Replay Restore Minster School Surface

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Replay Restore Minster School Surface: Having been founded in 956, Southwell’s Minster School is one of England’s oldest schools. Despite this, the school’s sports facilities are up to date. To complement its natural rugby and football pitches it has a state-of-the-art all-weather pitch. After experiencing problems with it in early 2018, David Everett, Acting School Business Manager called on the expertise of Replay Maintenance.

David oversees the maintenance of the playing surfaces and has a team of 3 site staff and a grounds person working hard to maintain the natural surfaces. “We had a problem with the all-weather surface as  the sand had become very dirty and compacted due to the use over a number of years and this had a major impact on drainage.  We therefore approached various companies with a view to undertaking a rejuvenation and Replay Maintenance provided the most comprehensive quotation” explained David.  We were impressed by the process and we’ve now entered into a quarterly maintenance contract with them for the next 5 years.“

Replay Restore Minster School Surface

The Replay Rejuvenation® process can restore compacted and contaminated synthetic football, rugby, hockey and tennis surfaces to ‘as new’ performance and appearance. The first stage of the process is to extract the contaminated infill from the surface. Replays’ Beaver machines feature unique constant air-flow plenum technology and uses compressed air to remove the contaminated layer of infill and fully decompact the surface. It can extract the infill to any chosen depth, including to the carpet backing if necessary. The pile fibres are cleaned, untangled and restored to vertical. The operator will then assess the general condition of the carpet, repairing any weak or damaged seams. A purpose-built spreading machine then distributes the fresh infill to the correct depth. An integral centrally-mounted oscillating brush then works this infill down into the surface, completing the rejuvenation.

The process can fully restore a synthetic surface’s porosity, ball bounce and roll and player comfort. Unlike replacing a surface, the Replay Rejuvenation® procedure can be completed in days, minimising downtime and the important revenue stream that a synthetic pitch can bring. It also goes without saying that it also comes at a fraction of the cost of a full replacement.

David again: ‘The all-weather surface is used during the school day and also most evenings by external groups including different Football and Hockey Clubs.  With such a busy schedule it’s important that the maintenance regime keeps downtime to a minimum.  The planned maintenance programme with Replay will ensure this.’

For more information, visit: www.replaymaintenance.co.uk

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Westland To Showcase Investment At Glee

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Westland To Showcase Investment At Glee: Westland will be attending the upcoming Glee show, using the event to strengthen its position and launch its strongest home and garden range with new products and developments across a diverse portfolio.

At the forefront of this will be the unveiling of new products in the New Horizon range with our revolutionary BIO3 additive which is 100% sustainable. BIO3 is the culmination of a £35million investment and unprecedented breakthrough in peat replacement technology.

Westland To Showcase Investment At Glee

Simon McArdle from Westland, commented: “BIO3 is the compost for the next generation. It combines wood, premium quality coir and bio fibre to deliver one of the highest quality composts on the market, that just so happens to be peat-free. We’ve been developing this for some time now so we can’t wait to unveil it at Glee”.

Westland will also be celebrating 80 years since the launch of the iconic John Innes. Our newly repositioned range are all based on the original blend, but now are enriched with nutrients and additives reflecting the latest grower technology to ensure improved performance.

Glee also provides Westland opportunity to showcase its position as the most forward thinking and leading lawn brand. Aftercut is launching a new lawn programme that helps overcome the retail challenges of the stable and mature lawncare market. It will be simplifying lawncare regimes and extending the lawn season with new products that can be used in early spring and late autumn. As part of this Westland is launching two new products. The first is AfterCut Ultra Green+, which give a greener and stronger lawn, which prevents moss from growing. The second is Gro Sure Fast Start –  Smart Lawn Seed which utilises aqua gel technology combined with specially bred varieties which to allow the seed to germinate at lower temperatures than previously achieved, allowing gardeners to boost their lawn earlier, and later, in the season than previously possible.

Peckish, which has recently become the fastest growing brand within the bird care market, will be unveiling new products as well as a new look at the show. Packaging has been refined, with 80% of all Peckish food products now being available with a resealable top, and new Squirrel Proof Suet Pellets will be launched as well as additions to the Secret Garden range of decorative planters.

Other highlights include the new Resolva Xtra Clean Path and Patio where consumer insight has guided our brand offering within the category; and the continued development of the Deadfast rodenticide range as a result of a new partnership with the world’s leader in rodent control, Victor; and a celebration of the 32% industry growth of indoor. This growth has led to a 38% increase in sales for Westland’s indoor plant care range which will be boosted by the Glee launch of the new Hydroleca clay granules which absorb water and release as required.

A new look Unwins range will also be on display which sees the launch of four seed new collections and a new Gro-Sure Seed Start, a pre-treatment that can be sprinkled into compost to provide better germination and establishment.

The market-leading Westland straights range is relaunched this year with modern, premium packaging, designed to make it easier to understand what each product does. The aim is to attract new consumers and drive value in this mature market.

