EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS


I have had to retain some of the fertiliser in stock for later in the year and, basically, I have to stop spending in the short term


Early morning brushing


Over the last eight or nine


years, we have put on three hundred tonnes of Mansf ield Sand per year in an attempt to bring the levels up


holidays). “First, we will scarify and collect the whole site with the Amazone Groundkeeper GHLT 135. Local contractor, Woodward Turf Care, then come in to verti-drain all surfaces, as deep as possible, before we apply three hundred tonnes of sand and then overseed with ICL ProSelect Premium Pitch - a perennial ryegrass mix - using a dimple seeder.”


Michael tends to use a mixture of ICL slow- release granular fertilisers and liquids, when he can get out on the pitches. “In March, I will apply ICL’s Sierrablen Plus then, every


three weeks up until September, we will top it up using our 300-litre Team Sprayer with a mixture of ICL Sportsmaster Liquid Iron and a product called Liquid Onyx - an organic plant-based biostimulant. In November, I will apply another application of Sierrablen Plus, which will see us through the winter.” Having been in his current position for just over a year, Michael is still getting used to everything. “It is still early days and I think now is where you learn the most. You come into the job with a good idea of what is required and what it is going to be like, but I found out quickly that, no matter how much planning you do, it can go straight out the window … especially when something like coronavirus happens!”


Michael has a lot of experience to fall back on, after fi rst getting involved in the industry at just fourteen years old, when he got himself a Saturday job cutting and marking out at his local grass tennis court. “My dad encouraged me to do it to get me out of the house and he showed me what to do - it didn’t take long to prepare with it being a single court. When I left school, I was a member at Glen Gorse Golf Club (just up the road from here) and they took me on as


88


PC October/November 2020


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