A year after first using Anuvia Plant Nutrients’ GreenTRX fertilizer, Robert Montesino is determined to use it on all five of the golf courses he manages.
Montesino works as director of golf and maintenance for the Miami-Dade County Parks Golf Division, overseeing maintenance at Country Club of Miami, Palmetto Golf Course, Briar Bay Golf Course, Greynolds Golf Course and Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne.
He first applied GreenTRX on turf at Crandon and about four months later, applied it at Palmetto. “I started at Crandon, messing around with it,” he says. “Then, once I saw the results I was having, I said, ‘Hey, everybody’s going to get this.’ So now this next year, this new cycle, all my facilities will be on it.”
Made up of dry, homogeneous granules that contain organic matter, GreenTRX includes an Organic MaTRX technology that connects electrically charged amino acids to nutrients such as nitrogen, iron and sulfur. Sustainably produced, the 16-1-2-17S-3Fe fertilizer doesn’t have the same burn, leaching or runoff potential as other fertilizers on the market.
Application of GreenTRX has been simple for Montesino, who applies 300 pounds an acre of the fertilizer at a time using a common spreader. Making bulk applications of GreenTRX every two months and applying it in additional areas such as tee tops approximately every three weeks, he is able to provide a consistent feed to his turf. “One of the things I like about it is that we can put it out any time,” he says. “We don’t have to close the golf course for a long period of time.”
South Florida doesn’t have a winter, so Montesino applies GreenTRX throughout the entire year. He usually sees a green-up within three days and an improvement in density within five to seven days.
The fertilizer contains slow-release components that make Montesino’s turf consistently look good and play well. With many competing fertilizers, turf begins to appear starved leading up to applications, Montesino says. “I’m not seeing this with Anuvia,” he says. “I’m coming into the two-month application, and the grass is still looking good, looking healthy; it’s not looking like, ‘Man, I need fertilizer right now.’”
Golfers have provided positive feedback about the turf at Crandon and Palmetto following the implementation of GreenTRX, Montesino says. “I’m definitely getting compliments from players talking about how the fairways are much improved,” he says. “Especially at some of our courses that we’re struggling a little with, I’m getting a lot of good compliments.”
GreenTRX has saved Montesino money because it costs less than other fertilizers he has used in the past, is less susceptible to leaching and runoff and doesn’t require his courses to shut down for long.
At one of Montesino’s courses, GreenTRX fought stress brought on by weeds. He is looking forward to using the fertilizer on the rest of his courses in 2017 to further reduce those stresses.
When other turf managers get into a consistent rotation using the product to treat weeds, they will be able to see many of the same results Montesino has, he says. “Once they start using it, they start seeing a denser turf,” he says. “I think they’re going to start seeing some of their weed pressure held back because that Bermuda is going to grow tighter and tighter and tighter; it’s going to hold back any pressure from weeds, especially down here in South Florida.”
Similarly, Montesino has high expectations for when the rest of his golf courses start on GreenTRX. “I think once they start using it, they’re going to love it,” he says. “They’re going to love all parts of it.”
Patrick Williams is a Cleveland-based writer and frequent GCI contributor.
