Turf News is the perfect place for professionals working within the UK’s vibrant turf industry – keeping you up-to-date with topical news, latest market developments and much more across all areas of the industry.
NEWS ARTICLES

Council Turns To Charterhouse

/in , , /by

Council Turns To Charterhouse: A Verti-Quake® and Rink Topdresser have become the latest additions to the machinery fleet of Oldham Council.

The redevelopment of a number of sports pitches has seen the purchase of machinery necessary to meet the maintenance specifications. For District Supervisor David Barlow, the latest investment compliments his existing stable of Redexim Charterhouse equipment.

Council Turns To Charterhouse

“We’re very fortunate as a council to be investing not only in our facilities, but in the machinery needed to keep them at their best” explains David, who together with another Supervisor, head up a maintenance team of 40. “Over the last 10 years, 13 pitches mainly used for football, have been redeveloped and converted from soil to sand-based surfaces. This has changed the maintenance programme required to keep the pitches performing to a certain specification, and the machinery we had was struggling to do the job.”

With an Overseeder, Carrier and Verti-Drain® from Charterhouse already in their fleet, David knows it’s kit that can be relied on. “When funds became available, top of my list was equipment to assist with the tasks of slitting and topdressing the pitches, which we should be conducting at least once a year. I spoke with Richard Lucas of Charterhouse and Steve Massey at our local dealer Sharrocks and following impressive demonstrations, and ruling out other machines, we purchased a Rink DS3800 topdresser and Verti-Quake 3825 earlier this year.”

“The Rink gives us a fantastic, even spread across the pitches, making the job much quicker and easier than it was with our previous spreader. It is also fitted with an agitator which prevents material sticking, ensuring a good flow of sand. This machine is already coming into its own as we undertake our football pitch renovations, helping us to fulfil the requirement of applying 50 tonnes of rootzone to each pitch, each year. The Verti-Quake meanwhile will become a key tool to help improve aeration not only of our new sand-based pitches, but across a range of surfaces under our remit.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Imants ShockWave The Solution

/in , , /by

Imants ShockWave The Solution: Kyles Athletic Shinty Club has turned to the Imants ShockWave 100 from Campey Turf Care Systems to solve their drainage problems.

The club is based on the west coast of Scotland in Auchenlochan, with their facility at the edge of the Kyles of Bute – a narrow sea channel. They are often subjected to heavy rain, and when combined with a drainage issue on the field a number of games were called off with some having to be played at other clubs at a cost to the Kyles Athletic. Because of this, they decided to have drainage installed.

Imants ShockWave The Best Solution

Tom Whyte is the sole volunteer groundsman at the club. He explains that the field was in good condition before the drainage issues started to appear, and after unsuccessful attempts to resolve it, he thinks the ShockWave could be the solution.

“Two years ago, the committee decided to get a contractor in to install drains, but they weren’t a success, and it was put down to the stone being too close to the surface. Because of the compaction, they couldn’t go further down without causing a lot of hassle to the field. We spent a significant amount of money to have the work done, and it wasn’t a success, so we had to look at other ways of fixing the issue.

“The council tried to use a tine aerator, but after covering about a seventh of the pitch, they said it was too wet and never came back. I was recommended a ShockWave, and I spoke to Richard Heywood at Campey and he explained to me that when the ShockWave hits the rock, it rides it, it doesn’t try to break its way through, but it will go through the small stuff.

“For us, it was all down to money, I spoke to Richard Campey, and he did us a deal with the ShockWave, a New Holland Boomer 125 and a fertiliser spreader. That led to me approaching our district council and Clackmannanshire District Council. Both of them gave us money towards the machines, and that made it affordable for the club.”

The Imants ShockWave is the perfect solution for Kyles Athletic because it is designed to decompact heavy wear areas by relieving soil compaction using 12mm thick knives. This makes it the ideal aerator on fields that have stone near the surface because the blades won’t break and cause further damage to the machine.

