In a presentation at the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association conference, I explained how I answer the two important questions of turfgrass nutrition. These are 1) do I need to apply this element as fertilizer, and 2) how much do I need to apply?

These slides, and associated handout, describe the process.

I explained that one can answer the two questions by obtaining three quantities, which I called a, b, and c. These are the amount of an element that the grass uses (a), the amount that must be kept as reserve in the soil (b), and the amount actually present in the soil (c).

This simplifies to the amount we need (a + b) and the amount we have (c). The need to supply the element, and the quantity required, is then the difference between the amount we need and the amount we have (a + b - c).

I was well-titivated for my time on stage, although I wasn't nearly as eloquent as Pat Jones, who spoke after lunch about the turf and landscape industry, and who has a way with words on Twitter too.

The very hirsute @asianturfgrass talking turf nutrition to 400+ @OntarioGSA attendees in Niagara Falls. pic.twitter.com/OAxizLZDz9

— GOLF COURSE INDUSTRY (@GCImagazine) January 28, 2015

More to come about my second presentation at this excellent conference, and on some of the other information shared at this outstanding OGSA event.

And isn't Niagara Falls a great venue for a conference? What a view from the conference hotel!