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Gator helps keep the coast clean

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Gator helps keep the coast clean: A John Deere Gator utility vehicle supplied by dealer Seamus Weldon Groundcare Equipment to Ireland’s largest Clean Coasts group is adding extra muscle and pulling power to beach cleaning efforts along a 25-mile stretch of the east Cork coastline.

The multi award-winning Clean Coasts Ballynamona Group bought the XUV 855M Gator to help step up its ongoing fight against the scourge of marine litter. Group founder Proinsias Ó Tuama says the vehicle is an essential piece of equipment in tackling the tonnes of litter that wash up on their coastline every year.

Gator helps keep the coast clean

Gator helps keep the coast clean

The Gator has a towing capacity of 680kg and can carry over 450kg of cargo. It is mainly used for helping to pull heavy marine litter such as old, abandoned fishing nets and ropes that wash up on the shore, as well as carrying anything from bags of plastic rubbish to rubber tyres.

Founded in 2015, Clean Coasts Ballynamona is now part of the Sea and Land Trust. It has over 300 regular volunteers that clean and maintain an area representing 1.5 per cent of the total Irish coastline, including two Blue Flag and three Green Coast beaches.

Alongside this effort, the group manages 34 acres of meadowland spread across the county, which is grown to encourage pollinators and wildlife. This is maintained by a John Deere X950R rear discharge/rear collect diesel lawn tractor, also supplied by Weldons. In addition, the group consults with businesses and landowners on biodiversity plans covering a further 600 acres of private and public spaces, so these can be managed more sympathetically to benefit the environment – all free of charge.

“In our first year as a group we lifted 12 tonnes of marine litter on less than a mile of beach at Ballynamona – multiply that up by the entire Irish coastline and you can see the scale of the problem,” says Proinsias Ó Tuama, who is a teacher with the Cork Education and Training Board. “We were using a quad bike and trailer before, which were adequate for the job, but the group is very health and safety conscious so we set about looking for a more effective replacement.

“Having had a good experience with the lawn tractor, it made sense to go back to Michael Weldon at the John Deere dealership, so we sold the quad bike and also got Fisheries Local Action Group funding to help pay for the new Gator and a wider trailer. I’m proud to say we have a 100 per cent safety record to date in the volunteer beach cleaning operation, so the Gator’s proved to be an ideal solution.

“When you’re picking up plastic bottles for example, very often they’re full of sea water, sand and other debris, and this can make the collection bags very heavy to carry safely along a long stretch of beach. This is not ideal, particularly for very young children, so it makes sense to use a four-wheel drive vehicle with a load bed and a decent capacity to carry the full bags back to the beach car park for safe disposal.

“Over the years the group’s been active, we have brought more than 1000 people beach cleaning voluntarily. We’ve always tried to be as inclusive as possible of everyone that wishes to help, and we find kids of all ages get hooked from the start. Educating young people about the environment is a key element of our work and effort, so we liaise with local schools and colleges and are very much engaged with the community.

“Pristine coasts are essential. They are not just very important ecosystems, they are also crucial for the local economy. The addition of this new John Deere Gator has really expanded our beach cleaning capabilities, as well as making the job more efficient and safer for our volunteers.”

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Gold standard for the white cliffs

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Gold standard for the white cliffs: With a patch that covers 123 square miles, it’s no surprise that Dover District Council opted for Reesink Turfcare’s ReeAssure maintenance scheme for ultimate peace of mind.

Dave Terry, supervisor at Dover District Council, simply couldn’t afford to have his Toro fleet out of action – especially since each mower was required to be in operation for 25-30 hours each week.

Gold standard for the white cliffs

Gold standard for the white cliffs

Having Gold cover meant that Dave could expect routine maintenance and servicing along with unlimited call outs for vehicle breakdowns or repairs.

Dave explains: “When you’re working with machinery it’s inevitable that from time to time you’ll experience glitches or need to make repairs – it happens. Yet whenever I need assistance, I know I’ll have a Reesink representative on the doorstep the next day.

“We probably rely on them a couple of times each month and the security of having dependable, high-quality support more than pays for itself.

“If you don’t opt for cover then you could be subjected to hundreds of pounds of maintenance on a totally ad-hoc basis and we can’t take that risk or threaten having machines out of action for long periods of time.”

This is why the Reesink maintenance plan is so integral to large grounds teams or estate management organisations, as Peter Clarke, service manager at Reesink’s Sheffield Park branch, explains: “A monthly fixed-cost means there’s no hidden extras and with three packages to choose from – gold, silver and bronze – there is something to suit all budgets.”

Dave and his team at Dover District Council opted for the Gold maintenance plan and they continue to value the relationship they have with Reesink more than four years on.

Dave continues: “Reesink is a proper dealer. They don’t cut corners and they’re reliable and professional. When you have lots of public space to take care of, be it green spaces around housing estates or parks in the district, it’s important for us to partner with an operator we can trust.”

