Greens Plugs

One thing we do over the winter to monitor how the turf is doing while dormant and frozen, is to take plugs out of the greens, bring them in the maintenance facility and plant them, and cover them to simulate a greenhouse effect.  This triggers the plant to come out of dormancy, and is a way for us to forecast what we should expect over the next month.

The planted plug with a simulated greenhouse

The plug up close

This is great to see and gives us a sense of relief once the soil starts to warm up and the turf comes out of dormancy.  It has been a colder winter, with more moisture and frozen conditions than in the past.  Coupled with the winter traffic that we put on the dormant turf and frozen soil, it is always a concern on how the turf is doing over the winter.

Things are looking good for 2014.