A Peek Under the Tarps

Over the last two weeks the weather has been, for the most part, grey and dour, with the odd day of sunshine.  This time of year is always a rollercoaster of highs and lows; snow one day and ten degrees the next.  Those few days of sunshine always tease us, but in that small taste, we can certainly feel the summer coming.  The upbeat mood around the shop yesterday definitely reflected that theory.  Gord, Dave, Kyle and Stewart returned from their winter hiatuses and we began organizing the shop and cleaning up from the winter.  The greenhouse is in full swing as Stewart unpacks the cuttings used to create our annual displays and prepare the gladiolas blubs for planting.

 

 Gord and Dave were out on the course, cutting up the trees and dead falls from the winter and clearing away the debris.  Later in the day we shifted the upper tarp from number eight green to eleven green. Over the winter the dormant fungicide applied to eleven green wasn’t as effective and some snow mould developed on the green. By utilizing the upper tarp from eight, we will increase the temperature of the green and help the turf to recover at a faster rate. In general, the soil temperatures are beginning to increase and the plants are becoming active. Under the shelter of the tarps the soil temperature are five to six degrees warmer and the difference is very obvious.  We have to be careful at this point to not remove the tarps too early and “shock” the turf with cold weather.    

A close up of Number 8 green under the double tarp.

This picture shows the difference between double and single tarp coverage and none at all.



Kyle mowing the fairway on April 4th 2010.  Not quite the same this year.