Educational Establishments
Do you hire in any machinery (inc. operator if required) for specific tasks?
Yes, deep aeration equipment, overseeding and topdressing are either carried out by a contractor or by using hired equipment. I have also hired a woodchipper on occasions to recycle tree prunings.
How do you undertake pest and weed control?
All carried out in-house using the tractor- mounted, 6 metre boom, 200L sprayer; a 25L pedestrian 1.5M boom, battery operated sprayer and a knapsack sprayer. I hold Pesticide Application certificates 1, 2, 6A and 6AW.
We don’t suffer from specific disease outbreaks any more than expected.
One problem in the last couple of years has been Canada geese, and we are planning a cull in the spring.
How important do you consider the local flora and fauna?
Very; we have a tree survey carried out every three years to ensure they are healthy. A lot of the trees have group preservation orders on them. The lake brings its own environmental issues and we take extreme care not to contaminate the water with any fertiliser or pesticide treatments.
Whilst we don’t have an environmental policy in place, some of the tree work we have carried out has come under the
auspices of the local authority, and we have worked with them and the Environment Agency on the North Field Project and also employed an environmental consultant as part of the feasibility study on the project.
The planting scheme around the North Field will be designed with wildlife in mind.
What would you consider to be the state of our industry?
Pretty good on the whole. I have just returned from the NEC and most of the exhibitors I spoke to were experiencing improved sales. The main threat seems to be the rush to convert to 3G/4G surfaces.
It looks like moving Saltex to the NEC has been a good move and the growth of the awards will help to promote the industry. We also need to make the most of major international events like the Rugby World Cup just gone and the upcoming Cricket World Cup.
Thank you for your time. What’s in the shed?
Ford 1920 Tractor with 2-tonne tipping trailer
Kubota ZD28 Ride-on, zero-turn rotary mower Major roller mower
Allett C20 - 20 inch cylinder mower with brush, scarifier and sarrel roller cassettes Sisis Auto-rotorake Mk V Hayter Harrier 48 Stothert & Pitt tandem cricket roller Billy Goat leaf vacuum Stihl backpack blower
Stihl battery operated strimmer, hedgetrimmer and chainsaw
Team Sprayer - 6 metre, 200 litre, tractor mounted 1.5 metre pedestrian sprayer Knapsack sprayer Spray linemarker Sisis Quadraplay Sisis Maxislit Polaris Gem Utility vehicle Groundsman 460 Aerator
Servicing is carried out by Turf machinery Engineering.
Steve’s wish list includes a ride-on triple cylinder mower, a new tractor and irrigation to the existing sports pitches
PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016 I 53
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