Tag Archive for: Surface

How to Stop Surface Compaction Killing Your Turf

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How to Stop Surface Compaction Killing Your Turf: In drought conditions, compacted turf is your worst enemy. It seals the surface, blocking irrigation water from reaching roots, and accelerating turf stress. Then when it does rain, you get a surface full of puddles that eventually evaporate off with little benefit to the turf roots. 

Regular surface aeration is therefore crucial, and GreenTek has a wide range of specialised equipment to help with this.  Here we will look at the various options in detail.

How to Stop Surface Compaction Killing Your Turf

How to Stop Surface Compaction Killing Your Turf

Sarel Rolling

This is a long-proven technique, using spiked rollers to prick through the turf surface and enable entry of air, water, wetting agents, and nutrients into the root-zone.  GreenTek offers three Sarel-Roller options:

Triplex mounted

The Thatch-Away Supa-System units take a wide range of interchangeable turf maintenance attachments including Sarel-Roller Cassettes.  The three separate units give a working width of 1.5m, which combined with the greensmower’s speed and manoeuvrability makes this the most popular option for the majority of golf clubs.

Tractor mounted

Some golf clubs, and also other sports clubs, prefer to operate their Sarel-Roller on the back of a compact tractor or utility vehicle like the Pro Gator or Workman.  The popular 1.6m Tractor Mounted Sarel-Roller is ideal for greens and tees.

However, for larger areas such as golf fairways, and sports complexes with multiple pitches, the Multi-Sarel is ideal.  Its three hydraulically folding units give a massive 5.4m working width, enabling 18 fairways or multiple pitches to be sarel-rolled in just a matter of hours.

Alternatives for extreme conditions

If your golf greens have got so hard that not even sarel-rollers will penetrate, there are two further options from GreenTek’s Dynamics range to help solve your problem.

Dyna-Spiker

The Dyna-Spiker units fit to your greens triplex and have extra long slitting spikes which are powerfully driven into the turf.  The mower’s hydraulic or electric motors drive an eccentric camshaft, causing the spikes to vibrate and penetrate deep into the surface, breaking open compaction and allowing entry for vital water, wetting agents, and nutrients.

Dyna-Corer

The other member of the Dynamics range, the Dyna-Corer units, also fit to your greens triplex, and these have a punch action with interchangeable tines.  Most commonly used with hollow core tines for year-round micro-coring and thatch removal, in dry weather these can be swapped for solid needle tines to open the surface up without disturbance.

Survival

The key to surviving drought conditions is to take action quickly!  Don’t wait till your grass is dying before you act.  Opening up the surface is an immediate priority.  Then when heavy rain does inevitably come, your surfaces will drain freely without puddles, and the turf roots will get maximum benefit form the precious water.

Maintaining an open surface through the summer protects your turf health, and saves the need for extensive remedial and reseeding work later in the season.

GreenTek provides a full range of aeration equipment which can be viewed here.

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GreenThumb launches revolutionary hard surface treatments

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GreenThumb launches revolutionary hard surface treatments: GreenThumb, the UK’s largest lawn care service, today announces the nationwide rollout of its groundbreaking Hard Surface Treatments – the latest innovation designed to restore, revive and renew both commercial and residential outdoor spaces.

After successful customer trials, piloted with franchise partners across the UK, GreenThumb is expanding its service offering beyond lawns, reinforcing its position as a holistic out of home care provider. The Hard Surface Treatments bring a unique, sustainable solution to homeowners, businesses, and local authorities looking to rejuvenate outdoor surfaces without using harsh chemicals or invasive methods.

GreenThumb launches revolutionary hard surface treatments

GreenThumb launches revolutionary hard surface treatments

GreenThumb’s Hard Surface Treatments include a multi-purpose, plant and mineral based product that progressively cleans hard surfaces over time, without the need for jet washing, scrubbing, or harsh chemicals. Suitable for a wide range of surfaces including patios, paths, decking and driveways, it offers a safe and eco-conscious choice for both public and private use.

Customers have said “I didn’t believe this would work” and “The results speak for themselves”, noting the no-prep, no-post-clean-up experience as a game-changer. The product works gradually, capturing dirt in the crystals it forms, ensuring that surfaces are cleaned without damage or disruption, which makes it perfect for homeowners as well as commercial and municipal hard surfaces, like car parks or amenity spaces.

The new service marks a significant milestone in GreenThumb’s journey to diversify its offerings. By addressing not only lawn health but also the cleanliness and longevity of hardscapes, GreenThumb is reshaping what it means to care for outdoor spaces.

Paul Edwards, Managing Director of GreenThumb, said: “We’re thrilled to bring our Hard Surface Treatments to all our customers and to extend our services to commercial clients through our UK-wide network. Alongside our Hard Surface Weed Control, our treatments’ innovation reflects our commitment to sustainability, effectiveness, and making outdoor care simple for everyone. It’s the next natural step in expanding GreenThumb’s vision.”

GreenThumb has also launched an advertising campaign for its Hard Surface Treatments which will run until the end of August across ITV channels via ITVx, to further widen its reach and relevance. The messaging will also appear across YouTube and Meta channels, Facebook and Instagram.

