Technology at Work

This winter there was a lot of technological updating to our management processes.   The goal for me is to move Lahontan Maintenance to a GIS management system.  It is easier to organize, and manage the Lahontan property with mapping, and inventory data, and then to integrate these systems together so they are accessible and usable from any location at any time.  To date the irrigation system, every square foot of the property, water quality testing, fertilizer and chemical applications, and geo-referenced photos have been processed, and are working from anywhere at any time.  A smart phone allows me to be out on the golf course, accessing information that in the past resided either on my computer, or in a file somewhere.  We have gone so far as to be able to run the irrigation software from a smart phone, which is something that we figured out on our own, and is not something that the irrigation company has available.

                                         Jake and Marc running irrigation from Jakes phone


Kevin

Let The Games Begin

The sun has come out, and that means I can fulfill the promise I have been making the last 3 weeks on increasing green speeds.

Intensive grooming, and lowering heights on grass that is not growing is a perilous tightrope act that has long lasting effects, well beyond the immediate possibility of death.  And, honestly I am afraid of climbing up on the ledge, and taking that step over the abyss.  Odds are that in time you will kill grass for a very short gain in the hear and now.  But back to the present now; the snow seems to be behind us for a few months, and soil temperatures are climbing above 50 degrees, dictating verticutting, topdressing, and drying things out at least once a week.  I love stressing the grass, and conditioning it like one would an athlete training for a marathon. Green speeds will come quickly now.

This week we sprayed greens with a biological mix containing micro organisms that we "brewed /cultured", along with carbon, sugar, a little nitrogen, kelp, and acids.  It is critical to have a living soil, for good plant health.  Something agriculture has known for a very long time, and a practice that the turf industry is getting better at quickly.

We are trying out a biologically safe stain that we custom made at golf course maintenance.  In this picture Jake Miller tries out his latest batch at the chipping green.  What a big difference in the appearance of the tree!!!

Kevin