Thanks to Dave’s relationship with both Peter Clarke and Peter Biddlecombe, aftersales manager at Reesink’s Sheffield Park, he has peace of mind that his teams are able to do their job as efficiently as possible.

Reesink take care of everything from winter servicing, replacement parts or general upkeep. Knowing that components such as labour and parts to consumables and disposal fees are all covered within the cost of the Gold package provides straightforward cost managing and budget control.

With Reesink’s ReeAssure plans there’s the option for warranty programmes and the guarantee that buying Toro comes with buying into a support network like no other. The parts backup is second-to-none and as a Toro customer you are never more than a maximum 72-hours away from the part you need, for minimum downtime and maximum productivity.

Call 01480 226800 or go online at reesinkturfcare.co.uk to find out more.

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The Naturelle effect

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The Naturelle effect: Agrovista Amenity has announced the launch of Evolution Naturelle – a unique range of fertilisers which replaces the popular Marathon portfolio of products.

For a number of years, turf managers reaped the benefits of the Marathon range of fertilisers – and they can certainly expect no less when it comes to the improved Evolution Naturelle range.

The Naturelle effect

The Naturelle effect

Evolution Naturelle is a premium range of organo-mineral fertilisers designed with a unique mode of action. Poultry based Evolution Naturelle contains essential nutritional elements such as phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium oxide (MgO), sulphur (S) and iron (Fe) which are compounded to the advanced granulation making them available for plant uptake.

Key features

  • Low carbon to nitrogen ratio
  • Provides healthy balanced growth due to phased release of nutrients
  • Complexed potassium for slow release
  • Promotes stimulation of bacterial soil life helping reduce thatch build
  • Hardens turf due to cell division and cell extension as a result of ammonium take up
  • No scorch risk due to low salt index when applied at the correct rates
  • Increased tillering for a denser sward
  • Ammonium produces large volumes of root hairs which ensure active up take of micronutrients

No matter what the time of year, or the requirement, the Evolution Naturelle range offers a solution, and below is just a snapshot of what customers can expect.

The Evolution Naturelle Micro range consists of Spring – to optimise consistent grass plant response at the start of the growing season; NK – which produces a consistent plant response during the growing season; Summer – for phased release and a steady growth response throughout the core of the growing season; Renovate – to support sports turf surfaces post renovation with the aim of promoting rapid recovery back to expected playing conditions; and Autumn – for steady resilient growth at the end of the growing season.

The Evolution Naturelle Sport range: Spring – which contains three nitrogen sources blended to optimise consistent grass plant response; Summer – a zero-phosphate analysis for phased release; Autumn – for consistent growth and healthy natural colour; and Allsport – designed for application throughout the growing season with a balanced formulation of plant essential elements.

The Naturelle effect

The Naturelle effect

The Evolution Naturelle Base range: 4-3-2 – designed to be used across a range of horticultural applications including turf surfaces, landscape constructions, amenity and ornamental plant borders; 7-6-14 which contains slow release, organic components to provide consistent nutrition for reliable growth; and Preseed 8-12-8 – a balanced analysis of primary and secondary macronutrients designed to support strong and consistent rooting.

The result of following an Evolution Naturelle fertiliser programme is a sward with firm, shorter leaf blades brought about by the increase in tillering and improvement in leaf cell structure.

The new Evolution Naturelle range of fertilisers are available with immediate effect. Contact your local technical advisor for more information on setting up your programme.

For more information about Agrovista Amenity, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Meet the Grower

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Meet the Grower: Turfgrass Growers Association – Meet the Grower

Stephen Edwards, Inturf

How long have been growing turf for? (including any history facts/ old pictures)

We have been turf growing for 36 years, and it all started with 50 acres, we now produce well in excess of 2000 acres or more than 800 hectares in new money. My father Derek Edwards worked with another turf growing company in the late seventies and early eighties, and helped shape the face of the cultivated turf industry into what it is today, but wanted to carve his own path in the sportsturf World. This was extremely successful, customers included; the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTCC) in Wimbledon, Wembley National Stadium, and many Famous Golf Courses. Since then, we have mechanised and now supply nearly all of the national DIY chains, various Building Merchants, and many Open Championship Golf Courses. We also grew turf in Northern France in the 1990’s from where we re-turfed the Parc des Princes, Paris using our patented ‘turf tile’ and ‘thick-cut big roll’ systems; pioneering systems which were adopted by a handful of other turf growers across the UK and Europe and helped numerous football clubs re-turf during the playing season. We also introduced the ‘standard big roll’ turf format in 1991, and by 1992 no other turf grower anywhere in the world was using this so ubiquitously as Inturf!

Meet the Grower

Meet the Grower

The Team (tell us a bit about your team and what they do in your business)

We have a very dedicated team at Inturf, the majority of whom have been with us for many years, 30 years plus in a few cases, and we are hiring new recruits regularly to keep pace with an inexorable increase in demand for our turf. As the business grows, we will require more and more staff to drive the latest technology and to occupy the growing office.

