Frost

It is that time of year again. Days are getting shorter and nights are getting colder. Once those afternoon clouds move out for the night, temperatures in the valley dip down. For almost two weeks now we have seen temperatures in the mid-30's can equates to a nice frost delay.

It is not guaranteed that everyday brings frost. Some mornings with cloud cover will keep the atmosphere warmer and prevent the plant from freezing.

The coldest part of the day is when the sun rises. The sun pushes the cold air down to the earth and that is when we see the most amount of frost on the golf course. In time, the temperature soon rises and the frost melts off the plant.

Some golf courses can run irrigation to "wash-off" the frost, but our water source is so cold, it only makes matters worse and sometimes creates more ice.

Frost damage can be very harmful especially this time of year. Damage occurs when the crown and leaf blades of the plant are frozen and exposed to stress by foot or cart traffic. The water inside the plant freezes and the plant becomes very delicate and shatter upon impact. Damaged areas will turn to purple or even black and then turn brown and die off. As I mentioned, the fall is the worst time of year to experience frost damage because there is little to no growing time left in the year to rebound from this damage.