Ice

By Kim Tiber

Just like everyone else we’ve been waiting for winter to show up this year (Figure 1).

By Eric Watkins

By Andrew Hollman

When people hear that I work with turfgrass, inevitably the question comes up of “what do you do all winter?” The assumption from some people is that when the weather turns cold and you no longer need to mow your lawn, what else is there to be done? If you are involved with the turf industry, you likely know that there is a myriad of things that need to be done after mowing has stopped and before the ground freezes and the snow arrives. Irrigation needs to be blown out, snow mold fungicides sprayed, and covering greens are a few that come to mind for the golf courses.

Dr. Kevin W. Frank, Michigan State University

Andrew Hollman, Dr. Brian Horgan, & Sam Bauer, University of Minnesota

By Josh Friell, Ph.D Student, Turfgrass Science

By Dr. Lindsey Hoffman ([email protected])

By Sam Bauer

What a difference a year can make.  We certainly didn’t expect to be writing this report in the end of April while looking at snow on the ground across the state.  Now compare this to last spring, with golf courses opening in mid-March, and it gives us a little perspective on the influences that Mother Nature can dish out from season to season.  This winter has certainly gone on long enough, but the end is near (let’s hope).  We rewrote the record books last summer and fall with heat and drought extremes across the state, and this winter broke some records of its own.  How about these new Twin Cities records:  

By Sam Bauer