There have been a lot of conversations about soil water content and surface hardness (firmness). I discuss some measurements that I have made, and suggest some of the old posts on the ATC website that discuss this topic.

Specific posts discussed include:

• https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/measuring-surface-hardness-on-greens-fairways-and-approaches/
• https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/relationship-between-soil-water-and-turfgrass-surface-hardness/
• https://www.asianturfgrass.com/tag/surface-hardness/

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
• Listen to the ATC podcast network https://podcasts.asianturfgrass.com/

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

Jason came up with the GvX idea in a flash of inspiration that he describes here. This is the actual growth of the grass compared to the expected growth of the grass, and it has surprising practical implications. We discussed the development and use of the #TurfGvX in this episode.

• We discussed this blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/explaining-gvx/
• See the GvX screencast video at https://youtu.be/mRJcEhOyxPA
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

Achieving the lowest possible #OM246 total organic material value is not desirable, because the living plant material is part of the OM measured with this method.

• I discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/om246-measures-living-om-too/
• @keyakeeper469 and I discussed 8 years of OM246 in https://youtu.be/8B3FQhvSIdI
• OM246 project page https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/om246/
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
• Listen to the ATC podcast network https://podcasts.asianturfgrass.com/

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

A common way to calculate average daily temperature is to take the sum of the daily maximum and daily minimum temperatures, and to divide by two. A better statistical approximation of the average temperature is to take measurements made every hour and then to find the mean value of those continuous measurements.

This blog post shows a comparison of the three methods for 2024 data at three locations: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/calculating-average-daily-temperature/

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

Joe Gulotti joined me to discuss his new job, The Talking Greenkeeper, and the ten posts on the ATC website that no one (practically) read in 2024.

• This is the post that lists all the "bombs:" https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/ten-posts-no-one-read-2024/
• The Talking Greenkeeper catalog is at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talking-greenkeeper/id1435947281
• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Find a suite of decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• Get free ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
• Listen to the ATC podcast network https://podcasts.asianturfgrass.com/

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

Although turf research is often done with fertilizer treatments applied at constant rates and on a fixed calendar schedule, that way of supplying nutrients seems strange to me now. I explain why in this episode, and suggest a better method.

We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/fertilizer-schedule-seems-strange-to-me-now/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

I recommend 4 podcast episodes and one useful app that calculates sand topdressing amounts, then quickly discuss the top 10 new posts from the ATC website in 2024.

Would you like to comment or have questions about this episode? Reply on Bluesky

Here are topic links:
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/top-10-posts-2024/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/the-rodney-lingle-system/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/almost-like-a-seminar/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/the-talking-greenkeeper-holiday-extravaganza/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/om246-calculator-updated/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/mlsn-and-lawns/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/

Green speed varies because of many factors. One of those factors is clipping volume. I discuss that relationship and give some advice for those getting started with clipping volume and wanting to know how to adjust it.

• We discussed this blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/getting-started-with-clipping-volume/
• Potassium increases dollar spot? https://www.paceturf.org/memberedition/potassium-increases-dollar-spot
• The 2025 International Turfgrass Research Conference: https://itrc2025.turfsociety.com/

• Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
• Get ATC newsletters at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
• Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
• PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
• ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter

More about ATC soil tests at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/project/soil-tests/