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Is the grass on your range growing too fast? Is water not draining properly on your property? Your soil could be the root of these problems – and a slew of others. So, what’s a range owner to do?
Keep reading. This article contains helpful “dos” and “don’ts” to help ensure the soil at your range gets the proper maintenance.
Sam Ferro, president of Turf Diagnostics & Design, Inc. in Linwood, Kan., says one smart strategy for ranges is an annual nutrient evaluation to find out which fertilizers are necessary for their soil.
“Do this to pick a fertilizer for good turf growth, but also so that you don’t have an excess of fertilizers,” Ferro says.
Too much fertilizer can cause overgrowth, Ferro explains, leading to more cutting as well as environmental issues such as pollution of lakes and streams around the golf ranger property. Polluting bodies of water with fertilizers causes an explosion of plant and algae growth. When these plants die and begin decomposing, the high rate of decomposition uses up a lot of the oxygen in the water robbing fish and other aquatic animals of the oxygen they need to survive. Testing your soil annually to be sure you are using an appropriate amount of fertilizer can prevent such mishaps.
Ferro says soil evaluations “give you a scientific basis on how to manage your turf,” and can be conducted at any local soil-testing lab.
Proper sampling is vital for receiving correct information about your soil. When collecting samples, be sure to take several (between 10 and 20) sub-samples of the area and mix them together; retrieve soil from the depth recommended by the local testing lab; and keep in mind the chemical changes resulting from freshly fertilized soil and the aerating process.
An evaluation of your soil can cost anywhere between $15 and $100, but Ferro says the more expensive tests are normally only used by range owners with special circumstances such as major drainage problems or major overgrowth. An evaluation can help determine whether the drainage problem the range owner is experiencing is related to the drainage system or the soil. Some soils don’t drain as well as others,” he says.
But don’t just wait until you’re having problems to get a soil evaluation. It’s also a smart thing to do when building a range to make sure the soil won’t need a lot of water, and to find out pretty much anything else you want to test for.
“There’s a myriad of testing available,” Ferro says.
Soil testing reports provide guidelines on how to care for the soil, with recommendations such as adding a pound of nitrogen or potassium per square footage of soil.
“It may also include statements like use slow- or rapid-release fertilizers,” Ferro says. “In a lot of ways, it depends on what you ask for.”
Chemical fertilizers typically contain a combination of three nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N, P, K). You can determine which fertilizer is best for your soil by looking for numbers on the packaging that represent the percentage of each of these nutrients. For example, 5-10-5 contains 5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorous, and 5 percent potassium. The NPK formula also is listed on each container of organic fertilizer.
If your soil results show a slight imbalance of certain nutrients, you may use organic fertilizers to solve the problem. Organic fertilizers normally contain a low percentage of nutrients that are released into the soil at a slow pace. However, if you’re looking for a quick fix to a greater imbalance of nutrients, inorganic fertilizers might be your best bet.
Once you’ve changed your soil by adding more or less of certain nutrients, you can test it yourself by taking a handful of lightly moist soil several inches deep. Next, squeeze the dirt in your hand and watch what happens when you extend your fingers. Soils that are sandy will crumble and fall apart. Clay soils will feel slick and form a tight ball that breaks up when the soil is light enough.
Fertilizers aren’t the only answer, however. Aerating is another process Ferro says can help to keep soil healthy. The process involves pulling plugs of soil out of the ground to provide channels for oxygen and water to better reach the roots of your grass. A top dress is then applied to fill the holes with coarser soil, usually sand. Aeration aids in the movement of oxygen and water in the soil – both necessary for healthy growth.
Ferro says there are many ways to harm soil – too much water, too little water, irrigating with recycled water containing salts, inadequate fertilization, over fertilization, and suffocating the soil by failing to mow often enough. The misapplication of weed killer also can be damaging to your soil as well as accidents such as oil leaking out of a tractor onto the grass.
“Plants in many ways are like other organisms,” Ferro says, explaining that plants too need food and water and care.
For a list of laboratories that specialize in
physical soil analysis for the golf industry, visit www.usga.org/Content.aspx?id=25996.
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