Winter Sports
Professional lights supplied by SGL
December, but have already made a big difference. There is only enough power available for one half of the pitch, so Andy is still experimenting with their use. Currently, they are set to run for forty-eight hours before moving to the next position.
The club have been aware of the benefits of having lighting rigs for a number of years, as Dave Roberts actually made his own - a single two lamp rig - many years ago to help stimulate growth in the goalmouths. This led to another larger, self-build rig by Ian Lucas, at a cost of £2,500; both are still in use. For a number of years now, Andy has
Ian Lucas’s self-build lighting system
topdressed the stadium pitch during the winter months with a tonne of 80/20 kiln dried sand and Zeolite on a monthly basis. This helps maintain air porosity and aids the retention of any applied fertilisers. This practice has helped to prevent the build up of black layer and algae.
Andy also tries to keep any heavy machinery off the pitch during the winter months. He does like using the pedestrian rear roller type rotary mowers for cutting and ‘hoovering’ the pitch after matches; it may take much longer, but he is very pleased with the results. For the time of the year (January), the pitch looked in excellent condition. Andy
is also a stickler for removing the dew off the pitch, it is done religiously on a daily basis.
Leading up to match days, the pitch will be mown in different directions to maintain a good definition. The day before the game, the pitch will be mown twice in the same direction, crossways, and the pitch surrounds edged up. On the morning of the match, the pitch will be mown length ways, marked out and watered just prior to the game starting. Andy relies on Mark Atkins from Soil Harmony and Derek Cunliffe from Rigby Taylor to help produce his recommended feeding programme, using a combination of granular/ liquid and bio feeds to
64 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
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