This past week, we went ahead with greens aerification, as scheduled. Like many surgical procedures a person might undergo, aerification is beneficial to the turf in the long-run, however it is also quite stressful in the short-term. As the days leading up to aerification approached, and we looked at the weather forecast, thoughts of, "The patient is too weak, can they survive surgery?" popped into our heads. After all, how many people would be able to withstand surgery in a 97 degree OR!
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| A miserable weather stretch to aerify in. |
Fortunately, as we near one week post-surgery, it looks like the greens made it through the "punching" in good shape. Once past the actual day of aerification, they can relax and recover--it's now easier for them to breathe, and they will be kept well-hydrated.
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| As the Sun rises, #11 is being rolled, post-aerification |
While most people focus on the daily high temperatures, the nighttime lows are equally important to plant health. During the 10 day heat wave we just went through, we stayed in the 70's and close to 80 degrees many nights, allowing no relief to the turf, all while providing great growing conditions for some nasty plant pathogens.
So, after many hot, humid mornings this summer, it felt amazing to get up on Saturday and actually have to reach for a light jacket. Undoubtedly, August will show its teeth again and go down swinging, but this brief respite from the heat and humidity is appreciated by both flora and fauna!
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