On Wednesday (4/23) if you were out on the golf course in the morning you may have seen smoke on the west side of the golf course. The smoke was caused by a controlled burn done to the native area next to #3 ladies tee. Good Oak ecological services performed the burn. Wednesday was a good day to burn the area because there was enough wind to keep the flame alive and moving but the wind was not strong enough to have the flame get out to hand. There are several benefits to doing a controlled burn on a native area that does not get regularly mowed. First, burning removes unwanted species from the area that if left untreated would reduce the aesthetics and overall benefit of the ecosystem. Second, burning helps to recycle nutrients back into the soil. Finally, burning can help promote the growth of native grass, wildflowers, and other more beneficial species.
The controlled burn was just the first part of the project to be completed by Good Oak. In a few weeks they will return to spray the area with Roundup to kill any remaining unwanted plants. Following the spray, the area will be seeded with a mixture of fescue and wildflowers to give it a more natural and visually pleasing look.
Please be patient as this will not be an immediate change and this area will admittedly not look very good this year. However, by next summer the area should be more mature and be a big improvement to the overall beauty of the golf course.
Switching from fire to water, this week we also installed the intake pipes for our irrigation system in Lake Mendota. Each fall the pipes are removed before the lake freezes and must be installed in the spring before we can run irrigation on the golf course. This is a cold and dirty job but it has been part of the routine since 1939 when irrigation was first installed on the course so by now the process goes pretty smooth. Once the pipes are in the lake the irrigation system can be pressurized which is always a bit tense. This is when we will see if any pipes or heads broke over the winter and what leaks need fixing. This year we discovered only one leak but it was a doosy. A valve that drains our main line under the rain garden failed and unfortunately for us it was about 10 feet deep. We now have the valve exposed, with the help of Olson-Toon's backhoe, and talked with the engineer about how to fix the problem. We are hopeful that the irrigation company can come out next week sometime to fix the valve. Once the valve is repaired we can fill in the hole and seed the affected area.
