[Joel_Stewart]

I saw an article the other day in the San Francisco bay area which discussed that residents are generating so much green waste, the refuge companies are disposing of it into land fills.

On another note, a recently built golf course ran out of money during construction and couldn't do the mounding it wanted so you have a very flat course.

Are golf courses and architects using green waste for either construction or as fertilzer?

[John Moore II]

Maybe I am uninformed, but please define 'green waste' for me. When I played Park Ridge with Jeff Grossman he said that landfills take about 20 years to settle enough to be useable for courses. I know we are talking on smaller scale than this, but might it be the same? Educate me please.

[Anthony Gray]

Maybe I am uninformed, but please define 'green waste' for me. When I played Park Ridge with Jeff Grossman he said that landfills take about 20 years to settle enough to be useable for courses. I know we are talking on smaller scale than this, but might it be the same? Educate me please.

   Please let us know. I do not want to lay in bed tonight with green waste on my mind.

  Anthony

[Joel_Stewart]

Maybe its a California thing but we have a special garbage can (green) to place food scraps, grass clippings, leaves, branches etc which is then recycled.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Joel,
Waste gets used, as in reclaimed water and Milorganite fertilizer.

[Greg Chambers]

I'm not sure about green waste for building materials, but I do know that it can be used for maintenance purposes in the form of composts, organic fertilizers, and fuel, just to name a few applications.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Joel,
Occasionally I like to read some of the older archived articles from the USGA's Green Section. A recurring theme is the creation of compost piles and the subsequent use of the decomposed material for fertilization.

I can't say that I'm always looking for them, but I don't remember seeing many 'heaps' at the courses I frequent (once in awhile I run into a pile of clippings thrown into the edge of the woods  ).
It would probably be necessary for a Super to hide such a decaying pile, but I wonder if the practice is used at all today. 

[Greg Chambers]

Jim,

You'd be surprised to learn just how many golf courses use some form of compost for fertilization.  As space is limited, most maintenance facilities don't have the room to compost themselves, some do, but the compost is easy to have trucked in.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Greg,
I'm glad to hear that compost material is still in the Super's bag of tricks.
I also can understand the limitations of space that hamper on-site composting, but it seems like a return to that practice could gain a club some dollars and 'sense'.
Even if a club only got 10 or 20% of it's needs from compost it could save them some money on garbage collection and fertilizer costs. It could have some positive side effects, like improving their 'green' look, and if they had a lot of extra space they might even offer to take some organic material for free from the surrounding community.

[Mike_Cirba]

Jim,

You'd be surprised to learn just how many golf courses use some form of compost for fertilization. 

Yet another reason not to lick your balls.

[Tyler Kearns]

On another note, a recently built golf course ran out of money during construction and couldn't do the mounding it wanted so you have a very flat course.

Joel,

Because green waste will decompose over time, it wouldn't make a good source of fill for mounding, if that is indeed what you are asking.

TK

[Don_Mahaffey]

When green waste goes into the landfill its because those in charge don't have the time, money, or desire to do the compost deal.
Compost is a great soil conditioner and most cities could give away all they ever made if they wanted to really be "green."

My little ole town of 3K people here in South Texas has a landfill. We also have a tub grinder and as much green waste as they have the time to deal with is thrown into the grinder and then piled up. They turn it over once in a while, but its up to us to have enough sense to load off the "right" end of the winrow. Its free to anyone who wants to drive out and get a load.
 

[Michael Rossi]

I incorperate compost materials into my maintenance program. I use it with sand to create divot mix.
To get the compost material to a usable state takes about one year in northern climates. I have the staff start a new pile every season and have the pile flipped with a loader or skidsteer at least once per week. The pile from the previous season is the usable pile and it is cut with sand at about 50%. This blend also works very well in high traffic areas as topdressing after aerification.

[Tony Ristola]

Early in Pete Dye's career he tried to build a mound from organic waste; corn cobs. They almost had to call the fire dept. The mound turned into a pancake.

I've dug up organic material... grass stripped by dozer, tree branches and trunks thrown in for good measure from a builder trying to get rid of the mass of material. Not good if it's in play or there are pipes going through it. It's instable, the impending buckling of the surface can cause problems on the surface and with the subsurface lines.

[Tim Gerrish]

Tony is right.  No organic matter please.  We've fixed a lot of Mr. Cornish's buried stump pits over the years!

The only recycling that I've heard of in construction is using existing irrigation heads, using old green rootzone mix for tee mix and reusing bunker sand in the topsoil pile.  Occasionally we'll re-use bentgrass sod (lift and replace).  Any other thoughts?

We don't even use old irrigation pipe... 

[Brian_Ewen]

When my Greenkeepers core the greens twice a year , what should they be doing with the corings they take out .

My Greenkeepers dump them causing a big ugly mess , growing year on year .

[Tony Ristola]

Brian,

They can shred them, add sand and use them as fill for divots on par-3's and Driving Range tees.

[Ian Larson]

After coring greens I always spread the plugs over the used up portion of the nursery to regrow nursery sod that is consistent with all the greens.

[Brian_Ewen]

Thanks for the ammunition Guys .

[Michael Rossi]

Brian

Both of the ideas others suggested for the cores are valid ideas however if the grass on the greens is a type of poa and you are converting to bentgrass the pile option is better. I would suggest speaking directly with your super for what options are available with his available resources, staff, equipment and cash.

Mike

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