2010 Canadian CGSA Turfgrass Meeting Toronto

OH Canada …

My visit takes me up north to Toronto , Canada , and the 2010 Canadian International Turfgrass Conference. I truly enjoyed the educational conferences and the trade show, along with meeting some of our fellow superintendents north of the border. One of the highlights was to stand in a ballroom full of red and white hockey shirts, balloons, and Canadian flags to watch the 2010 USA v. Canada hockey game. Even with the American team losing by one point, my gain was to see the national pride that was displayed by the fans who truly love the game ... a memory I will not soon forget.

While attending the show, one of the hot topics on which I thought may be worth starting a discussion is “winterkill.” This came up in discussions in meetings, on the conference show floor, and in the local CGSA publications that were distributed. Feedback I would like to receive includes what you do to prevent winter damage on your course; and, if you do have damage, what is the best way to recover. I felt this topic may be a great one since this winter seemed to affect more states with above-normal snowfall and ice.

Some ideas for topics to begin with:
Covers or no covers
Do you remove the ice or not? If so, how…
Top dressing with black sand
Raising mowing height before winter
Fertilizer to use in the fall and the one to use in the spring to jump start
Watering before, during and after

Let’s talk it up and share our knowledge.