Seaweed before snow

Tim Johansen is like any good superintendent; he frets about the weather, concerned that any major variance in normal rainfall and temperature patterns will seriously affect the playing conditions of the golf course under his care.

While he didn’t necessarily sit back, put his feet up on his desk and whistle away worry this summer, he nonetheless felt comfortable that his course could withstand the tough weather conditions Mother Nature threw at Palmer Hills Golf Club in Bettendorf, Iowa. By incorporating bionutrients into his management program, Johansen found that his turf remains strong throughout the warm weather months and late in 2012 despite sometimes “brutal” weather conditions.

“After what was considered one of the worst summers in history with drought and heat stress, our turf looks better than ever going into the winter,” he said.

About five years ago, Johansen started treating his course with 0-26-25 Actaphos at 2.5 ounces per 1,000 square feet.

“Every tank that goes out on fairways and tees has it in it,” he said. “This has been a staple for about five years now. Floratine products were put into use two years ago when we lost a considerable amount of Poa annua on our greens the summer before.” The result? The greens bounced back and are now in fine condition despite the vagaries of the weather in the Midwest.

Johansen says that bionutrients can “absolutely” help the turf go into the next growing season in better condition. “Anything that you can get into the plant before it shuts down would be beneficial,” he said.

He said his use of bionutrients has also helped him cut down on usage of other products. “As the stress on the turf begins to increase in July and August, I have been able to get a little more out of my fungicide applications, so I know that usage in that area is decreasing.”

Bionutrients also proved crucial, Johansen says, during a grow-in on a new tee box and several acres of fairways this year. He and his staff made frequent applications of organic fertilizers (Milorganite and some Grow Power products) in the early stages of the course renovation. And when there was enough leaf tissue to allow for it, he used Astron, Knife Plus, Power 0-22-28, and Power C3 23-0-0+MO on the tees and three acres of new Memorial Bent fairways every two to three weeks to “help push them along,” he said. “This combination really helped them get through the summer stress as well as pushed the fill-in.”