle last for a brief moment and appeared much worse than it actually was, with either dog showing any cuts or blood.

Having a dog my whole life I feel I have a good understanding of canine behaviour and “what” and “what not” to do. Usually dog encounters can be far worse if the owner panics and pulls back on the leash, not allowing dogs to be dogs. After the tussle the mother ran up verbally reprimanded her dog and put his leash on. She was very embarrassed and apologized to me repeatedly.

The fork in the road…

Now, I could have taken this situation and been very upset, tearing a strip off this lady for not following the dog leash law and putting my dog at risk. After all, I was following the rules and minding my own business. I chose not to do this and rather responded with “that’s ok, I understand, don’t worry about it”.  I think I actually surprised her with my response!

So, why did I respond like this?

I decided to look at it as a surprise encounter from both sides, neither of us understood the others intentions. I believe the dog instantly felt threatened and may have felt he needed to protect the toddlers from an attacker… even though that was not the case. It was the initial perception, before either of us really took the time to understand one another. Does this sound familiar?

How the heck does this story relate to turf?

Are you feeling like your leash is getting tight?

Do others aggressively approach you without understanding the facts?

Do you show your teeth, snarl and possibly bite back without understanding their position?

Me too…

The truth is the turf industry has become increasingly regulated and under scrutiny from others that may not understand the facts. Many are quick to judge and come at us with an aggressive stance. Let’s make sure we don’t show our teeth, snarl and bite before we take the time to survey the situation and do our best to get an understanding of their environment and motives.

Your turn: Have you become increasing agitated at your professional environment? What techniques do you use to “stop” and allow yourself to truly understand where others are coming from? Please leave a comment below and let’s share together.