| Volume 3, Issue 1 |
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Fall 1997 |
Interview:
Dean Graves, Bethesda Country Club
In this day and age of a new course a day, it is very refreshing to read
through the pages upon pages of history offered by the Bethesda Country
Club.
Imagine Amelia Earhart flying in to play a round or Shirley Temple
and her father playing through.
Back at the turn of the century Fred
Finley designed and built a nine hole course known as the National Women's
Country Club.
There is so much history on this course that it gets confusing,
but clearly a lot of changes were made from those early days. Perhaps one
of the biggest changes was the construction of the infamous Washington
Beltway that split the course in half in the mid 1950's. Today, change
remains constant as golf course superintendent Dean Graves continues the
tradition.
Dean started at Bethesda in June of 1989. Two weeks later he was hosting
the LPGA Greater Washington Open. Since then he has hosted four LPGA Mazda
Championships.
Dean started his golf course career at the age of 12, working at the
Pro Shop at Rehobeth Beach Country Club. Wanting to be a Pro he thought
he would try his hand at working on the course and joined the crew at Wilmington
C.C. Liking that better, he took a degree from the University of Delaware
and then completed the Penn State Turf Program. He then moved on to Baltimore
and Kenwood C.C. before settling in at Bethesda.
"It was very clear from day one that the greens needed to be changed
but it took two years of work to convince anyone here of that," Dean explained.
The soil was heavy and very tight
Dean Graves
Bethesda Country Club
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and the crew was constantly fighting problems.
"If I can make it through the summer of '95, I know that I'm on the
right program."
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"These greens were built
in the 1920's with an interest in keeping water on the green. They were
very heavy soil and built in a bowl shape. Needless to say, they didn't
work well with today's golf load."
In 1991 the decision was made to convert the greens to USGA spec sand
greens.
Architect Arthur Hills was hired to help with the re-design of the
new greens. "We needed to make some changes as we re-built the greens,
but it was very important to the membership that there was a master plan
and that we stuck as close to the original design as possible," described
Dean.
In 1991 work started and the six worst greens were closed down, dug
up, and the re-building process began. Dean described the process, "We
used a straight USGA 80/20 mix of sand and peat moss. A choker layer and
a plastic membrane around the outside was laid down first followed by a
herringbone drainage system. Sludge was added to help build the organic
content of the mix. The greens were seeded between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15
with Dominant and SR 1019, and 1020."
The greens were opened on May 15 the next spring and the course hosted
the LPGA championship on June 4 of that year. "The greens were terrible!
They were open too early and grew in too fast. We really struggled to get
them into playing shape," explained Dean.
The rest of the greens and tees were re-built over the next 3 years.
"It was very fortunate that we re-built these greens and tees in sections
because we learned something new each time. We also learned a tremendous
amount from talking to other superintendents in the area that had been
through the re-build process."
The first of the new greens were soil tested and evaluated. The limiting
factor was clearly a weak Cation Exchange Capacity. The levels of nutrients
were all very low, which came as no surprise to anyone.
When the construction started on the next wave of greens and tees the
decision was made to amend the sand mix to try to build CEC and to help
provide water and nutrient holding capacity.
"It was very obvious to all of us, after the first set of greens were
in, that we needed to amend the sand mix to help build the organic matter
in these greens. Before we started the rest of the greens we put together
a list of amendments that we wanted to consider incorporating into our
mix."
Dean's list of amendments included the incorporation of gypsum, humates,
potassium sulfate, black rock phosphate, dry kelp, a starter fertilizer,
a trace package, sludge, and the EarthWorks 5-4-5.
"The newer greens have deeper roots
and less matting. All-in-all the greens to which we added these organic
and mineral materials are just better!"
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"We were not able to have these materials blended into the mix so we applied
them to the surface of the sand and raked them into the first 6 inches
of the soil. If I were to re-build greens again I would have the blending
facility mix all my amendments into the construction mix."
After building the first wave of greens, one pound of nitrogen was applied
to drive color and vigor. "One thing we noticed quickly with the amended
greens was that we got better response from the nitrogen that we used and
we used less throughout grow in."
