Another Week, Another Curveball

 I feel like this blog has turned into a weekly recap of the wild weather swings here in Richmond… and, well, this week is no different.

This was aeration week for the Manakin greens, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. In true spring fashion, the weather had other plans. We worked around off-and-on rain Monday (more on than off) and kept a close eye on the tornado warning that evening. Thankfully, we avoided any touchdowns on property, with just a few trees down to clean up.

To stay ahead of the storms, the team got a jump start Saturday night by completing deep tining and a roll. That decision paid off, allowing us to wrap up most of the remaining aeration work on Tuesday while also tackling storm cleanup. The Manakin greens received deep tines, ½" solid tines, and .3" cores, followed by topdressing and a nutrient package. All things considered, the process went as smoothly as it could given the wet conditions.

With several cold mornings this week, recovery has been a bit slow out of the gate. That said, the weekend forecast looks excellent, and we’re optimistic that warmer soil temperatures will help kickstart the healing process.

While all of this was going on at Manakin, the Sabot crew stayed busy with drainage installation, cart path paver work, and their share of storm cleanup. 

We also checked off one of the more “miserable” tasks of the year—the arrival of the pine straw semi. There’s nothing quite like unloading 1,500 bales of pine straw from a dusty, dark trailer to get your allergies going early in the season. With that behind us, we’re now stocked up and ready to begin working through the golf courses with fresh pine straw and mulch.

One thing you may notice this year is a more consistent approach to our mulch beds. In play areas will be transitioning away from wood chips to a dyed hardwood mulch for a cleaner, more uniform look. Wood chips will still be used in out-of-play areas (for most of us, at least), but the goal is to improve overall presentation to in-play areas.

Looking ahead, next week’s forecast finally shows a stretch of promising weather. Let’s hope for something a little more “normal” as we continue pushing toward spring—and maybe even start to see some bermudagrass waking up.