I've never seen weeds on greens, even on the cheapest of golf courses. So does that mean that the grass used for greens repels weeds or is it because of the skills of green-keepers?
The reason I ask, is because I would like to make part of my lawn suitable for putting on.
Would overseeding with green-type seed do, or do I have to clear a patch down to the earth (no big deal) and start afresh?
What seed would you recommend for Southern Ontario (Canada)?
tia
Fred
Of course golf course keepers use tons of chemicals to kill any weeds on the greens and fairways.
Grass depends where you live. Did not see your area here:
If you want a putting green be prepared for seeding, watering, fertilising, spraying, watering, cutting, rolling, aerating, cutting, mowing, watering, fertilising, seeding, paying, watering, fertilising, spraying, watering, cutting, aerating, cutting, paying, mowing, rolling, watering, fertilising, seeding, watering, fertilising, spraying, watering, cutting, aerating, cutting, mowing, watering, fertilising and paying.
And you will get to putt on it too. Sounds like fun.
David
Roger that, and I'm not even a golfer.
Further to the subject of chemicals on grass: A friend introduced me to the following idea: When your child or grandchild is invited on a play date that involves playing on the lawn, FIND OUT whether the homeowners put chemical fertilizer on the grass. If they do, your child must not play on that lawn.
Asked in a polite,non-preachy way, this will not only elicit the required information, but the homeowners might be glad to learn that this is a health problem for children.
Link from astroturf.com:
Also, golf greens are invariably a species of grass called "bent grass". There are several varieties: Washington bent, Creeping bent, etc. Planting, cultivating and caring for a bent grass plot makes doing the same thing with a bluegrass/fescue mix look like child's play. If you want to try it, make a physical barrier between your main lawn and the area for your green. Otherwise the bent grass will slowly merge into the bluegrass lawn, and make it look "ill" (bent grass is lower and lighter in color than bluegrass/fescue). Scotts used to have a magazine about lawn care, and one of the most frequently asked questions was on the lines of: "Help! My neighbor's bent grass lawn seed washed into my lawn during a heavy rainstorm, and now I have patches of bentgrass in my lawn. How can I get rid of it?" O. M. Scott's polite answer was "You can't". A true golf green as a part of your main lawn just doesn't sound like a good idea.
Of course, if your home's lawn IS bent grass, forget everything I just wrote above! :>)
Tony
Just get a robotic mower. (like the ROOMBA vacuum cleaner)
The topic is easily researched with Google.
You need a reel type mower. The article I read says mow every other day. Not really practical for a home owner.
Level a section of your lawn and lay down some indoor-outdoor carpeting on the section that will be used for putting. Hold the carpeting down with landscaping pins. Presto......... problem solved and no maintenance involved either!
Rich
Thanks - sounds a good idea.
In message , Manco writes
Thats a bit of a myth, most diseases and weeds etc can be controlled by cultural practices. Furthermore, amenity ground comes under much stricter control than agriculture and horticulture.
Golf greens are planted with grasses that choke out others... they're often not true grass at all but a kind of very low growing ground cover that is sturdy enough for golf greens but wouldn't hold up well to backyard traffic. For a home putting green use a synthetic... best is to actually play at a golf course... I'd not invest in a home putting green, it will get very little use if any.
And it often works.
While it kills anything natural around it e.g. soil organisms, insects, natural plants, and leaves behind a residue of death (biocides).
Also see southwestgreens.com
Thanks! Our local supplier:
Weeds on the greens means they don't use herbicides, and IMHO that's terrific. No way to keep weeds off the greens without herbicides...although I suppose you could get intense about pulling them.
ns of chemicals to kill any weeds
That's true. and some places do this, and at least in my experience, you will always get a few weeds on the greens, which is a good sign, IMHO. I wonder if they teach this in the greenskeepers programs in US universities?
One thing I have also seen is the herbicides damage the soil ecosystem, resulting in algal and fungal outbreaks attacking the greens as a result, for which they use even more chemicals.
Had a neighbour who used a company called chemlawn to keep his lawn. Beautiful green lawn. Sold the house and the new owner didn't keep up the chemlawn. Totally dead lawn within a year, and needed to resod.
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