Dean explained with the sound of relief and excitement in his voice
that the amended soils were much easier to manage. "The non-amended greens
always wilt first and have never been as reliable as the amended greens
and the CEC on those greens are not as strong. The newer greens also have
deeper roots and less matting. All-in-all the greens to which we added
these organic and mineral materials are just better!"
When Dean was asked what he would do differently if he had it all to
do over again he had some very definite ideas. "If I were to build new
greens or re-build older greens today, I would use a coarser sand that
would allow for better drainage and air movement. I would also spec the
incorporation of a whole host of organic products and rock minerals and
even consider material such as zeolite."
"If I can make it through the summer of 1995 with limited problems,
I know that I'm on the right program."
MINERALIZING SOILS WITH
ASH!
There seems to be quite a dispute in the industry over the ash content
in various organic fertilizers. As is too often the case, this is an argument
that is based in half truths. It started with a concern of layering in
USGA greens but recently ash has been touted as simply having no value
at all!
TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Most ash tests are performed through a process known as a "dry ashing procedure."
This is the simplest method for decomposing organic matter and is performed
by heating with a flame in an open dish or crucible until all carbonous
material has been oxidized to carbon dioxide. What is left is the mineral
fraction of that compound which is referred to as ash!
When an ash test is performed
all the organic, or carbon, material is burned off and what is left is
the mineral fraction - the ash. This mineral fraction is often the most
important part of a biological soil management program.
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The reason this discussion is so engrossing is that it is just this mineral
fraction, or ash, that we want! One of the reasons composted manure is
of such value is that it does have a high mineral content.
When recently reviewing a number of agronomic reports the concept of
soil re-mineralization was stressed and one of the interesting discussions
was the benefits of high mineral fertilizer, which they referred to as
ash! It is imperative that we understand the importance of soil re-mineralization.
It is this practice that allows for soil restructuring and provides a source
of sustainable nutrients that both soil microbes and roots can draw from
at will. This is even more critical when growing a constant cover crop
such as turf. At least the farmer gets to turn minerals up from below once
a year!
The concern that organic fertilizers are creating layering problems
has a certain validity. No responsible professional should deny that. The
real issue is how do we balance the need to feed the soil, and physical
structure, when both are so extremely important.
A good way of answering this question is by going back to agronomic
basics and following a program that balances the soil chemically, biologically
and physically as one entity. Regular soil testing will allow us to balance
the critical Ca:Mg ratio, which will open the soil physically and provide
a better environment for beneficial soil microbes. Unfortunately, in a
golf course setting with 30,000 rounds of golf this is not enough.
Always remember that the number one concern when managing a soil is
air. Oxygen is important not only for the root system but also for soil
microbes. Without active microbial populations any form of organic matter,
be it compost or thatch, is going to create layering problems. If the soil
is balanced, food is available, and frequent spiking (aeration) is performed,
this organic layer will oxidize down to humus that can be used by plants
and microbes.
The image that we are given by the term "ash" does create concern, but
is not valid in this argument. Most would agree that our soils need minerals,
as is true for our own bodies. Perhaps, the real discussion should be:
"How does management change once we have decided to use a biological approach."
This will certainly be an ongoing debate, but the oxidation of this
"organic layer" through frequent spiking and balancing the soil chemically
and biologically plays a critical role in maintaining healthy soils.
***ECO-LITE***
EarthWorks is proud to introduce ECO-LITE to our growing
line of products.
 ECO-LITE is a rock mineral known as zeolite mined
out of the deserts of New Mexico. ECO-LITE has a unique crystalline
lattice structure that enables it to retain and slowly release water and
nutrients in the root zone. The chemical make-up of zeolite is Potassium-Aluminosilicate.
It has a number of very significant attributes when used as a soil conditioner
and top dressing. ECO-LITE has a natural affinity for holding
water as well as nitrogen and potassium, but perhaps its greatest attribute
is a CEC reported to be as high as 200. comparing ECO-LITE to
other soil amendments this zeolite mineral matches their water holding
capacities but additionally provides the ability to hold volatile nitrogen
in the soil, slowly making it available. ECO-LITE will
also significantly surpass the CEC of any competing soil amendment.
