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Autumn care for your lawn

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Autumn care for your lawn: Weather conditions are becoming less and less predictable. With a very varied summer behind us, invest some time and care in your lawn this autumn to make sure it is resilient and healthy ahead of winter. September is the ideal time to renovate your lawn, repairing any damage done over the summer and preparing the lawn for the colder months.

Lawnmower manufacturer and expert in lawn care, Allett, has some top tips for autumn.

Autumn care for your lawn

Autumn care for your lawn

Start with scarification. Raking the turf with a scarifier helps to collect and remove all dead matter before it becomes thatch. Thatch retains water, encouraging moss growth, which in turn prevents grass from developing deep roots. This means that the grass will be less tolerant in periods of dry weather next year, as the roots aren’t deep enough in the soil to find moisture. Thatch can also harbour turf diseases like Fusarium, so it’s a good idea to strip it out.

Scarifying can be tough on your lawn, so aerating it afterwards will help to replenish water, air and nutrients. Relieving compaction in the surface of the lawn allows air and water to penetrate and allowing water to percolate down through the soil, discouraging moss and encouraging grass root development.

Aeration can be done by hand with a garden fork, by poking holes one to two inches deep into the surface. However, for larger lawns, the Allett lawncare system can be fitted with the aerator cartridge to further utilise your lawnmower and get the job done much faster.

After aeration, reseeding sparse areas will thicken up the lawn and help minimise weeds and moss. After reseeding, top dress the lawn with a soil and sand mixture to cover the seed and to level the surface out. Be careful not to bury the grass – make sure it is showing through the top dressing otherwise the grass underneath it will die.

Next, top up the nutrients. Feed the lawn with an autumn/winter-specific fertiliser, as it will be lower in Nitrogen but higher in Phosphate and Potash than a summer fertiliser. Phosphate and Potash promote root development, helping the turf to go into winter with a head start.

When mowing after this autumn lawn care routine, raise the height of the cut 30-40mm. Cutting the grass any shorter can encourage moss spores to germinate. A slightly longer lawn will also be more resilient if there is an unexpected, prolonged dry spell or ‘Indian summer’ ahead.

The Complete Lawncare System features six interchangeable cartridges that fit on to Allett’s Kensington petrol mowers and Liberty 43 battery powered mowers. The system transforms the machine from a traditional mower to a specialist gardening tool simply by changing its cartridges. The system includes an aerator, a lawn brush, dethatcher, verticutter and a 10-bladed cartridge, as well as the walk-behind cylinder lawnmower, all in one machine which eases storage issues and reduces costs.

For further information visit www.allett.co.uk.

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Gwernaffield student grabs award

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Gwernaffield student grabs award: Mold Golf Club’s newest greenkeeper has scooped a top award in a virtual ceremony celebrating success.

Jake Edwards, from Gwernaffield near Mold, works as a full time greenkeeper at Mold Golf Club and has been presented with the Horticulture Learner of the Year Award 2020 by Coleg Cambria where he has been studying for the past two years.

The 18-year-old started out as an apprentice at Mold Golf Club in August 2018 and has developed his skills under the watchful eye of his dad, Colin Jones, who has been Head Greenkeeper at the Club since 1998.

Learning while he worked and spending a good deal of time studying at home, Jake has completed his Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship in Work Based Horticulture, specialising in Sports Turf Greenkeeping.

Maria Thwaite, Coleg Cambria’s Horticulture Assessor, said: “Jake has proved himself to be an excellent greenkeeper. He always works safely and completes all the work that is requested of him in a timely manner.

“His knowledge of machinery is exemplary and he is always keen to complete work on the golf course to a high standard.”

Debbie Barton, Mold Golf Club Manager, said: “We are all very proud of Jake. He has worked so hard and is a great asset to our greenkeeping team. His dad Colin has a fantastic reputation as a brilliant greenkeeper and is a great teacher and mentor.

“Jake is already following in his footsteps and we wish him every success in his career. We have a wonderful course to be proud of which is thanks to Colin’s vision and the skill and dedication of our terrific greenkeepers.”

This year, winning students were unable to gather together for the College’s usual annual glitzy awards ceremony, however Jake, along with all the other winners across different subject areas, received a certificate and a £50 voucher, as well as the good wishes of Coleg Cambria Principal Sue Price.

Sue said: “We received truly amazing nominations this year across all sections of the College and our winners were chosen by a panel of judges for their hard work, commitment and achievements.

