Winter Sports - Football
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I didn’t really enjoy my first summer on the job because I was always thinking of what January and February were going to bring, even in the middle of July!
Chris Pearson runs the Air2G2 over the pitch
Monday is spent divoting and forking. It’s a monotonous job, but I have found it to be one of the most important. Just get the earphones in and get on with it! I divot with a 70/30 rootzone, MM60 seed and 8:12:8 pre seed fertiliser.
When cutting in the summer, I take a small spray bottle of selective weedkiller and just spot treat as and when required. With the pitch constantly being divoted, and overseeding pre-season, I prefer not to blanket spray.
I try to get everything ready for a game on the Friday to avoid any surprise problems on Saturday morning. This normally involves a cut and mark out but, as everything else, it's weather dependent. If it’s a wet Friday, I’ll shut the shed and put the hours in on Saturday to get the prep done.
In the spring, I start to put down a 12:6:6 and carry this on through the summer as required, supplementing with seaweed to try and aid root development. I also trialed Maxstim and found great results in root
Aesthetics are very important - it’s satisfying taking a seat in the stand on Saturday and being proud of what I’m presenting, not only to the players but also to fans
” The East stand from behind the dugouts 56 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016
development, although I’m unsure how much credit should go to improved aeration.
When growth is at its peak, I apply a few doses of growth retardant to thicken the sward as much as possible in preparation for the cooler months. I didn’t really enjoy my first summer on the job because I was always thinking of what January and February were going to bring, even in the middle of July!
We don’t have edging boards around the pitch so I’ll need to get the edging iron out over the winter. I’ve not done it yet, but anticipate a slow tedious job, however it will tidy the whole place up.
Where does presentation rank?
Aesthetics are very important - it’s satisfying taking a seat in the stand on Saturday and being proud of what I’m presenting, not only to the players but also to fans. However, due to the weather we’ve had, it’s been challenging just getting games on. There’s nothing worse as a fan, when you spend the week looking forward to Saturday, for the game to be postponed.
When I’ve been working into the night under the floodlights, the Binos manager Stuart McLaren has made a point of coming out for chats about the significant improvement he is seeing on the pitch. Commenting on how much the players enjoy playing on the surface is where I get the real job satisfaction because, ultimately, these are the guys I'm doing the job for.
What end of season renovations do you undertake?
In my only pre-season so far, I dressed with 80 tonnes of coarse Devilla sand, then verti- drained with one inch tines to a depth of 10” with 15 degrees of heave, brushed, then overseeded with a drill with nine bags of MM60 seed. Prior to this, I carried out my only blanket spray with a selective. Due to the thin coverage, there was quite a bit of clover creeping in. I fed with 8:12:8 and dropped my HOC down to 10mm to help work the sand in.
I’m quite fortunate that we’ve managed to agree a deal with Campeys, where we will be
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