For further information about GreenThumb’s Hard Surface Treatments, visit www.greenthumb.co.uk/pages/hard-surface-treatments

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Outstanding Service leads to an Outstanding Surface

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Outstanding Service leads to an Outstanding Surface: After intensive in-house operations to relieve severe compaction failed to deliver the desired results, the decision was made to undertake a full renovation on one of the pitches at Hove Prep School in Sussex.

Word of mouth led Grounds and Gardens Manager Adam Bedson to speak with AMS Contracting Ltd who he cites, from the outset, delivered outstanding customer service and confidence in their capability to fix the situation to the standards required – which they did, to the satisfaction of the school and pupils alike!

Outstanding Service leads to an Outstanding Surface

Outstanding Service leads to an Outstanding Surface

Hove Prep School is one of three sites belonging to Lancing College, with its own sports facilities supporting a packed programme of year-round play and coaching. “It became evident that years of overuse had contributed to severe compaction problems that became almost impossible to recover” explains Adam, who has been at the college since 2019. “Kit we hired failed to rectify the problem so we reached out to Ashley and Myles Strange at AMS who immediately put us at ease.”

“Having not conducted a project of this scale for a good number of years the Bursar naturally had a lot of questions, which the AMS team answered in-depth and in a timely manner. The level of care and knowledge shown definitely helped to secure the funding we needed to get the project underway in the summer of 2023.”

The full pitch renovation included surface removal, soil profile upgrade, laser-levelling, seeding and nutritional programme, conducted by a team of four operatives under the guidance of Ashley and Myles. “We felt in safe hands every step of the way. What really stood out for me was the hours the team were prepared to work – on site from sunrise and non-stop until the early evening. They understood our need to get the work, which also included renovating our cricket square, complete in the window available in order to get the surfaces back into play as quickly as possible.”

The results, Adam says, speak for themselves. “Within seven days we went from a sandy field to seeing the green hue of germination. Since then, we’ve nurtured the pitch to full strength and coverage and the pupils are now enjoying playing on it.” He continues, “This wet start to winter has also highlighted how incredibly well the pitch drains now. Within an hour of the rain stopping, the pitch is playable which was previously unheard of.”

“The sports staff are over the moon and everybody is really invested in protecting the asset we now have. The success of this project signals the start of a fantastic partnership between ourselves and AMS Contracting, and we’re already in touch with the team about what’s next!”

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Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass

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Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass: The perfect surface for athletic achievement, providing the best customer experience ever.

10 years experience working with some of the biggest names in sport, our mission at FLexGrass always been to provide the perfect surface for the customer’s needs.

Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass

Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass

FLexGrass owners begun in 2010 as a pioneering task in the area of hybrid grass solutions has to the present day remained a passion that constantly pushes us forward to new levels of performance.

FLexGrass and its owners Fabio and Lorenzo Travaini, in collaboration with SIS Pitches, is now one of the world’s leading hybrid grass supplier: we offer the full product range from a single source including, project, installation, maintenance and follow up service.

Sport surfaces projected and followed directly by Fabio and Lorenzo Travaini and SIS Pitches were used in top international competitions such as the last 4 Champions League finals, Uefa Europa League, African Cup, 2018 World Cup, 2019 Women’s World Cup and many others top sport events.

Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass

Sports surface solutions from Flexgrass

For more information visit https://www.flexgrass.ch/

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Billericay strive to improve surface

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Billericay striving to improve surface: Billericay Town vice-chairman Greg Lake insists the club is doing everything it can to make sure less home fixtures are called off in the weeks ahead.

Town have seen numerous contests at New Lodge called off this season due to an unplayable pitch.

But Lake stresses Billericay are doing everything they can to get the surface into a better state.

In a club statement, Lake said: “Billericay Town FC, like all clubs, follow the protocols laid down by the FA and keep everyone informed as much as we can.

“As recent fixtures show this can then lead to a mixture of outcomes.

“However, there is no doubt that our pitch is currently in a poor condition.

“Billericay Town would like to assure everyone that we really are doing everything possible to get these games played.

“We do use protective sheets to cover the worst areas, we have industrial blowers, the machinery and manpower if required.

“It is certainly not a question of not providing everything that we can.

“Indeed, we’ve had other ground specialists down to support our own groundsman!

“However, we do have to recognise the sheer volume of rain that we have had over the last couple of months.

“Couple that with a pitch that has historical issues and has been dug up, new drainage installed and then relaid every summer for the last few years and there is undoubtedly a major ongoing situation to resolve.”

Billericay’s latest postponed fixture came on New Year’s Day, when they were due to host Concord Rangers in a National League South clash.

And Lake wants an artificial pitch in place for next term.

“We have already indicated our intention is to pursue an artificial surface for both the current playing surface and a brand new facility behind the far stand,” added Lake.

“This will bring an end to this type of situation and we are hoping to make that a reality in time for next season – certainly for the main pitch.

“It will also allow us to make New Lodge a true base for the whole club, bring training in house and make it more flexible in terms of hours.”

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