Winter is not over yet.  I am so glad I decided to push aerification back 1 week.  This would have been a nightmare for us.  We will aerate on Monday 3/31/14 and Tuesday 4/1/14.

 

 

 

Cold weather is forecast for next week.  Lows in the 20's high low 40's  So we are moving aerification back 1 week to Monday 3/31/14 and Tuesday 4/1/14.  We need warmer weather so greens can heal faster.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

Update on Maple Syrup

 

 

 After 4 days of cooking sap we are down to this 5 qt. pan.

 Karen giving syrup a taste taste

 Rob is straining syrup.

All done we collected about 40 gallons of sap and made 3 qts. of Maple Syrup.

We will be aerating our greens on Monday March 24 and Tuesday March 25 weather permitting.

 

     Aerification is a cultural practice that is vital to having good greens.  The purpose of aeration is just what it says AIR.   Turf absorbs air through the root system.  Too much organic matter prevents air exchange.  Organic matter is the old leaves and root from the the plant that is left behind.  This layer is between the turf and soil.  Organic matter is good in small quantities but left to build up can be damaging in long run.  Bentgrass can produce large amounts of organic matter in a short amount of time.

 Too much organic matter can:

1. Repel water.
2. Cause isolated dry spots.
3. Reduce the amount of air getting to the roots.
4. Give a place for insects and disease to live.
5. Can cause the greens to be spongy which causes poor ball roll and green unable to hold proper golf shot.

     By removing cores and filling the void with sand this removes the organic matter and opens the sub grade with air channels.  The roots get more oxygen and the plant response by giving a burst of growth with a dark green color to the leaves.  Usually after 1 week greens will putt much better as the holes heal and in 2 weeks holes have completely healed.  Thank you for your patience at this time .

    

We have started boiling our maple sap.  It will take about 3 days to complete.  40 gallons of sap will yield about 1 gallon of syrup.

Sonny and Dan collecting maple sap.  This will be the last week we will collect sap.

Anyone that has been out playing golf the last month has certainly seen the buckets attached to our maple trees around the course.  We are collecting maple sap to make maple syrup.  We presently have about 40 gallons of sap.  I hope to collect around 60 gallons before we are done.  That will make roughly 1.5 gallons of maple syrup. If I can make enough syrup  I would like to have a pancake tournament.  More post on cooking sap will follow.