Castell rotary mowers (two 21” at the stadium and a 19” at the training ground), a Wessex sweeper and a second TechNeat SPPS 120 sprayer complete the list of machinery at Paul’s disposal. End of season renovations were carried out, in May, by three separate contractors. Premier Pitches renovated the Turf Moor pitch, koroing off 15mm of vegetation, power harrowing and applying 200 tonnes of new M45 fibre sand from Mansfield Sand. Soil Ph was low so Paul also had 500kg of lime applied, along with 350kg of Scotts Sierrablen Plus Active 18:5:18+MgO fertiliser and a 100kg dose of Scotts Step HI-Mag. Twenty bags of R14 premier winter games mixture were used for overseeding. Talbot Turf renovated the first team training pitch to the same specification. The remaining pitches were renovated by local contractors, Danvic. This involved scarifying, verti-draining, topdressing and overseeding, with seed germinating within nine days. Once established, they were mown with the rotaries for a couple
of weeks before using the cylinder mowers.
However, Paul had to apply a further seven bags of grass seed on the stadium pitch after a heavy rain storm washed a lot of it away during the germination period. Paul uses a combination of products to
keep the stadium pitch in good health. Scotts Greenmaster Prolite 12:0:12 is applied every three weeks from June- September and, in late September or early October, he applies Sierraform GT 15:0:26
In late September, he applies a Scotts
Greenmaster Prolite Double K 7:0:14 and, during colder periods, a dose of Scotts Invigorator 4:0:8. He also uses liquid irons, especially prior to games in the winter months, to maintain colour and harden up the grass plant.
Height of cut at the start of season is
around 25mm. This is raised to 28mm in late September/early October. In early season, the pitch is mown on a daily basis but, once growth has slowed, frequency is
TWENTYQuestions
Paul Bradshaw - a quiet, obsessed, perfectionist except, perhaps, when Blackburn Rovers pay a visit!
Who are you? Paul Bradshaw, Head Groundsman, Burnley Football Club.
Family Status? Married to Nikki and we have a little boy called Callum who will be three in February.
Who is your hero and why? I’ve no modern day heroes but, when I was a kid, being a Burnley fan I idolised Billy Hamilton. I loved his style on the pitch with his socks rolled down and no shin pads! A true centre forward.
What is your dream holiday? The Bahamas, where Nikki and I went on our honeymoon.
What annoys you the most? Arrogant coaching staff from opposing teams on match days who ignore where you ask them to warm up and just do their own thing.
What would you change about yourself? I need to be more organised!
Who wouldn’t you like to be? A Blackburn Rovers fan!
Favourite record and why? True Faith by New Order but, if I’m honest, ‘Ba Ba Black Sheep’ by my two and half year old son Callum beats everything else!
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My wife.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Book a holiday!
What's the best advice you have ever been given? If you’re not sure about something - ASK!
What’s your favourite smell? Fish and chips.
What do you do in your spare time? Spend time with my family - what spare time I get!
What’s the daftest work related question you’ve ever been asked? How do you make those stripes? Is it different grass?
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Our new Dennis G860s.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Quiet, obsessed, perfectionist.
What talent would you like to have? I’d love to be able to play the drums and also to speak another language.
What makes you angry? Inaccurate weather forecasts!
What law/legislation would you like to be introduced? Football related, I’d like to see proper, strict laws brought in regarding pre-match warm ups. It’s a major concern to many groundstaff and it’s not taken seriously enough.
reduced to two to three times a week then, in the winter months, only mowing to prepare the pitch for play. Paul makes good use of the brush and verticutting units on the Dennis G860s ensuring the grass is kept upright and thinned out to improve air flow around the grass plant.
As with most stadium environments leaf spot can be a problem, so Paul uses a preventative regime of fungicides, using a combination of fungicides with varying modes of action. Scotts PrimoMaxx was also used in July to slow down growth. There is also a nematode problem to
address. A count of the nematodes populations was carried out in the spring and a sample sent off to Dr Colin Fleming, who reported back with a strategy to combat them. Bio Mass sugars, that act as a bio stimulant, were applied. These feed the plant and, along with some natural chemical suppressants,
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