“I would like to personally congratulate our award winners. Our learners have met the challenges of adapting to the current situation and we are extremely proud of them. We wish them the very best for the future.”

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Top tips from the GMA

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Top tips from the GMA: The Grounds Management Association (GMA), the leading not-for-profit membership body for grounds professionals and volunteers, today shares a list of top tips for community grounds staff on getting local pitches prepped and ready for grassroots sport to fully resume.

Due to Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown, sport at both professional and community levels came grinding to an abrupt halt. Lockdown, and the ensuing challenges created by it, have left many community pitches in dire need of special attention in order to be ready for the busy sporting calendar to resume.

Top tips from the GMA

Top tips from the GMA

Geoff Webb, CEO of the GMA, is hopeful these tips will provide community grounds staff and volunteers with the knowledge and confidence to help get their local pitches ready for sport to resume.

“It’s been a difficult time for everyone these last few months, particularly in the grounds sector”, he said. “Practically overnight, lockdown restrictions put an indefinite suspension to all sport, creating a number of challenges for grounds staff at all levels. As a result, many local community pitches have not been receiving the usual levels of care and attention when compared to pre-lockdown. This means they might not be in the right condition for the return of sport, particularly on such short notice. That’s why the GMA wants to share its knowledge and expertise to support our members and the wider grounds community with the challenge of getting the nation’s pitches back to play.”

The GMA’s top tips cover 4 key areas of grounds management which will be in need of specific focus after months of lockdown:

Mowing

In order to maintain the health of the grass plant, it is important to only ever remove 1/3 of the existing leaf blade. Where possible, you should try to maintain a frequent mowing regime, aiming to mow once or twice per week in order to maintain a thicker sward. Keeping the grass a little longer will help with root growth, particularly when the plant is under stress (heat, drought, cultural practices) because the longer the grass, the deeper the roots.

Thatch

A little bit of thatch is not a bad thing depending on the use of the facility. It’s important for grounds staff at community level not to make it their life’s work to combat thatch, especially if it is not causing a problem. Regular thatch control is a task that can be incorporated into your maintenance plan. It’s important that thatch is kept under control because too much of it will prevent water and nutrients moving through the soil profile, limiting root growth.

It’s also important to consider the action of thatch control and ensure that it is not overly aggressive – this will cause stress to the plant. Lastly, make sure that the climate permits a good recovery time; you can do so by carrying out the work at the right times of year, with spring and autumn being the ideal.

Aeration

Aeration will help support healthy turf if you choose the right time and conditions to aerate; if it is too dry, the tines won’t properly enter the soil. If it is too wet, you will end up causing more damage.

Try to understand why you are aerating; this means understanding that soil is a combination of mineral and organic matter as well as all-important air and water. For those working with only a garden fork, applying too much ‘heave’ will damage the structure of the soil. The key here is to remember that you are not digging up the soil, rather simply relieving compaction.

Managing resources

Properly managing resources will ensure that you are organised in your work and will help you achieve the best results. Start by keeping a simple diary of work carried out – this will prove invaluable in the future when looking back at when work was carried out, how much time was spent on it and most importantly, whether it had an impact, over and above this an annual maintenance plan is vital – if you don’t plan what you want to achieve, how will you know you got there?.

Another key task of resource management is to carry out checks on your machinery before and after use. This is simply about maintaining your equipment because without it, you can’t work and without your work, the game can’t be played. A rough annual maintenance on machinery can help with the planning of budgets.

The annual maintenance plan

When it comes to the ordering of resources during renovation periods, think about what it is you want to achieve during the following season and plan from there. It is all very well saying you want to achieve a suitable playing surface, but what will you write in to your plan to achieve that?

The GMA’s recent Back to Play report shone a light on the state of the nation’s pitches and the impact they could have on the future of sport in this country. The report found that within the next decade, almost three quarters of a million adults and young people will be affected weekly or seasonally by the deterioration in standards of existing pitches. This will result in a fifth of people who play rugby and football being unable to play every week with more than half of people who play cricket seeing matches reduced. The impact of lockdown on the ability of local communities to continue with grounds maintenance is likely to have exacerbated this problem.

Geoff Webb continued:

“If the nation’s pitches were suffering before this pandemic, then they are bound to be desperately in need of support now after months of reduced care and attention. We’re hoping that tips like these, along with our online resources, can support local grounds staff in getting our pitches ready.”

