winter kill Cancel The title field is required!

1. Denis Koltykhov

   

   2 posts
   
   4/12/2012 12:04 AM

   Good day all. I manage golf course in North Europe. In the last some years we face a problem of loss of a grass on greens as a result of winter damages. Winters in Russia now are very challenging, with a lot of freezing and thawing periods. Greens USGA, creeping bentgrass A1/A4. Some words about our preparation for the winter. Usually we do aeration with half inch hollow tines + topdress. Spraying program is reliable and allows to be protected from winter diseases (a snow mold and others). We cut out drainage holes by holecutter in the lowest points of greens leave them till the spring. In the early spring (usually in beginning of March) we start to clean snow from greens and if there is an ice, use aerator with solid tines for ice removing to avoid crown hydration and promote air changing. Within several years we successfully enough did it, and we still leaving a few to thaw naturally. The interesting fact, but those greens which we didn't clean left after winter in the best condition without any damages. I would like to ask your advice. Should we stop the practice of spring cleaning greens from snow? Can traffic and activity which we create on greens during snow removal procedure be a reason of damages? What do you recommend for minimize winter damages in our difficult weather conditions? In advance of your response. Thank you very much.
   
   Rgs,
   
   Denis

   
   
   
   
2. Virgil Range

   

   0 posts
   
   4/12/2012 5:04 AM

   unless you have a very thick layer of ice i suggest to leave it. Even if you have alot of snow. As long as you spray your snow mold app and are protected leave the snow. I have tried to clean snow and ice off greens before. I feel there is no advatage with the labor and time it takes to do such a things. Plus it kills my back. I leave things to mother nature and hope for the best.
   I protect with fungicide and leave it alone.
   
   Virgil

   
   
   
   
3. Larry Allan

   

   0 posts
   
   4/12/2012 6:04 AM

   Hi Denis, until a couple of years ago I would have agreed with the actions you were taking to remove ice however this year i removed ice from a number of greens and left a number to their own devices. Without a doubt the greens where I did not remove the ice came out far better.
   From here on in, I have no intention of even looking at them over the course of the winter

   
   
   
   
4. Nowakowski Michael J

   
   4/12/2012 12:04 PM

   I do not believe in removing snow from greens, I instead just let it melt off on its own. Taking the snow and its insulation off and expecting the greens to withstand cold temps when they have been used to temps a couple degrees below zero is a recipe for disaster in my mind.
   When people ask why I don't remove it, I tell them to stand outside all winter with a warm jacket until the middle of March, then give me the jacket but continue to stand out there until the middle of April...they usually get my point.

   
   
   
   
5. Wydra David A

   
   4/12/2012 12:04 PM

   We have had similar situations here in Oregon. I agree with Virgil - Unless you have excessive ice build-up, leave it to melt on its own. Physically removing the ice in some situations will do more harm than good. We also cut holes in the low areas on a few of our greens. I use a 2" plugger and remove all of the material down to the pea gravel. They seem to work pretty well. One of the best things you can do is to provide any kind of surface drainage that you can - take full advantage of those warm days when the ice is melting. Spreading dark colored sand over exposed ice will work wonders for you on sunny days - not so much if you have cloud cover. We have found that the best thing you can do is to try and help the ice melt any way you can and provide somewhere for the melt-off to drain to. Ice that freezes and thaws over and over while remaining in the same place becomes much less porous and we have found that is the worst type of ice to have covering your turf. Again - help it melt and help it drain.
   Good luck

   
   
   
   
6. Denis Koltykhov

   

   2 posts
   
   4/13/2012 2:04 AM

   Thank you very much guys for the useful advices. Last year I was very close to decide live the snow and ice till the spring, but ice was so thick... Look at the another green were we did not remove ice and snow. Huge difference, isn't it? So, I think we should eliminate this harmfull procedure next year.
   Thanks again.
   
