During the summer months we cannot fail to see and appreciate the huge amount of work that our green keeper Norman, and his assistants Mike and Paul, put into maintaining the green and its surroundings. But in winter, when the green lies silent, resting and waiting for our return in April do they get a rest too? Not on your life - this could not be a more important time for green keeping. The fantastic playing surface that we are all privileged to bowl on in summer owes much to the care and hard work that goes on throughout winter. Since the green closed at the end of September it has been seeded and top dressed. And then of course it grows, so the mower has been over it three times already since then. It needs a careful cut with blades set at 8mm rather than the usual 4 to 5mm used in summer. It has been deep spiked, shallow spiked and slit. There have been granule feeds and liquid feeds applied, and five times (likely ten by the time of publishing this post) the gutters have been cleared of leaves and other debris. The frosts have arrived now so there will be no more growth and no mowing for a few weeks - which means it is time to get the mowers serviced ready for more action as spring approaches. The feeding continues though, more in December, then again in March plus dressing with lawn sand. We may all stop bowling for the winter but a green keepers work never ends!
On a recent visit to the green it was looking lovely bathed in the winter sunlight.
