Public Places
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I am looking into the possibility of building another outfield, on an area of spare land, so that I can move the artificial wicket
Calne Cricket Club in action - a new outfield is a possibility
draining at different depths from spring through to autumn, plus slitting in autumn and ‘when we can’ through the winter. I have just persuaded the council to invest in an Imants Shockwave, so we will also be putting that into the programme.” “We have five metre drains spaced on all of our pitches and I have, this year, got all the ditches deepened and flowing better to help with our drainage. I am also due to go on an excavator course so that, next year, I can (in- house) put more drainage around the site on the wetter areas around the pitches.” I ask if the facility suffers from any regular
What’s in the shed? Jacobsen 305 fairway mower John Deere 4520 compact tractor Kubota RTV Imants Shockwave 155 (soon) Sisis Quadraplay Martin Lishman 6 metre boom sprayer Charterhouse Verti-Drain Blec Dimple seeder Huxley Slitter Teagle totary tractor fitted mower Honda Izy Pedestrian Mower Accu Pro 2000 Spray jet linemarker
Amazone E+S sand and fertiliser spreader (soon) 6 metre drag mat Stihl Brushcutter Stihl Hedge trimmer
In conjunction with the Facility Manager, Adam has, this year, implemented a five year machinery replacement plan.
Quotes are obtained from different dealers and Adam goes with the best price.
122 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014 State of the art community hall
natural occurrences, such as flooding, high winds, excessive snowfall and frosts? “All of the above over the past couple of years,” is Adam’s reply. “As mentioned, the aeration work and ditch deepening has helped alleviate the flooding issues, but the site is fairly exposed, so we do get high winds. We have tree lines and hedges which act as wind breaks, and we let these grow upwards, but trim back the sides.” “When it snows, we hand shovel it off to the side of the pitches. We are looking into covers, but cost and manpower is a problem. When frosts start to thaw we remove the water with dragmats and brushes. The upside is that, being a pretty open site, the wind does help dry the surface.”
Being predominantly a community
football facility means that Adam is kept busy throughout the year. Outside of the summer, the pitches are kept at 25-35mm, but are cut at 35-50mm in May, June, July and early August at the height of the growing season. The pitches are marked out in August and overmarked as required throughout the season. “Presentation is important,” Adam stresses. “Straight lines are a must at all times, whether linemarking or cutting.” All cutting is undertaken using a Jacobsen
305 fairway mower with weed control carried out using a Martin Lishman 6 metre boom sprayer attached to a Kubota RTV. An Amazone scarifier is hired in June. “I operate an ‘all hands to the pump’
approach,” says Adam, “but, as there’s only two of us, it’s only ever two pair of hands! Apart from myself doing the spraying, all other jobs are shared between James and myself.”
“End of season renovations consist of
vertidraining, cutting the pitches lower than 25mm, scarifying and overseeding with Johnsons Premier Pitch or J Rescue. Then we apply a sand topdressing and dragmat to work it in. Finally, weather dependent, we irrigate. I will then apply an application of seaweed.”
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