The research on ECO-LITE has been very positive including
studies showing a 13% increase in N-use efficiency.
For more information on ECO-LITE and a complete product
description including research reports please call EarthWorks at
800 732-TURF.
THE EARTH WORKS 'SOUP MIX'
Most agronomists and superintendents will agree that one of the greatest
limits of a USGA style green is the lack of holding capacity, or CEC. This
restricts the soils ability to hold nutrients affecting potential uptake
by the plant. Adding to this problem is a weak environment for beneficial
bacteria, which also limits nutrient mobility. The result is often added
stress on the plant.
With sand greens the plant can suffer from a lack of nutrition even
when good management practices are followed. It is the simple fact that
most soils cannot mobilize enough nutrients to satisfy the plant's needs.
There are ways in which the CEC can be improved in a sand green. The
incorporation of organic matter, or soil amendments with high holding capacities
can help, but this may still fall short. When the nutrient holding capacity
of a soil is a major limiting factor, foliar feeding becomes important.
This is where a case for fertigation can be strongly made.
When building a foliar feed program it is important to provide a full
spectrum of nutrients to both the plant and the soil. Too often only NPK
are supplied, which is only part of what the plant is hungry for and will
do little for the soil. Consider a "soup mix" for your program.
Mom's chicken soup is not just chicken broth, it's loaded with meat,
vegetables and spices. Your turf's soup mix should be as complete. Use
a recipe of NPK, calcium, magnesium, trace nutrients and some carbohydrates
for the soil micro-organisms.
Start with good, wholesome ingredients just like Mom would do. Use a
clean source of Phosphorous such as phosphoric acid or monoammonium phosphate
(MAP.) For Potassium, consider Potassium sulfate, but never Muriate, because
of the chlorine. Chelated trace nutrients are best because they are much
more readily available to the plant, and less likely to tie up in the soil.
As a final touch add some carbohydrates to the tank such as sugars, fish
or kelp meal and humic acids.
EarthWorks has recently introduced Base-One to work as
the foundation for this soup mix. Base-One is a 1-10-10 liquid with
chelated traces which has incorporated the use of Bio-Net as an
activating agent. Bio-Net is a fermentation product that works by
encapsulating the nutrient, allowing for increased microbial activity at
the site of the chemical reaction. This increases nutrient availability.
 A few things deliberately missing from Base-One are nitrogen,
calcium and iron. These are perhaps the most important variables that should
be controlled by the superintendent and not by a manufacturer. This allows
the superintendent the opportunity to dictate how much and what kind of
nitrogen to use, based on current conditions. In the spring and fall it
might be ammonium sulfate at 1/10 of a pound of N, and in the summer a
1/16 of Urea. Calcium is needed at higher rates when the plant is under
stress and most soils need only half of the iron that is typically applied.
The focus then becomes a "small but frequent" application. Weekly would
be ideal, although not always possible, to assure the plant what the soil
can not promise.
The Home Page
I would like to thank Dean Graves for his incredible patience in our preparation
of this newsletter. Perhaps the best that I can say is that you do look
younger in this photograph! Dean is good friend and truly one of the most
sincere gentlemen in our industry. I do thank him for all the support he
has provided us over the years.
It has been a busy year since we last published our newsletter. Much
time has been spent teaching soils in the Rutgers golf course management
program and with the consulting division of EarthWorks known as
Soil First Consulting. We feel very strongly that our Soil First
programs are making serious headway and hopefully we will be able to identify
many superintendents who have benefited from a balanced soil program and
present their stories here. This is so much more than just selling a bag
of this and a jug of that. Only by working your Soil First can you make
real changes. Everything else just supports that.
If anyone has interest in learning more about the soil testing program
here at EarthWorks please give us a call and we will be happy to
send you complete information and examples on the tests including costs.
EarthWorks is a manufacturer of a complete line of natural organic
products with the technical expertise to help you in all aspects of soil
and turf management.
Please give us a call at 800 732-TURF if you have any
questions or comments.
SOIL FIRST
is published by
EarthWorks
Natural Organic Products
6574 S. Delaware Drive, P.O. Box 278K
Martins Creek, PA 18063
1 800 732-TURF
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