Bowling Green FAQ 16: What is the best fertiliser to use on our green?

There isn’t probably a ‘best’ fertiliser, but rather a suitable fertiliser for a given situation at a stated time. In practice there could be many fertilisers which could be applied to solve a particular requirement.

Knowing the current ‘make-up’ of the green will help more accurately narrow down possible options to get the most from your green: Without knowing sward and rootzone details only a general guide can be given, but the assumption will always be that a traditional fescue / bentgrass sward is to be achieved. ‘Knowing’ your green is an essential requirement of good turf management.

An ‘ideal’ (subject to many clarifications!) spring fertiliser application for a bowling green might have an analysis of 8:0:0, with the nitrogen source being a blend of inorganic ammonium sulphate and organic nitrogen such as dried blood and / or hoof and horn, being applied at 35g/m², provide 2.8g of N per m², which is an ‘ideal’ quantity.

Variations on this theme will be needed, to include phosphorus and potassium if the sward was showing evidence of a lack of these nutrients (a soil test can show if availability is low, but also determine what the sward coverage is indicating as well, rather than just relying on a soil test alone), plus different nutrient sources may also be considered, as well as the inclusion of sulphate of iron.