Wearmouth Colliery Welfare Ground Top Ten Tips Geoff Calcot, ECB Pitch Adviser
Wearmouth Colliery Welfare Ground - Head Groundsman, Jon Buddington
I have 14 pitches on the mainly Mendip loam square. This was heavily thatched and full of broad leaved weeds when I arrived 28 months ago.
There are severe saddles that have built up over 100 years of play. The soil profile is 50mm of loam and then a 25mm layer of medium clay loam followed by clinker and ash. Not ideal for pace!
I have recently been able to purchase a hose which enables me to water the square. I have in the region of 55-60 fixtures and extra cup games a season.
Initial preparations will be a longer job than in the middle of the season. Considering that I have uncovered wickets here, water is also at a premium, as the water tap, on mains pressure, is 150 yards away.
I just do not have the time to water to a depth with a trickle - or prepare as a covered wicket. No covers or sheets are
available to me.
Removing moisture and consolidation are key components when preparing a pitch.
Worm casts, and surface disturbance must be eradicated before the square dries out as, once the depth has been consolidated, then that’s it until rain aids me. I just don’t have the pressure or volume of water available to me.
About 8-10 days out from the game I mark the strip with cord and pins, then do an initial cut to 8mm. Once I am happy that the first cut is straight and ‘bang on’ I verticut, using the Sisis thatch control (triangular blades) just flicking through the sward. If the strip is slightly damp I can go just a little deeper. I continue to cut the strip at the same height during this period.
I now use the drag brush and weigh it down with a couple of bags of loam, down the strip and back on myself. Again, I initially cut at the same
height. I normally let the sward dry out and then reduce the height accordingly through a period of 3-4 days. I have never had a set height of cut for the final finish. As long as I am not scalping the surface I continue to reduce the height of cut.
Rolling will be little and often during the days prior to the match, especially when there is a dew present, which aids ‘polishing’ the strip. Twenty minute bursts with the Autoroller is my usual practice. The pitches should be consolidated before individual pitch preparation.
1) Do the RIGHT things at the RIGHT time with the RIGHT equipment.
2) I always apply a worm repellant mid-Feb/early March - nothing worse than the familiar splat of a flattened wormcast.
3) Have your soil tested on at least an annual basis. Take note of the findings and tailor your fertiliser programme accordingly. Remember the optimum ph for dwarf perennial ryegrass is 6.5.
4) Square the square up and try to keep the corners in place
permanently - it can save an awful lot of time.
5) Prior to instigating the spring rolling programme, toughen the sward with an application of liquid iron or an application of Autumn/Winter fertiliser.
6) Ensure that your machinery is all in good working order.
7) Order your supply of seed, fertiliser and loam, enough to last you through the playing season.
8) Don’t bother to overseed any bare/thinly populated areas on the square until the pre- season rolling has taken place.
9) Consider adopting a pitch preparation programme which commences around 10- 14 days in advance of the actual game.
10) Remember that, early season, you would probably only wish to take the mower height down to 5mm for the match cut, but once the season is in full swing take it down a further millimetre or two.
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