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director at Westland, said: “We’ve got a lot planned for this year’s Glee. It’s always a vital platform for us to launch new products and unveil developments within our existing ranges but we are particularly excited about this year’s show. Westland has experienced strong growth across many brands recently and we anticipate the New Horizon BIO3 products, as well as classics like John Innes, to help this continue.”

Westland will be at the show on stand 7G50-K51.

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows: In a special column, Rob Peers, head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club talks about an exciting first year in the job:

I took up my post as head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club just over a year ago – and what a year it’s been.

Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows

One of the greatest challenges has been a tropical heatwave that seems to have lasted all summer!

For the team at the Golf Club, watering this summer took on a new and interesting dimension with the addition of nine new flower meadows.

The meadows are situated in Hever Castle’s gardens and Hever Golf Course: they cover an area of 4,500 square metres on Lake Walk (in the Castle grounds) and the golf course itself.

Each of the nine selected areas had different considerations and their own micro climate, environment and purpose. It was really important to us to select sites that would improve bio-diversity and functionality in areas which had previously been dominated by aggressive species such as bramble and nettle.

My team nicknamed the first area they developed ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’, and it was the first point of contact as we passed through the fence from the golf course into the grounds of the castle. We felt when we entered this part of the castle’s beautiful grounds that we’d escaped!

When we began prepping the ground back in March we could hardly dare dream of the kaleidoscope of rainbow colours that would burst forth beside the Lake.

The fourteen species including Calendula officinalis (Marigold), Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower), Cosmos bipinnatus, Linum grandiflorum (Flax) and Papaver rheas (Common Poppy) have delighted visitors and the team alike.

We sowed the rainbow mix beside the lake in May and the flowers should bloom until November. This is my preferred mix and includes marigold, cosmos, flax and poppy – it looks great and is a very good pollinator.

A real highlight for me this year was the rediscovery of the Anne of Cleves Bower House folly.

I’d been walking in the woodland area with our CEO Duncan Leslie who was explaining the work that was ongoing on the Loggia in the castle grounds. The water in the lake had been lowered and as we walked beside, what I believe was the original path of the River Eden, I spotted a step in the water. I broke off suddenly from our conversation and rushed to take a closer look.

The steps were part of the folly, which had previously been hidden among the under-growth.

We believe the folly dates from the time of the Astors but it looks like they used medieval brick to create it, and there are two heraldic shields for Anne of Cleves.

It was thrilling to uncover it for the first time in years and bring it back to life with a more subtle and feminine flower mix for Anne.

We planted species such as Anethum graveolens (Dill), Borago officinalis (Borage), Callistephus Chinensis (China Aster) and Lupinus nanus (Lupin) here.

The meadow areas on the golf course itself have a more sympathetic visual appearance with more native and naturalised species from a mix called ‘Flora Britannica’ which includes Achillea millefolium (Yarrow), Aquilegia vulgaris (Common columbine), Borago officinalis (Borage) and Campanula carpatica (Tussock bellflower).

It not only looks great, but it fits in beautifully with the landscape and has also proved to be another fantastic pollinator.

The creation of the meadows has been a real boost for the team – when the flowers began appearing, it’s no exaggeration to say that we’d go down and giggle like school children as we marvelled at the changing floral landscape.

Even though the meadows are still in full bloom, my thoughts are turning to next year and to possible new meadow areas.

If you like meadows, then why not have a go – if you get the right seed mix and you prepare the ground well, then the results are spectacular.

I don’t know whether the flowers in the meadows would have been higher if we’d had more rainfall, and we can only speculate at the moment why some areas have dominant yellows and others have more pinks – we will continue to monitor their progress and note down the different habitats – the amount of light in one, and the subtle differences of soil in others, and see what happens next year.

Watch this space!

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Greenkeeper’s Anglo-Portugese Alliance

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Greenkeeper’s Anglo-Portugese Alliance: Henrique Ferreira, a 23-year-old Portuguese national, has been at The London Golf Club for just five months.  During a break from his studies, at agronomy college in his home country, he has been assisting Golf Courses & Estate Manager, Lee Sayers.  Headland Amenity work closely with his employers, Belas Golf Club, as well as The London Golf Club and were very happy to see this young greenkeeper gain valuable course preparation experience in the UK.

Henrique, a greenkeeper at his home course of Belas GC, came to London in April and his experience of using Headland Amenity products helped him fit right in! “Lee and the team included me in all of the daily tasks” he explains “from raking bunkers through to cutting all areas. I have also been involved with feeding, working with Headland Multigreen slow release fertiliser.”

Greenkeeper's Anglo-Portugese Alliance

“The biggest difference I have found between greenkeeping here and at home is the aeration programme – how frequently it is conducted and how it makes such a big difference to the quality of the course. All in all I have learnt a great deal and have to thank the whole greenkeeping and landscaping team at The London Club, for such a great experience.”

For more information, visit: www.headlandamenity.com

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