Soil Biology Brings Rewards

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Soil Biology Brings Rewards: A greens team has seen its maintenance budget double and recruitment increase having introduced a range of soil biology methods across the course.

Harpenden Common Golf Club swept aside its existing greens renovation programme in favour of a less intrusive, environmental one based on applying compost teas, fertilisers, trace elements and zeolites.

Soil Biology Brings Rewards

“The old system of digging up our waterlogged greens twice a year to try to improve drainage had failed,” reports head greenkeeper Sean Brocklehurst, “so we invited an agronomist specialising in soil biology to take a look at the problem.”

Soil Biology Ltd’s Hillery Murphy recommended an extensive programme of boosting the microbial count across the 18-hole private members parkland course in a bid to reduce thatch and strengthen the rootzone.

Now in its fourth year of the soil biology strategy, Harpenden Common is reaping the benefits inside and outside the clubhouse, states Sean. “Poor drainage on the greens made them unplayable sometimes, forcing us to close the course and risking loss of members. Playing surfaces have improved so much that we can stay open year-round, which is great news for everyone here.”

General manager Terry Crump said: “Our key priority is to deliver the best possible course conditions and clubhouse facilities for our members. They will go elsewhere if we cannot provide golf whenever they want it.

“It’s no exaggeration to state that the club might have struggled if we had persisted with our existing maintenance strategy, which relied heavily on chemical and physical treatments.”

Year-round course playability has helped the club double the greens team’s maintenance budget, allowing it to introduce improvements across the site.

Soil Biology Brings Rewards

“We are raising standards off course as well as on to boost presentation around the playing areas,” says Sean, “and we have been able to recruit an apprentice greenkeeper to increase the team to seven. “

Harpenden Common applies Soil Biology products right across the course to raise quality throughout. “The zeolites add structural integrity to the turf and retain then release nutrients over time,” Sean explains, “also encouraging a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria in the rootzone. Members agree the state of the course is the best it has ever been.”

Hillery Murphy says: “Harpenden Common is a great testimony to soil biology.  Zeolites deliver more consistent results, creating a honeycomb in which beneficial microbes can thrive and metabolise nutrients for the grass plant to take up. This is the future for course maintenance practices.”

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MM50 Chosen For Cricket Squares

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MM50 Chosen For Cricket Squares: After a successful trial, Jamie Foyster – owner of Sportsturf Management, has taken the decision to exclusively use Limagrain’s MM50 grass seed across each cricket square he tends to.

It is safe to say that Jamie Foyster knows a thing or two about cricket squares – he was introduced to the sport at the age of 10 as a player and was then helping to prepare and maintaining pitches by 15 at his local club. This continued over two decades and even though he was working in another job he still continued to work voluntarily on cricket pitches until he had an opportunity to join Sportsturf Management in 2008.

MM50 Chosen For Cricket Squares

Jamie took over the sole ownership of the business in 2012 and it was also at this stage that he first became acquainted with Limagrain UK.

“I wasn’t happy with my existing supplier – the seed just wasn’t performing as I wanted it to. We had an incredibly wet season that year and in the autumn I trialled MM50 on two cricket squares. Very soon it was apparent that the germination rate, the development and the root density was fantastic.

“However, the real test came in the summer of the following year, and for me the wear tolerance and the recovery rate was just superb. That sealed the deal for me and since then I have converted all my squares to MM50.”

MM50 possesses exceptional shoot density along with tolerance to close mowing making it particularly suitable for cricket squares. This superior mix contains the perennial ryegrass cultivars, Venice, Alison and Malibu, which are renowned for providing a great sward for cricket use. As Jamie reports, other key features of MM50 include fast recovery from wear and damage and high disease resistance.

It is products such as MM50 which is a direct result of Limagrain’s continual investment into research and development. The company is a major supporter of research partnerships with universities and institutes which will continue to help provide new varieties through plant breeding giving groundsmen and greenkeepers solutions in future turf management.

“Products and technology have come such a long way in the past decade,” says Jamie. “Machinery, seeds, fertilisers, you name it – they have all advanced massively. For example you just have to look at germination rates now compared to a few years ago. In this respect I would have to single out HEADSTART® GOLD seed coating.”

MM50 Chosen For Cricket Squares

MM50 is treated with HEADSTART® GOLD – Limagrain’s unique seaweed based seed treatment which helps to ensure rapid and even germination. This tried and tested grass seed treatment helps the seed get off to the best possible start – making it ideal to use in the less than favourable conditions that can sometimes be found on cricket pitches during renovations.

