Green Renovation - 28 October 2021
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On Monday 11 October (one day after our green closed for the season), a comprehensive 'Green Renovation' programme was commenced by our chosen external contractors, Sportsground Maintenance and Machinery Limited of Leicestershire. This company, and their MD Richard Shepherd, were highly recommended by Peter Bagguley of Russels Groundcare - agents for Dennis Mowers who supply all our green maintenance equipment.
It is believed that this ambitious renovation programme is the first of its kind since the Club was formed in 1918 - and it follows on from an in-depth report produced for the Club by Alan Lewis, one of the UK’s leading Sports Surface Consultants.
The first step in the programme was 'deep scarification' of the playing surface to 20mm depth in two directions - which left the surface looking like a ploughed field.
This was then followed by a) removing thatch / other debris, b) applying 6 tonnes of dried Mansfield sand, c) direct drilling 60 kg of Hurrells 'special bowls' seed mix in six different directions, d) verti-draining to a depth of 6 inches and finally e) applying chemicals.
This work was expertly carried out by the contractors who worked tirelessly throughout the day and finished just before dark.
On Wednesday 27 October, Richard, his son George and another member of the team arrived with more equipment and checked the green for progress.
The grass seed previously planted on 11 October had already started to germinate - and further seed was planted with a tractor-drawn specialised 'grass seed drilling' machine. An Autumn feed dressing was then applied.
The green is now well on its way to recovery, aided by the exceptionally warm weather for this time of year. The start of the 2022 season will enable members to reap the benefits of this extensive renovation programme.
The work done to date and dedication of Richard and his team has far exceeded expectations. A further visit is planned early November 2021 - and until then the Club’s Ground Maintenance team have nothing to do (ha...!!!) - as regards the playing surface.