While the main aim of purchasing the machines was to eliminate the drainage issue, Tom also wanted to be able to plan his maintenance. In the past, the club relied on borrowing equipment from others, but now they own their machines Tom feels able to raise the standards with plans already in place to hire the machinery out to provide income for the club.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers

/in , , /by

Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers: Pellenc UK has welcomed Terra Firma and Greenlay to its ever-growing dealership network; both of which will be distributing the full range of Pellenc professional battery powered equipment.

Terra Firma, part of Agrovista UK, is quickly developing into one of Scotland’s largest specialist suppliers to the amenity and local authority markets. After going from strength to strength over recent years and significantly expanding its machinery portfolio, the company prides itself on providing only the finest equipment and products and this means that they have to be very selective according to sales advisor Allan Wright.

Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers

“We have no ambitions to become a normal grass machinery company,” he said. “It is for this reason that we are expanding the range of specialist equipment we offer and Pellenc is a perfect addition.”

The extensive Pellenc product range features an impressive portfolio – from chainsaws, pole saws and hedge cutters to grass strimmers, brushcutters, blowers and mowers and Allan claims that his mind was instantly made up as soon as he saw the products being demonstrated.

“We organised a few demonstrations and it was obvious that these were the kind of products that would be incredibly hard to not take on-board especially with the green credentials and the low vibration and noise levels.

“These features are a massive benefit, not just to the local authorities, but to everyone who operates them – they are so quiet you can actually have a conversation while using the machine. Performance wise, there is no difference from the Pellenc range to a normal two-stroke strimmer or hedge cutter. They will do exactly the same job, but when you look at the costs then there are massive savings when it comes to the Pellenc equipment. Users will save an incredible amount on fuel and it will also mean not having to worry about filling up or carrying lots of fuel in a van.”

Greenlay, based in Cramlington, Northumberland has been serving both the professional and domestic turf markets since 1971. Boasting a 2000sq ft showroom displaying a huge range of equipment, the company strives to ensure that the customer gets the best machine for the job at all times and sales administrator Harry Pattinson is delighted to have added Pellenc to the collection.

“We never thought the opportunity would come about so we were delighted when we were approached by Pellenc,” he said.

“Pellenc is a leading brand in the battery powered range and it is the only battery that can last as long as it does in the professional range. Plus, with a three-year warranty on the equipment I just know that it will sit well with our customers.

“It has so many benefits and I particularly like the fact that the battery can be transferred from different machines – so you can use it in a strimmer as well as a blower or a hedge cutter. The power on the equipment is instantaneous and the performance is very similar to two stroke. Yes, the price might be slightly higher but because you are not using fuel you will find that it does pay for itself very quickly.

“Pellenc is aimed at the professional market which we want to continue to grow in, so it absolutely suits the quality product range that we already offer here at Greenlay.”

With immediate effect the Pellenc range from Terra Firma is available in the areas of central Scotland, the Scottish borders and the west coast; while Greenlay is distributing the Pellenc equipment to Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Co Durham and Teeside.

All Pellenc batteries and tools come with a three-year commercial warranty and are distributed in the UK and Ireland exclusively by Etesia UK.

To view the all-new dedicated Pellenc website please visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

J Premier Delivers At Bournemouth

/in , , /by

J Premier Delivers At Bournemouth: If it ain’t broken, then why fix it?! That’s certainly the motto of Ian Lucas, Head of Grounds at AFC Bournemouth, when it comes to the choice of grass seed across both the Vitality Stadium and two pitches at King’s Park training ground. When Ian joined the club 18 months ago, Johnsons J Premier Pitch mixture was the seed of choice across the two first-team facilities, and having delivered reliable coverage, colour and wear tolerance, it looks to be a decision that’s set to stay.

