This is the NOVEMBER 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
- Mow less frequently and raise mowing height
- Remove dews and debris
Winter games pitches
- Divot regularly
- Inspect goal posts before each game
- Fork and sand high-wear areas if necessary
- Aerate when conditions are good
- Harrow worm casts when dry
- Brush regularly
- Overmark as necessary
- Consider light rolling
- Mow regularly to 35mm for football and 50mm for rugby
Golf
- Mow greens with hand mower to reduce wear
- Aerate greens with slit tines
- Fairway divoting and repairs will be ongoing
- Remove fallen leaves and debris from greens and tees
- Rope off damage-prone areas and erect explanatory signs
- Start tee extensions
- Start bunker renovations
- Mow greens to 8mm, tees to 12mm and fairways to 18mm
- Service ride-on greens mowers
Bowls
- Use drag brush daily to keep surface dry, blades erect and remove worm casts
- Aerate with solid tines at 75 to 100mm or with slit or chisel tines depending on weather
- Watch for fusarium and control
- Clean ditches
- Repair banks
- Mow to 12mm
Cricket
- Use drag brush daily to keep surface dry, blades erect and remove worm casts
- Top up topdressing if material has sunk
- Mow square to 25mm
- Aerate outfield when conditions are good
- Mow outfield to 25mm
- Maintain perimeter fencing
Lawns
- Wind down mowing heights to 10-12mm for ornamental, 18mm for general and 50mm for amenity
- Hollow tine if weather is suitable or use pencil or slit tines
- Remove leaves and debris
- Repair edges and uneven areas
*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
