The June bowls diary 2003

June Bowls Diary

By Jon Buddington

Switch or drag brush the green daily to remove dew, worm casts and bring debris to the top of the sward.

Check areas where dew is not present for signs of stress or dry patch. These areas may need hand watering and the green as a whole may benefit from the application of a wetting agent. If this is the case treat these prone areas with a sarrel roller prior to using the wetting agent and monitor closely.

Generally with the long hot days, irrigation will be important, but better to give the green a good dousing every two or three days than a little bit every day. This encourages roots to strengthen and go in search for water.

Power brush or verticut the sward of grass to stand up any persistently straggling grass, this operation also gives a fresher, cleaner cut.

Check greens mower prior to use for sharpness of cut, adjust as necessary. Cutting height should be at about 5mm, so as not to put undue stress on the grass.

Double cut green in diamond formation for tournaments and finals, this type of cut will reduce the need to lower the cutting height at the time because cutting the green twice removes more volume of grass from the same area.

Check grass in times of heat stress, roll instead of cutting once in a while to ease pressured turf. A feed may be necessary, with these "ideal" grass growing conditions of late.