This is the MAY installment of HortWeek's month-by-month guide to essential maintenance and management tasks for turf and sports facilities such as bowling greens, cricket pitches, football pitches, rugby pitches, golf, lawns and other recreational and fine turf.
All turf areas
- Check for disease activity and treat appropriately
- Watch for pests and control when necessary
- Control weeds
- Mow regularly
Winter games pitches
- It’s renovation time
- Relieve compaction, scarify, top dress and seed
- Water when needed
- Mow to 25mm for football and 35mm for rugby
Golf
- Finish any renovation work
- Brush or switch as necessary
- Irrigate when needed
- Control weeds with a selective herbicide
- Aerate greens with slit tines
- Apply quick and slow release nitrogen fertiliser
- Mow greens to 5mm, tees to 8mm and fairways to 12mm
- Top up bunkers
Bowls
- Mow to 6-7mm in case of cold weather
- Renovate, leaving two weeks before first match
- Roll lightly
- Top up ditch material
- Brush or switch as necessary
- Aerate with slit or solid tines
- Change rink positions regularly
- Control weeds with a selective herbicide
- Begin thatch control at end of month
Cricket
- Scarify the square
- Select and prepare pitch
- Mow square to 2mm
- Irrigate and roll regularly
- Scarify and aerate outfield
- Mow outfield to 10-15mm
- Apply light fertiliser low in nitrogen to outfield
- Towards end of month control weeds
Lawns
- Gradually lower cutting height to 6-8mm for ornamental use, 12mm for general and 25mm for amenity
- Irrigate, especially after aeration
- Scarify and follow through with light application of moss killer
- Apply suitable feed
- Overseed bare patches and top dress
- Change position of benches and other furniture to avoid wear
*Jobs should only be undertaken when ground and weather conditions are suitable and will vary according to location and may vary significantly from year to year. And remember that while the year nicely divides into 12 months, activities often overlap.
- SEE SALLY DRURY'S TURF TASKS MONTHLY CHECKLISTS FOR THE WHOLE YEAR
