during the installation of the forced slit drains, but this is removed with the final cultivation and surface sand dressings. The installation of slit drains during construction results in getting the area into play in a shorter period of time, as it negates the need to disturb the playing surface following grass establishment. Also, due to the extra compression of the soils around the sides of the forced slits, the likelihood of future settlement is reduced. This in turn reduces the need for costly topping up. Following the installation of the slit drains, 10mm depth of medium fine sand was installed over the surface and then the area was seeded with Barenbrug Bar 7. Again, due to tight schedules, the first seeding of the site took place in mid November. As was expected initial establishment was poor, but then came a rather long act of God. Months of solid rain! Although the drainage system was in place, it could not stop the movement of large volumes of surface water runoff during intense rainfall. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that, without grass cover, fines tended to separate out and cause capping of the pitch surface, reducing surface drainage rates. With little or no root system to anchor the surface, areas of washout occurred together with a large proportion of the seed being simply washed off the surface. A useful tip for people facing similar problems is to install a line of straw bails at strategic points. This will help to reduce the flow of surface water and prevent scouring. The installation of bails at the toe of newly created embankments can also be useful in
preventing fines running off the embankment onto the pitch surface. As soon as the deluge was over the site drained quickly and remedial work started immediately. A rootzone was dressed into to the washed out runoff areas and over-seeding was carried out. Thankfully, no more serious deluges took place and the seed germinated to enhance the existing sward. A further 6.0mm dressing of sand took place three times from April to July to ensure the integrity of the slit drains and to improve surface durability and quality of the playing surface. Following this the first verti-draining operation took place in order to get the topsoil into better condition.
As you may remember from the December/January edition of Pitchcare, ecological sustainability in this environmentally aware age is becoming increasingly important. One such step in the right direction for the Hensol Castle site was to use a naturally occurring spring as the water source for irrigation. The spring had, in the past, been used to supply water to the Hensol Estate and underground storage tanks and pumps were fortunately located close to the development area. It was simply a case of renewing the pumps and then connecting the new ring main into the mains supply pipe, which led to the castle. A total of twenty-six pop-ups were installed around the perimeter of the area and twenty-four within the pitch surface, with the electronic control panel being located in the nearby changing rooms.
One thing we always stipulate when
taking on a project is that the contractor will visit the pitches a number of times in the first year to check and, if need be, remedy any problems that may occur. Over the years we have seen a number of properly constructed pitches which have had the best start in life then suffer following inappropriate maintenance. It is usually not anyone’s fault, but the first year can be a bit of a minefield while the root system and turf density improves. The pitches have recently reached full usage and look magnificent. The sward is deeply rooted and is proving very resilient to the training and the matches now taking place on it. But don’t take our word for it, if you
are lucky enough to visit The Vale Resort, please feel free to inspect the pitches. On our last visit the Welsh football squad had just finished using the area in preparation for their European Championship qualifiers and Cardiff City FC were in full swing. They told us the pitches were ideal for their requirements. Even the goalies, seen here with Jonathan Smith (the short one), were happy, although they requested a supersoft padded area around the goalmouth so as to have more comfortable landings! You can please some of the people……."
GEO Turf Consulting Limited can be contacted on 02920 531335 or visit their website at
www.geo-turf.com
White Horse Contractors Limited can be contacted on 01865 736272 or visit their website at
www.whitehorsecontractors.co.uk
The Vale Golf and Spa Resort can be contacted on 01443 667800 or visit their website at
www.vale-hotel.com
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