Scarify Your Lawn To Good Health

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Scarify Your Lawn To Good Health: The simplest way to ensure that your garden lawn is sufficiently healthy to withstand the rigours of winter and be in good condition for the 2019 growing season, is to scarify the surface this autumn.

Mechanical scarifying using either a mains electric or petrol machine will remove the ‘thatch’ from the roots of the grass plants.  Thatch is dead material or rubbish and moss which builds up forming a spongy surface that prevents air, light, nutrients and, most importantly, moisture from reaching the roots to generate healthy new growth. It is amazing just how much thatch can be lifted from even a small lawn!

Scarify Your Lawn To Good Health

Cobra is the UK’s largest range of powered garden machinery and has four specialist scarifiers; two mains electric and two petrol powered machines.  All four have all been expertly designed in the UK to cater specifically for the changing conditions of the British lawn.

“With our rapidly changing weather, the need to scarify regularly is more important than ever,” says Peter Chaloner, managing director of Cobra.  “As we seem to swing from virtual drought to almost flood conditions throughout the year, the need for lawns to absorb rain and slowly release it to the sub-ground water courses helps reduce the risk of flash flooding.  Lawns that are not regularly scarified tend to hold water, forming more moss and further slowing down this vital role of absorbing rain and slowly releasing it back to nature.”

The two electric options are the SA32E and the S36E. The SA32E has a 1300W motor with a 13” working width, and can work depths from -9mm to +4mm. The S36E is slightly wider at 14” and has a 1800W motor, it offers 2mm more depth too. Both electric models have a 40-litre grass bag capacity.

There are also two petrol models, both with a 15” working width, 16 steel blades and 45 litre grass bag capacity. These models have the choice of a 127cc Briggs & Stratton 550 series engine (the S390B), or a 135 cc Honda GP160 engine (the S390H).

The recommended retail prices for the Cobra scarifiers are £119.99 (SA32E), £159.99 (S36E), £529.99 (S390B) and £579.99 (S390H).

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Palace Gardens Choose Ransomes

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Palace Gardens Choose Ransomes: Blenheim Palace, based in Oxfordshire, and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, has taken delivery of a Ransomes MP495 cylinder mower to maintain its prestigious gardens. Delivered by local dealer The Turney Group, this addition is a continuation of the long-standing relationship between Ransomes, The Turney Group and Blenheim Palace.

Blenheim Palace is the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, and the only non-royal English country house to hold the title of ‘palace’. The Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and welcomes around 800,000 visitors every year.

Palace Gardens Choose Ransomes

Hilary Wood, Head of Gardens at Blenheim Palace, manages a team of 10 full-time and six part-time staff who are tasked with manicuring 120-acres of gardens, and some of the 2000-acres of parkland across the 12,000-acre estate.

“We have a lot of land to maintain at Blenheim Palace, and it’s important that we have the correct machinery for the job,” Hilary said. “We have been using Ransomes ever since I first arrived in 1981; so more than 37 years. We have had Ransomes Commander mowers in the past, which have been brilliant, and we have now opted for the new Ransomes MP495, which we have been using since April, and it has exceeded all expectations.

“We have a very happy relationship with our dealer; it’s a family-run business and we receive a very friendly, personalised service. We can always rely on them to be with us whenever we need them, which is something we haven’t had from other suppliers in the past. The Turney Group always let us demo a machine over a period so that we can try it in various conditions and make an informed decision. This gives us confidence in the purchase we make.”

Trevor Wood is an operator at Blenheim Palace. Commenting on the new machine, he said:

“It’s a great mower; it has a quiet cab, it’s easy and comfortable to drive, all of the controls are in the right place, and the air conditioning has been very handy with the hot temperatures!

“We use the MP495 to maintain garden areas; we know Ransomes is a reliable brand and has the ability to produce a pristine finish. People come from all around the world to visit Blenheim Palace, and they expect to be blown away; it is our job to produce the best possible presentation, and we know that the Ransomes mower and the back-up and support from The Turney Group will allow us to achieve this.”

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com

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Major Upgrades For Swift Roller Mowers

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Major Upgrades For Swift Roller Mowers: Already renowned for their low maintenance and durable machinery, Major Equipment has announced a series of upgrades to their tractor mounted Swift Roller Mowers. These mowers are available in working widths from 1.9m to 5.4m.

Built light to allow them to be used on smaller compact tractors, there is no compromise on strength with the use of Strenx™ 700 MC high-yield steel, which is stronger than steel traditionally used in machinery.