Employee training and engagement are key markers to retain staff and for success, and we leave no stone un-turned in the respect. Valuing staff is a priority for Inturf.

What is your proudest achievement (within turfgrass work that you have done)?

There are many, however, I think the proudest moment was re-surfacing ‘Centre Court’ at the AELTCC in August 1997. My brother (Alex) and I completed this work behind closed-doors for the club during a very long hot summer. Nearly every court had been re-surfaced using our custom-grown-turf service (another first in the turf world), either before or following the centre court re-turf… to my knowledge, this had not been undertaken before or since our time working with the AELTCC, which spanned circa 20 years.

Why do you love producing turfgrass?

Most importantly, turf is good for our planet… socially, environmentally, and economically and generally speaking the people who operate within the industry are down to earth and helpful. We have an amazing manicured 2000-acre plus garden too, so we benefit from the abundance of positive health benefits turf offers – for instance; it’s noise reductions qualities, flood defensive applications (it reduces water run-off), it has a high efficacy of carbon capturing, in fact, better than any tree per square metre of plantation and turf really does have the ability to calm even the busiest of minds… just try walking on your natural lawn in bare-feet… wearing footwear is an exclusively human characteristic!

What is your favourite piece of equipment or machinery on your turfgrass farm?

It has got to be the turf harvesters, albeit they are temperamental, they cut 4 million square metres of natural turfgrass every year, and without them, we simply could not grow the business in the way we have… hats-off to the Americans for this technology!

If you had one piece of advice for turfgrass customers, what would it be? (can be laying tips, watering tips, choosing the right turf etc)

Prior to turfing; get the ground preparation right by following our ‘online’ advice and easy steps or call a trusted landscaper, lay the turf as quickly as possible (preferably on the day of delivery) and water it well until it is rooted to approximately 100 mm or 4 inches and for no longer than 28 days.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the future of the turf growing industry?

In the short-term, artificial turf has become more ubiquitous and the money and marketing behind the carpet manufacturers is matchless. That said, I think that in the medium to long-term, we have to be careful not to ‘over-cook’ the current high demand for natural turf by using quicker growing methods, such as using plastic netting, which isn’t good for the environment and will only serve to offer the artificial turf producers more ammunition and indeed mitigation against using natural turf in the future… oh, and another global pandemic, because next time, we might not be so lucky!

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Ariens has the EDGE in zero-turns

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Ariens has the EDGE in zero-turns: The introduction of the EDGE zero-turn mower from Ariens is a landmark in domestic lawn mowing. Manufactured in their UK factory, it reflects the engineering excellence Ariens is known for, and there can be no doubt it looks set to surpass anything else in its class.

Zero-turn mowing in the UK has been steadily growing as the alternative to the conventional lawn tractor. Intuitive, easy-to-use controls coupled with total manoeuvrability mean zero-turns work at speed to outperform most lawn tractors, cutting grass in half the time. The EDGE offers all this and more.

Ariens has the EDGE in zero-turns

Ariens has the EDGE in zero-turns

With a zero-turn, you are free to spend less time mowing and more time enjoying your garden. Driven and steered by the rear wheels via two independent transmissions, the easy control levers are all you need to drive, brake, steer and spin on the spot. Zero-turn mowing is fast. You can whizz around at 6 mph, and at the end of the mowing row do a 180-degree turn, align the deck edge with the row you’ve just cut and keep on going. You have reduced the cutting time by 50% over mowing with a lawn tractor. No more turn, reverse, turn again and straighten out and no stopping. Without a lot of forward and backward movement, the result is outstanding cut quality.

All zero-turns do this, but the EDGE brings a host of other benefits to the mowing experience. Ariens has built a tough, durable mower with a wide range of commercial style features at an affordable price. With its Ariens 635cc engine, the EDGE is powerful, but Ariens also build it for comfort. The plush, high-back adjustable seat with natural airflow enhances operator comfort while keeping you cool. Stepping aboard is easier compared to a lawn tractor. You just lift the handles and get seated. All the controls are positioned in ergonomic, easily accessible locations and mostly hand-operated, making this zero-turn simple to use and an effortless driving experience for everyone.

The EDGE comes in two versions: EDGE 34 with an 86cm (34”) cutter deck and the EDGE 42 with a 107cm (42”) deck. The commercial-style, four-point deck hanging system enhances deck stability and robustness for a premium cut quality. There is a foot-operated deck lift for simple changes of deck height. By pushing the pedal forward and using the lever you can select seven from cutting heights, from 3.8cm to 12.7cm (1.5” to 4.5”). The large 50.8cm (20”) high, 20.3cm (8”) wide rear tyres are gentle on turf, delivering excellent traction and absorbing shock on uneven ground to give a smoother, more comfortable ride.

The EDGE comes with a 2-year/150 hours warranty and a range of accessories is available. For more information, visit your local dealer or go to www.ariens.com/en-gb

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