   With kind regards,
   
   Denis

   
   
   
   
7. John Cooney

   

   0 posts
   
   4/14/2012 7:04 AM

   Denis,
   
   while we normally don't get near that much snow around here in the Detroit area we certainly have experienced crown hydration. I totally agree with the above posts to leave the snow in place. After removing the snow the last two years and ending up with damage never previously before seen on about three greens, it seems evident that taking the insulation (snow) off of the green at the wrong time can leave the uncovered green with the ability to thaw on top during a 40ish degree day, then, with frost still in the ground, that thawing water has no place to go. Overnight say you dip back into the teens or low 20s and the crown hydration takes place and death occurs. Finally, this year, with such a mild winter around here we suffered no damage. A much better way to start off the Spring! We also cut miltona channels to let the excess water get off the green, have re-contoured 11 of our problem greens to help remove birdbath pooling, as well as removing any south and western trees from shading the greens in the winter to alleviate the problems. The insulating effect from the snow can only help in my opinion.
   
   John

   
   
   
   
8. Steven Flagstad

   

   0 posts
   
   4/15/2012 2:04 PM

   I used to remove snow and don't feel I ever had any issues in doing so, however in my opinion our damage was already done. We are in northern Wisconsin and have had ice some years from November to mid March, regarding the labor I would ride over them with a skid steer to push off the snow, with 2 inches of ice it certainly is not going to do any damage. We done this until I finally got tired of the ice damage and we decided to cover with mats, while mats don't guarantee no ice damage in the 14 years we have been using them the damage has been limited and I truly believe without mats we would have had serous damage yearly. Our weather pattern has changed so much we are getting rain storms now in late December.

   
   
   
   
9. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   4/15/2012 5:04 PM

   Larry Allan said: Hi Denis, until a couple of years ago I would have agreed with the actions you were taking to remove ice however this year i removed ice from a number of greens and left a number to their own devices. Without a doubt the greens where I did not remove the ice came out far better.
   From here on in, I have no intention of even looking at them over the course of the winter

   
   
   But then where will we get our entertaining videos from? (for some reason I feel another "no love, no help comment coming?)
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
10. Larry Allan

    

    0 posts
    
    4/17/2012 11:04 AM

    Mel, as pointed out by another, I have lost my manhood. Choosing to do nothing confirms it

    
    
    
    
11. Denis Koltykhov

    

    2 posts
    
    4/17/2012 11:04 PM

    Good day my friends! Thank you so much for advices. What do you reccomend in concern of recovery programm for damaged greens. For surface preparation I would verticut greens by aggressive "thatch away" unit in one direction. After that I have planned do aeration by solid 6mm tines as close and shallow as possible in 4 directions. Seed A1/A4 2 lbs/1000ft2, topdress and cover by fabric. Shall I mow greens on "scalping height" first and remove dead tissues? Your comments will be appreciated. Thanks as always.
    Have a nice day!
    
    Best regards
    
    Denis

    
    
    
    
12. Nowakowski Michael J

    
    4/18/2012 4:04 PM

    Sounds like your plan is a good one, but don't forget the fertilizer. An agronomist told me one time to start with an organic one first, such as Milorganite as the potential burn for new seedlings would be greatly reduced. Not sure I would cut to scalping height, probably just normal height.

    
    
    
    
13. Churchill Kevin

    
    4/28/2012 6:04 PM

    I am well outside my realm of knowledge here, but an interesting thing I've learned since living in Florida is what the orange farmers do. When temperatures are projected to drop below freezing, they keep their irrigation running to freeze the outside surface of the oranges, which supposedly reduces any crop damage. I guess the thought is that the ice will protect the temperature of the orange from dropping below the freezing point.
    
    I have no idea if there is any correlation there, as there is obviously no permafrost in florida. It's only a short term need. I just thought it was interesting that the greens with ice left on them are performing better in the spring. I had a irrigation hydraulic leak happen overnight one time which caused a greens head to pop up and run all night. It was a night we dropped below freezing. That green had a layer of ice on it the next morning. Interestingly, everywhere else went into a hard dormancy, but that area stayed relatively green.
    
    Sorry to intrude on your topic, as I'm a super in Florida. But my roots are Maine, so it interested me.
    
    Kevin Churchill
    Kelly Plantation Golf Club

    
    
    
    
14. Denis Koltykhov

    

    2 posts
    
    4/30/2012 12:04 AM

    Thank you very much Kevin. This is really interesting experience.
    
    Rgs,
    
    Denis