“Rainwater was pouring off the prepared surface like a river, taking much of the surface seed with it”
concentrate was used to provide some more strength to the root zone for the latter stages of the season when grass cover thins out. There was an application of 325kgs of Headland 22:5:22 slow release fertiliser also incorporated during this final process, prior to adding 350kgs of 10:15:10 pre-seed fertiliser (Rigby Taylor) and 450kgs of Barenbrug Bar 7 seed.
The seed was applied using a Blec seeder before a final light roll left the surface requiring some water - we didn’t have to wait long before the heavens opened and we got yet another deluge. Unfortunately, the thunderstorms kept coming and some days during the following week, rainwater was pouring off the prepared surface like a river, taking much of the surface seed with it. Fortunately the Blec seeder had planted plenty of seed well below the immediate surface and this has come up very well. We just needed to thin out clumped areas left by the heavy rain.
THE work at the training ground commenced a week or so earlier than at the main ground. We had been in negotiation with the local school to renovate their four pitches while we did our own in-house. Due to us hiring the machinery locally and purchasing the materials directly ourselves, we were able to offer a couple of very reasonable and cost effective proposals. The school decided on the best works schedule and we set about scarifying and vertidraining the fields. In total there were eight full size and academy pitches to renovate at the training ground. The full size youth team pitch had a similar remit to the Molineux pitch that we worked on with Derek Crane. With the exception of this pitch, the rest were scarified, seeded, fertilised and top-dressed.
The club have been working a
rotational renovation at the training ground for a good few years. The aim is to strip off and turn over at least one of the three main surfaces at the end of each season, doing a substantial renovation on the others in the meantime. This policy allows the removal of excess Poa and the build up of thatch at least every three years, providing a fresh profile and surface for the heavy training and match schedule that’s played over a ten and a half month season. From a financial point of view we look to trim costs where we can, this
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year we had planned to Koro off two of the training ground pitches and turn them over, but decided that we could get one of the pitches through another season without too many issues and that money could therefore be saved. The players are back for training in the last week of June, so it was vital that all of the work could be completed as quickly as possible. We had booked renovation machinery from a local dealer well in advance of the start date, however when the day came the machinery didn’t. A succession of phone calls didn’t resolve the issue with the dealer and we were left high and dry. Fortunately for us, because of the heavy rain and the inability to start renovations on other local fields, a local contractor was able to hire out his machinery to us for a few days. Terry, Wayne, Ken and I worked
from day break until dusk to scarify and clean the surfaces, sow about 1500kgs of seed, apply over 2000 kgs of fertiliser and dolomitic limestone, and spread 520 tonnes of approved drainage sand on all the pitches. We also hollow cored the 1st team and reserve pitches. Although the rain hindered our
progress to some degree, we managed to complete the training ground in just over a week. The continuing unsettled weather meant that the irrigation system, that we had now recommissioned, remained unused.
Usually by May, soil temperatures
are increasing sufficiently to see the seed chit and break the surface in about five days. However, the air and soil temperatures remained cool and we waited about nine days before the seedlings finally emerged. As the days have passed by, the better weather has arrived and the irrigation (despite a few teething problems) is in full swing now. The new seedlings are establishing nicely and, by the time this article is published, the players will no doubt be back in training. The maintenance regime started with a couple of light rolls and then a cut with Honda Pro rotary mowers once the seedlings had grown to about 35mm (nearly three weeks on from seeding!). Regular mowing with the Dennis mowers was then continued for a week, before it was felt that the mowing could continue with our John Deere five-gang fairway mower.
Reseeded areas .... and a good number of pigeons!
Training ground overseeded
Recommissioned irrigation system
School playing field after renovation work
I wandered lonely as a cloud
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