Soil Moisture Probe Cancel The title field is required!

1. Venne Gregory

   
   2/15/2012 12:02 PM

   We are looking into buying a soil moisture probe. I wanted to get your guys opinion on the ones you have purchased, or have tried.
   
   Thanks,

   
   
   
   
2. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   2/15/2012 12:02 PM

   Just picked up a couple of the Fieldscout TDR-300's. They work great, but take a few days/weeks to figure out what baseline % you are going to use. This of course changes with the seasons. We probe the greens in the morning using 9 quadrants - 3 front, 3 middle, 3 back - then hand water the areas that need it.
   
   They are expensive, so don't let 'em bounce around in the back of your cart.

   
   
   
   
3. Brett Morris

   

   0 posts
   
   2/15/2012 3:02 PM

   We've had our greens mapped with the Fieldscout TDR-300 as well, with the GPS. They provide some very good results as to the water distribution within the profile which enables you to target specific areas. I put the results into a proposal recently for a rebuild of a few greens due to age and drainage issues. When the Board saw the results and explanations given, I had approval in principle straight away.

   
   
   
   
4. Wally Dowe

   

   0 posts
   
   2/15/2012 4:02 PM

   We use the TDR 3000. I would highly recommend it. It takes the guess work out of when and how much to water. All staff are on the same page when reading the meters. We have reduced the frequency of watering greens. Before using the meters each person would have a different definition of how dry a plug would be when pulling a core with a soil probe. Staff had a tendency to overwater with hoses before we started using the meters. As stated before it will take a little trial and error to dial in what % of soil moisture is adequate for your greens.
   
   Wally Dowe
   Ventana Canyon
   Tucson, AZ

   
   
   
   
5. James Schmid

   

   1 posts
   
   2/16/2012 9:02 AM

   Andy Jorgensen said: Just picked up a couple of the Fieldscout TDR-300's. They work great, but take a few days/weeks to figure out what baseline % you are going to use. This of course changes with the seasons. We probe the greens in the morning using 9 quadrants - 3 front, 3 middle, 3 back - then hand water the areas that need it.
   
   They are expensive, so don't let 'em bounce around in the back of your cart.

   
   
   
   I don't think you can call it quadrants if there are 9 of them

   
   
   
   
6. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   2/16/2012 12:02 PM

   James Schmid said:

   Andy Jorgensen said: Just picked up a couple of the Fieldscout TDR-300's. They work great, but take a few days/weeks to figure out what baseline % you are going to use. This of course changes with the seasons. We probe the greens in the morning using 9 quadrants - 3 front, 3 middle, 3 back - then hand water the areas that need it.
   
   They are expensive, so don't let 'em bounce around in the back of your cart.

   
   
   
   I don't think you can call it quadrants if there are 9 of them

   
   
   Add that one to the "Crap Andy says" list. Sometimes I wonder how I even get dressed in the morning with a brain like this....