Major Upgrades For Swift Roller Mowers

Now the mower bodies are galvanised using zinc hot-dip galvanisation for added protection from harsh exterior conditions. Hot-dip coating of the metal doubles the life span compared with painting and, Major say, it will protect steel from corrosion in most atmospheric conditions for 25 to 30 years.

It’s no wonder then that Major has also introduced a three-year professional warranty for all models in their Swift Roller Mower range but they haven’t stopped there. The roller mowers’ custom designed gearbox has been upgraded for improved and consistent mowing, even in the toughest conditions. High speed blade tips on the Major roller mowers offer higher output with an enviably professional cylinder mower finish every time you cut.

Major Upgrades For Swift Roller Mowers

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Verti-Top Helps Improve Efficiency

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Verti-Top Helps Improve Efficiency: The latest addition to their vast fleet of machinery at South Wales Sports Grounds (SWSG) is a Redexim Verti-Top 1200 from Charterhouse Turf Machinery.  SWSG undertake a wide variety of grounds maintenance contracts for a range of clients from local authorities, major contracting groups, universities and colleges through to individual sports clubs and private clients – with no two days bringing the same tasks and demands.

Established in 1964, SWSG has continued to cultivate a reputation as one of the leading sports surface contractors in the region. “The demand for synthetic maintenance, especially with local authorities, schools and sports clubs, has increased to the point where our machinery is in use on a daily basis” explains Construction Director Francis McDermott. “We started to have quite a few issues with our previous machine so decided to have a look at what else is available. We already have several pieces of Redexim equipment for the maintenance of natural surfaces, and recognise it as being good quality, so took a look at their Verti-Top 1200.”

Verti-Top Helps Improve Efficiency

The Verti-Top conducts surface and deep-cleaning, utilising a rotary brush to lift the pile and extract up to the top 15mm of infill and foreign material. The infill is then sieved to remove dust and detritus before being returned and brushed into the surface leaving a clean, level and aesthetically pleasing finish. “We looked at a few alternatives but felt the Verti-Top was a better machine all-round”, which saw Francis and his team taking delivery of one in March this year.

“Richard Lucas of Charterhouse, together with local dealer Frank Suttons, came over to install the machine. We have one specialist who operates the Verti-Top, and although he’s well versed with this type of machine, it was really helpful for Richard to come and outline the key differences. In the relatively short amount of time we’ve had the Verti-Top we’re noticing a better quality of finish, and at 1.2m, its wider working width than our previous machine means our efficiency has also improved.”

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Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

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Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School: Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School, has claimed that he is amazed at the amount of material the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 removes from the School’s cricket wickets.

Set over 120 acres with approximately 800 pupils, Shrewsbury School is one of the most prestigious independent schools in the land. Boasting academic excellence, the School also has some of the finest sporting facilities in the UK. In fact over three quarters of the School’s land is occupied by sports pitches. There is wide variety of sports on offer at Shrewsbury School and in summer all eyes turn to cricket.

Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

Cricket-writer Sir Neville Cardus once described the School’s cricket facilities as “the most beautiful playing fields in the world, spreading and imperceptibly mingling with the pasture land of Shropshire”. However, these facilities don’t come easily.

Andy and his team work tirelessly throughout the year to provide sports pitches of the highest quality, and when it comes to his cricket wickets he puts his faith in the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5

“We use the Auto Rotorake specifically for cricket because it does such a good job,” says Andy. “Previously, we had an older Rotorake in our armoury and because we were so impressed with it there was absolutely no reason to try something else. I had a demonstration of the new Auto Rotorake last year, decided to purchase one and it is a definite upgrade. The amount of material you can take out of a wicket with the brush reel and the verticutting reel sometimes needs to be seen to be believed.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf.

Key features include:

  • Contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal
  • A selection of 7 different interchangeable reels enables the machine to carry out a variety of maintenance tasks
  • Depth of cut adjustment control is mounted on the handle to enable depth to be set whilst moving forwards
  • User-friendly, operator presence controls designed for maximum operator safety
  • Easy-fit collector box
  • 6.5hp petrol engine with independent drive to wheels and reel
  • Careful weight distribution, slick tyres and full differential ensure ease of turning and minimal surface marking

“We use it all the way through the cricket season,” continues Andy. “In Summer we do 30 match wickets a week and it will be part of the preparation for every one of those match wickets. From the middle of April through to the last cricket match in August we play host to approximately 250 matches and the Auto Rotorake is used on every one of those.

“For me, SISIS signals simplicity and reliability. It may be a cliché but it does what it says on the tin and that’s what I expect. The machines are built to last and I’ve never had any problems with SISIS equipment.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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