Grass Clippings
According to the meteorological season, autumn starts on 1st September and ends on 30th November – sorry to depress everyone who has been enjoying the sudden warm spell this week. The autumn equinox marks the start of the season and this takes place on 23rd September at 6.50am marking the point that day and night are of roughly equal length and the nights will become increasingly longer than the days.
Around our grounds
September is a critical month for the grounds department, for several vital events have to be completed at this time. Tennis renovations are key item on the to-do list, and we shall be decommissioning the large block (19 to 24) next week, to start the renovation period which will establish the grass sward for the next year. It is a short window of opportunity to aerate, top dress, level and overseed the lawns so that we achieve germination before the soil temperatures begin to drop. Like a radiator which has been switched off, the soil begins to lose heat very quickly as the days shorten and ambient temperatures dissipate. By October, we need to be at the stage that we are able to start to trim and feed the new grass to strengthen it so it will be able to get through the winter period in a healthy state. Hopefully, the winter is kind to us, and the grass is able to tick over till spring.
This week has seen the reopening of courts 15 to 18, in front of the Health Club, which have been newly constructed as Advantage Red courts surface. The new courts look splendid front and centre of the Club and will be a great addition for competition play. The top-dressing process, completed by the contractor will continue to be monitored for some months, as it takes a while for the carpet to filter all the red sand though the pile and settle down. Chris Hughes and the team will be monitoring the courts to ensure that they are performing well during this period. Grounds also have croquet renovations planned during September, to fit in with the play schedule. On the golf course, David Howe and the team are busy trying to keep up with the sudden spurt of growth that has been promoted by the warm days and cool nights. With the autumn events for all golfing groups about to start, it is a hectic time of the year.
RIP Ron Kirby
One of the nicest guys in the golf business, who had a huge impact on golf in Europe and the United States, sadly died recently. Ron Kirby was a veteran golf designer, who made it to his 90th birthday, but never really retired from the game. He started from humble beginnings in golf, working as a caddy and part of the maintenance crew of his local golf course, an experience he never forgot during his career on the other side of the drawing board. He worked with Dick Wilson, Gary Player, Robert Trent Jones Senior and Jack Nicklaus during his career, acting like a sponge with these titans of the golf world, he absorbed as much design knowledge as he could as he went on his journey across America and eventually Europe. Ron became a Senior Designer for Nicklaus in the 1980’s, just when the golf boom across the pond was to take off and was responsible for the company’s European designs. I was fortunate to be a young rookie deputy greenkeeper at the London GC when Ron was completing the design of the international course. He always took time to explain his design principles to the team and was appreciative of the work that the crew did ‘to make his work as a back-room draftsman shine in reality’. Ron Kirby’s most acclaimed courses in Europe were Mount Juliet, Old Head (Ireland), La Moraleja in Spain and in Barbados Apes Hills as well as a host of other international and US based courses. Ron will be sadly missed by many in the golf world for his bold use of landscape and his ability to treat everyone as equals in the business he loved to be a part of.
Unintentional invader
As many of you may have seen in the media, there has been an increase in the incidence of Asian hornet sightings in the south of England and it is feared that the species will become established in the UK based on the record number of nests that have been found. Hornets can decimate bee colonies and have a drastic effect on other valuable insect life which act as pollinators.
There does seem to be a cluster of the new species around the coast in Kent, which may be attributed to them being blow in from France, where they have also established as an invasive species. Sussex, Dorset, and Hampshire have also registered incidence of hornets being identified. Which concurs with the theory that they are blown off course rather than hitching a lift on shipped-in goods. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are monitoring on several fronts the impact of that invasive are having on the UK wildlife from various forms. As well as insects, plant diseases and introduce plant species are of concern to conservation groups, the farming community and commercial horticulture growers. Invasive species are one of the five major direct drivers of biodiversity loss and a major risk for the UK.
Around your grounds
September is a good time to be in the garden and to start to prepare your plot for the end of year slow down. Hanging baskets can still have many weeks of valuable colour given a little maintenance. Regular deadheading, watering, and feeding can keep them going until mid-autumn. Once they are past their best, re-plant as winter/spring hanging baskets appropriately. We do find that due to the position of the baskets at the Club, the cold winds damage tender plants in the depth of winter so have decided to use hardy species of plants up until late February then transfer to spring flowering bedding once the weather improves.
Other jobs for the next few weeks:-
♣ Continue to deadhead plants such as dahlias, delphiniums, roses and penstemons to prolong the display and give colour well into the month. Improve clay soil before it becomes too wet or frozen by incorporating organic matter and/or horticultural grit.
♣ Sow green manures such as buckwheat, clover and ryegrass on uncultivated areas to improve soil and keep weeds down over winter.
♣ Create compost bins in preparation for all the fallen leaves and dead plant material which you’ll be collecting over the coming months. Autumn leaves make a great addition to compost bins and are ideal for making leaf mould.
♣ Burn diseased plant material or dispose of it in your household or green waste. Don’t compost it as the spores may remain in the compost and reinfect your plants.
♣ Raise pots off the ground for the winter by using bricks or ‘pot feet’, to prevent waterlogging.
♣ Clear pond weeds and net your pond in anticipation of autumn leaf fall.
♣ Blitz perennial weeds — they are more vulnerable to weed killers in the autumn. Use a selective glyphosate free formula to kill both the leaves and the roots.
♣ Install water butts to collect rain this autumn and winter. Rain water is great for watering ericaceous plants such as blueberries, rhododendrons and camellias.