For more information about where you can find the resources to improved your knowledge of grounds maintenance, visit: https://thegma.org.uk/learning

To read the GMA’s Back to Play report, visit: https://bit.ly/3csNZxd

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SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track

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SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track: Two SISIS machines have helped Ian Fraser, Head Greenkeeper at Pitmedden Bowls Club in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, turn around the fortunes of the green and transform it into one of the best in Scotland.

Ian and his family have a long affinity with Pitmedden Bowls Club. In the 1930’s his grandfather became the Head Greenkeeper for three decades before passing the baton to Ian’s father who then maintained the green for many years after.

SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track

SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track

Although it was inevitable that Ian himself would eventually follow in their footsteps, this didn’t happen for a number of years. When he did accept the position of head greenkeeper, he quickly found that he had his work cut out, as he explains.

“Upon my return to the club it is safe to say that the green needed a lot of attention,” he said.

“I was determined to get the green back in good shape and I started doing my research and learning the biology of turf and soil. What became apparent was that we desperately needed some new equipment.”

While on the hunt for some new turf maintenance equipment, Ian attended a Dennis and SISIS bowling green maintenance seminar in Aberdeen. It was here that he became acquainted with a range of SISIS machinery, and as a result, he purchased two pieces of equipment with the help of a grant from his local Windmill Community Trust.

Finding a machine that would help with aeration was his main priority as he explains.

“We identified that aeration was going to be one the most important tasks in getting the green back to being functional again,” said Ian. “At that time, we were hiring a lot of machinery and because we were using them so much, we decided that we needed our own.

We found what we were looking for in the SISIS Dart.”

The SISIS Dart is an independently powered vertical action aerator and has a working depth of up to 100mm (4 inches) which can be easily adjusted from the operator’s position using the balanced depth control lever. Powered by a 6.5hp engine, the unit can also be fitted with a wide range of interchangeable tines to meet the operator’s requirements making it ideal as a bowling green aerator.

SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track

SISIS puts Pitmedden back on track

“I use the Dart once a month and it gives us great results every time,” continued Ian. “We have a nice variety of the interchangeable tines which help for a number of different tasks. It was the first step to improving the health of the green and it has worked wonders.”

Ian’s second purchase with the grant was the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK 5 – a self-propelled heavy-duty pedestrian scarifier. It is designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf and features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for a clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. A variety of maintenance tasks can also be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

Ian purchased the verticutting reel, the scarifying reel, and the brush to accompany the machine and believes that it covers all bases.

“The Auto Rotorake MK 5 has been a heaven-send and I would say it has been our best ever purchase. It just does everything you need to keep a green in the best possible playing condition.

“I will scarify with it at the start and at the end of the season; I’ll verticut once a month and then run the Rolaspike Reel over the green maybe 2 or 3 times a month. The brush also prepares the turf nicely after verticutting or scarifying. I would recommend it to any greenkeeper.

“These two pieces of SISIS equipment play an integral role in the maintenance programme here and have been instrumental in improving the green.”

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter and Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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EPG joins STRI Group

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EPG joins STRI Group: STRI Group has completed the acquisition of leading geo-environmental engineering and design consultancy EPG.

The Warrington-based business will form part of STRI Group’s ambitious growth strategy into sustainable design for both sport and public realm facilities and will continue to operate under the EPG brand.

EPG joins STRI Group

EPG joins STRI Group

Founded in 1998, EPG delivers a range of specialist services including land remediation design, geotechnical engineering, sustainable drainage design and flood risk management to its existing client base of government agencies, major developers, sports facilities and private clients.

EPG has been working closely with STRI Group for a number of years supporting the delivery of large-scale water management and contaminated land projects. Together they have successfully delivered significant environmental value and cost benefits for some of the most high-profile venues in the UK.

EPG managing director, Paul Culleton, said: “Joining STRI Group provides the perfect platform for EPG to expand its innovative design services to its current and broader client base. Our combined commitment to research, testing and training will underpin our market leading status, epitomised by detailed development of smart technologies for the environmental and green infrastructure sectors.”

STRI director, Lee Penrose, said: “We are delighted to welcome EPG to the STRI Group. The combined expertise of our teams presents a unique offering to clients and sectors new and old. STRI continue to drive environmental excellence and are 100% convinced that this is the perfect fit.”

Interested in speaking to STRI and EPG about our environmental services? Contact: enquiries@strigroup.com or call +44 (0) 1274 565131 for information.

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