June Maintenance Calendar

Bowling Green Maintenance
 

By now the greens should be producing a very good playing surface, with any slow growth from late spring being a distant thought.
 

Verti-cut and groom regularly to help control annual meadow grass seed head production and to produce a more upright growing grass sward. This in turn will also help to provide a slightly faster surface without the need to reduce the height of cut, which is always a contentious issue.

Maintain growth at 5mm (3/16"), typically mowing four or five times per week.

Localised Dry Patch may start to appear this month, however, this condition should not be confused with a poorly developed root system which will also produce a rapid browning and drying of the surface.

Aeration should not be neglected, even though many other tasks may seem more pressing. Solid tine spiking is the favoured method throughout the drier months: This can be particularly successful in the form of surface spiking to
25-50mm depth with the use of a sarel type spiked roller which also helps to firm the immediate surface layer.

Cricket Ground Maintenance
 

Use the verticutter and scarifier to continue in thatch removal and prevention of thatch build-up.

Weed growth may be a problem due to the weather in May, so consider a selective herbicide application.
 

A light nitrogen fertiliser application may be required towards the end of the month.

Basically though it's making sure the wickets are prepared well in advance and that the wickets are used in the sequence that was planned before the start of the season - or at least fairly close to the sequence.

Immediately a game is finished try and carry out and minor repairs as this may enable the wicket to be used again, straight away - depending upon the level of cricket and the length of the match - or at least provide the groundwork for re-using the wicket later in the season, if need be.
 

Football Pitch Maintenance
 

Make sure any end of season renovation work that was carried out in May is properly maintained. August is not far away and the players will be expecting a good surface for the start of the new season.
 

Important maintenance that will need to be undertaken will include:

• Regular irrigation, wherever possible, to help the grass establish adequately.
• A light nitrogen fertiliser application to maintain sward thickening.
• Over sowing of any areas which look like they aren't thickening up quickly enough; don’t wait another month to see what happens.
• Mow regularly to prevent perennial ryegrass flower stalks from initiating, otherwise this will lead to a thinning of the sward.
• Lightly top-dress any uneven areas; Wherever possible try and keep people and animals off the renovated areas, as this all helps the recovery process.

If time permits this month, consider painting the goal post etc. in anticipation of the new season.

Golf Course Maintenance
 

Some top courses would have been on television screens by now and golfers will invariably be expecting their own greens to be above the normal standards, although apparently forgetting about the available budget at these top courses when compared to their own course.
 

Maybe now is the time to consider including a brief appraisal for a 'Greens' report indicating some improvements which might like to be considered. This would probably be prepared and taken up in more detail after the summer because of time constraints. The important point may be to get some general agreement on potential improvements.

Mowing will most likely be the main task carried out this month, but don't forget other tasks such as:

• Divoting of a couple of fairways
• Regular raking of bunkers - maybe partial raking one day and then a total rake the next - it all depends on sand disturbance!
• Divoting of tees and regular moving of the tee blocks/boxes to spread wear
• Herbicide application to fairways may be considered if weed growth is a problem - don't wait until the soil is too dry.

The end of season renovation is only some three months away, so make sure all materials and any contract hire machinery is ordered well in advance.