HEADSTART® GOLD is perhaps at its most beneficial when it comes to the fourteen squares that Jamie and his team carry out renovations on each year. In addition, they maintain a further eight squares all year round  – Jamie’s work has quickly caught the eye.

“Others have seen how well MM50 has performed on our squares and they have since started using it. To be honest, I recommend MM50 all the time now and quite a lot of clubs and schools I know of have switched to it.

“It’s just a tremendous package all round from Limagrain. Richard Sheppard (Amenity Seed Sales Specialist) will often come and see me, to see how everything is going and offer advice and support. I don’t even have to ask for that but it is a great service to have.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/amenity

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New G860’s At Wolves

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New G860’s At Wolves: A fresh strategy devised by the owners of Wolverhampton Wanderers has led to the football club purchasing three new Dennis G860 cylinder mowers.

It’s an exciting time for the West Midlands based club; when the new owners took control last year part of their strategy was to place a big emphasis on the style of football they wanted Wolves to play. As a result they were committed to investing in the surface at Molineux Stadium.

New G860's At Wolves

A state-of-the-art Desso Grassmaster hybrid pitch, which is used by top clubs across Europe, was installed shortly after the new owners’ arrival. Secondly, it was time to look at upgrading the turf maintenance machinery.

“When the option came to invest in new machinery, we jumped at the chance of going back to Dennis,” says Anthony Parker, deputy head groundsman. “Certainly for me, I’ve come from a private school background where I have been brought up on Dennis machines. We also used to use the Dennis Premier here on our old fibre elastic pitch. However, the Desso Grassmaster is renowned for being a bit firmer so we decided to go for the Dennis G860 when the new pitch was installed.”

Lightweight at just 166kg; it is easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive. The mower also features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion.

The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks. With a simple one-minute changeover, users have the option of fitting thirteen different types of cassettes including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers, and slitters as well as six, eight or eleven bladed cutting cylinders.

“We purchased three G860’s with the full range of cassettes which gives us so much versatility,” says Anthony. “We use them on a daily basis. The verticutting unit is used quite regularly to clean out the surface and we really see the benefits from this. The brushes are a great option too and we use the machines at both the stadium and the training ground.

“With three mowers we now double cut on match days and the G860’s are perfect for presentation and getting a quality finish every time. They create the ideal pitch suitable for how the owners want the team to play.

“Dennis mowers are simply renowned for being a quality piece of kit and the equipment speaks for itself. They are really user friendly and since we’ve had them all of the team have been really impressed.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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Ransomes Partnership Continues

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Ransomes Partnership Continues: Continental Landscapes, a leading grounds maintenance company, recently took delivery of 33 pieces of machinery from Ransomes. The investments marks a 20-year relationship between Continental Landscapes and Ransomes. PA Turney both demonstrated and sold the machinery, having nurtured the relationship between the companies for over two decades.

Continental Landscapes was established in 1989 and currently has more than 20 U.K. branches. It has a diverse portfolio of clients including local authorities, government departments, industrial and commercial concerns, housing associations, sports clubs and private individuals. The company also employs more than 700 people.

Ransomes Partnership Continues

Tom Dew is the plant and machinery manager at Continental Landscapes, having joined the company in 1991. Commenting on the relationship with Ransomes and PA Turney, Tom said:

“We are very proud of our long-standing relationship with both Ransomes and PA Turney. Ransomes make quality machines which are British built. Impressively, its rotary mowers cut like cylinders as they can cut lower than other machines.

“Service and back-up is a huge consideration for us. In my opinion, there is no better dealer than PA Turney. They look after all our branches, and if we need assistance at one of our branches in Scotland, they will travel from Oxfordshire and be there the next day. The combination of exceptional machinery and back-up support is the reason that we keep returning to Ransomes and PA Turney.”

Amongst the new machinery are two Parkway 3 cylinder mowers, 28 HR300 rotary mowers with Müthing decks, two MP493 rotary mowers and one MP495 cylinder mower. Continental Landscapes was one of the first customers invited to test the new Ransomes HM600, a collaboration between Ransomes and Müthing; it will be launching in 2018.

Commenting on the relationship and the machinery, Municipal National Accounts Manager at Ransomes Nathan Walker, said:

“It is testament to the design and manufacturing teams at Ransomes, and the staff at PA Turney that Continental Landscapes has been a loyal customer for so many years. I hope this continues with our future developments such as the new HM600; the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead for all concerned!”

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com/europe

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