New Germinal Package At SALTEX

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New Germinal Package At SALTEX: Germinal will be returning to the NEC in Birmingham on 31 October–1 November for SALTEX, and will be showcasing its new, all-in-one sports pitch renovation package.

Containing three key elements – Germinal’s A20 Premier Ryesport seed mixture, an appropriate selection of fertiliser products and free sward management advice from one of Germinal’s FACTS (Fertiliser Advisers Certification and Training Scheme) qualified technical experts – A20 Seed & Feed gives groundscare professionals everything they need to renovate sports pitches and to create a playable surface in time for the new season.

New Germinal Package At SALTEX

The seed element of the A20 Seed & Feed package provides a combination of four top-performing species of perennial ryegrasses: 10% Eugenius, 45% Calico, 20% Eurosport and 25% Eurocordus.  Together, these cultivars create a dense sward with excellent fineness of leaf, a good cleanness of cut, robust levels of disease resistance and fantastic post-winter recovery. The standard seed mixture can also be customised, allowing groundsmen to create a bespoke mixture to meet their specific needs.

For the fertiliser component of the A20 Seed & Feed package, a soil or sand based nutrient programme can be selected.  A third option, for park pitches and local community pitches, is also available.  All three nutrient programmes are F.A.C.T.S. approved and have been designed to enable the new sward to achieve the best possible results in terms of seedling establishment and sward development.  Each package contains a selection of phased release fertilisers and advanced soil conditioners which provide the necessary nutrients and trace elements required during the renovated pitch’s growing-in phase.

“The pitch renovation season is one of the busiest and most stressful periods in any groundsman’s calendar,” explains Richard Brown, Germinal Amenity Sales Manager.  “Waiting for the renovated pitch to be ready in time for the new playing season can cause even the most experienced and laid-back groundsman sleepless nights.  With that in mind, we have created an all-in-one seed, fertiliser and nutrient advice package to help ease the pressure.

“All too often we speak to groundsmen who simply don’t have the time or resources, or in some cases the correct technical knowledge, to develop their own over-seeding and fertiliser programme.  By following the simple advice laid out in our new A20 Seed & Feed package, these groundsmen can be confident that they are using the correct rate of the most suitable grass seeds and fertilisers at the optimum time, and that every penny invested will give their pitch the very best chance of going into the new season in prime condition.”

For more information visit www.germinalamenity.com

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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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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.

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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Woodland Work At Fife Golf Trust

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Woodland Work At Fife Golf Trust: Thanks to Fife Golf Trust’s purchase of a GreenMech QuadTrak chipper and trailer, almost 20 years of little woodland management across a number of course in Scotland has come to an end. Fife Council owns seven golf courses and the Trust has maintenance responsibilities for all of them. Golf Courses Manager Paul Murphy and his team of 21 greenkeepers has now put the disposal of the woody waste firmly back on the agenda with their recent purchase.

“Each course is equipped with a basic fleet of machinery for routine maintenance, however we also have a bank of equipment that’s shared between the sites” explains Paul, who has been with the trust for five and a half years. Prior to Paul joining, woodland management had been on the back burner, something that changed two years ago. “We’re now a couple of years into a long overdue tree thinning programme, for which we use an external contractor. However, following the work they mainly conduct with tree harvesters, we found there was a lot of material that required clearing.”

Woodland Work At Fife Golf Trust

When hiring a chipper was ruled out for being too costly, Paul lead the search for a chipper that would fulfil the requirements of the various courses. “We looked at a few alternatives, but I was keen on the GreenMech product from previous experience. We had a demonstration of the QuadTrak from local dealer Henderson Grass Machinery and were impressed with how it performed. That, together with the back up support from them as a dealer and the no quibble warranty from GreenMech, sealed the deal.” Paul took delivery of the QuadTrak, together with a bespoke road-towable trailer in February 2018.

“Having the tracked chipper complete with a trailer gives us the best of both worlds. The self-levelling tracks are fantastic for work on uneven ground while the trailer makes it easy to transport the chipper around the course or between sites.” While it’ll earn its keep mainly between November and February, should anything come down during the season, the team are now equipped to deal with it. “The machine is simple to operate, build quality is fantastic and all of these elements combined will help us ensure our courses are tidy for the start of the season, for many years to come.”

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

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