Supported by a grounds team of seven, Ian is now into his third season of using J Premier Pitch. “I had obviously heard of the mixture but had not used it previously so when I inherited the seeding programme of my predecessor, it was my first real experience of the Johnsons Sports Seed mixture. It hasn’t disappointed!” Ian oversows with J Premier Pitch at a rate of 45g/m2 during renovations in April and at a lower rate of 15g/m2 in October, depending on the weather conditions and how the pitch is wearing.

J Premier Delivers At Bournemouth

Through the season, they adopt a ‘pre-germinated seed’ strategy for ongoing recovery and repair of high wear areas. “It’s a well-known-tactic but not one that seems to be frequently employed in the industry” he explains. “We fill a bucket ¾ full of Premier Pitch, then top it up with water and place it in a heated container for three to four days until it pops, before applying it to areas such as goal mouths and corner spots. This method shaves up to two weeks off germination, giving us a real advantage especially during the colder months.”

“We’ve achieved good wear tolerance, disease resistance and the germination we need throughout the year. The colour is one of the main things for us, and the J Premier Pitch is unbeatable for this, backed up by the respective cultivar ratings in the STRI listings.” Ian will discuss requirements with his local DLF technical support advisor Ian Barnett, who keeps him up to date on new developments and provides guidance on seed selection. “He’ll always pop in at key times, such as renovations, and advise us on current supply to ensure we get delivery in time – vital to keeping us on track.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Rain Bird’s New Irrigation Controller

/in , /by

Rain Bird’s New Irrigation Controller: Rain Bird’s new Wi-Fi ready ESP-TM2 irrigation controller has been designed for both residential and commercial applications. It is simple to use, offers highly flexible watering schedules and water saving features. End users and contractors can select exactly the right controller to tailor irrigation to the varying needs of different areas, zones and plant types within a landscape.

The ESP-TM2 will be attractive to both users and contractors alike. Filling a gap between Rain Bird’s proven ESP-RZX 4/6/8 zone controller and the ESP-ME controller with up to 22 stations, the new ESP-TM2 models are available with four, six, eight and twelve stations. There are three individual programs for each controller and up to four independent start times for each program in order to offer users highly flexible irrigation scheduling.

Rain Bird's New Irrigation Controller

The controller’s large back-lit LCD display gives good visibility in low light or bright sun. Quick programming can be undertaken in just three steps for ease of set-up. The turn dial is easy to navigate and simple to set for automatic and manual irrigation, date/time, run times and seasonal adjustment which allows easy reduction or increase of watering.

Advanced programming features include Permanent Days Off to postpone watering schedules when maintenance is planned or alternatively this facility can be used to set odd/even or cyclical irrigation schedules. Watering can be delayed up to 14 days and automatically resumed after the set delay has elapsed. Furthermore, a Contractor Default™ setting allows the user to save and restore a custom irrigation schedule easily.

There is an option to add a Rain Bird WR2 or RSD-BEX rain sensor to shut off irrigation in the event of rainfall, but a by-pass is also available for any station, giving the user or contractor the ability to customise which stations react to the sensor. There is also a one-touch manual watering facility.

For off-site management and programming, real-time alerts and the use of other advanced water management tools, ESP-TM2 controllers can be enabled for Wi-Fi remote control by iOS and Android mobile devices. This is achieved by simply plugging in Rain Bird’s separate LNK WiFi module into the controller’s accessory port. The readily available Rain Bird App can then be used for all remote programming and irrigation scheduling – particularly useful for contractors who manage installations and can save significantly on site visits.

Internet-based weather information can also be used, allowing daily adjustments to be made to the irrigation schedule in accordance with forecasts, potentially offering 30% water savings.

The ESP-TM2 controller can be installed indoors or outside and operates at 230 VAC @ 50/60 Hz.  Operating temperature is up to 65°C.

For more information contact: Peter Longman, Rain Bird Europe, Northern Europe Landscape Area Manager, plongman@rainbird.eu Tel: +44 7575 626600  www.rainbird.eu

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.