Our Services
Thomas J Crummy Sportsturf Management can offer the following turf care services, all of which are designed to keep your pitch in perfect condition, playable all year round, and of course save you valuable time and money. Let us take care of your pitch giving you more time to develop your club.
PITCH TREATMENTS
Soil Analysis & Fertiliser Programme
Soil analysis is the first step towards achieving a healthy sports pitch. The condition of the pitch is directly related to the condition of the soil, so having a professional soil analysis conducted will help to customise your pitch care programme in order to obtain optimum results.
A detailed soil analysis will identify exactly what the pH of your soil is and what nutrients should be applied. Following the soil analysis a detailed fertiliser programme can be developed that best meets the needs of the pitch.
Pitch maintenance programmes that start with an accurate soil analysis are key to thick green turf grass, which then becomes harder wearing and more durable. Applying the right nutrients at the right time is a smarter way of feeding the turf – the turf gets exactly what it needs at the right time. All this saves time, and perhaps more significantly reduces the amount of nutrients required by the turf thereby saving money.
Using the correct fertiliser programme based on a detailed soil analysis has also been proven to improve the long term health of the turf and assists the pitch to recover more quickly after a long period of play – the pitch can therefore be used more frequently – so no more cancelled games due to a poor pitch! Using Control Release Fertilisers assures even growth rate ease of management and less stress on grass.
| Control Release Fertiliser |
Water Soluble Fertiliser |
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Scarification
Over time turf can accumulate ‘thatch’ – a layer of slowly decomposing grass, stems, dead roots and debris. Not only is thatch unsightly but when it gets too thick it stops water and fertiliser from reaching the soil. Grass roots that grow in the thatch are less drought resistant as water does not penetrate the thatch. Likewise chemicals used to control soil insects such as Chafer grubs take longer to act resulting in turf that remains infested with insects. Play becomes slippery, drying out time increases, grass rots easier due to poor light at the plant base. Your pitch will not last as long. Scarification is completed with powerful machines that remove the thatch layer and debris. This results in healthier better looking turf and an improved harder wearing playing surface. It leaves the optimum finish for overseeding.
Over-Seeding
Once scarification has taken place then over seeding is the next logical step. Why apply new seed to what may appear as normal turf? The simple answer is that grass is not immortal. After five or six years, the grass plant’s reproduction rate slows which then enables weeds to establish in the turf. Over-seeding compensates for the natural slow down in turf reproduction. There are two major benefits to over-seeding on a regular basis. Firstly the turf remains thick and dense, therefore more hard wearing and playable and secondly, the turf becomes more disease resistant meaning that money is saved by not having to apply expensive chemicals to combat turf diseases. New grass varieties come on the market every year, continually improving tolerance and colour. For a pitch that can accommodate more games then consider a scarification and over-seeding programme. We carry out over-seeding using a disc seeder which puts the seed into the ground resulting in quicker take and less down-time. (Broadcasting seed is cheaper but percentage take is low and down-time is increased).
Verti-Draining / Hollow-Core Aeration
Hollow-Core aeration is the process of mechanically removing small plugs of thatch and soil from the turf to allow more air into the soil. Why is this important? Aerating the soil assists drainage, improves the soil structure, aids root development of the turf and aids thatch control. This results in an improved harder wearing playing surface that can be played on even in periods of extreme wet and healthier more vibrant looking turf. Aeration also assists the turf to uptake fertiliser easier thereby saving money by reducing the amount of fertiliser required. Aeration is one of the single most important treatments to perform on turf and ideally should be conducted annually. However heavily used pitches including sand based pitches or those growing on heavy clay soil would benefit from two aerations a year.
To carry out aeration we use the worlds leading lawn aerator manufactured by Wiedenmann, used by turf care professionals world wide and proven to give better aeration resulting in more playable pitches than any other machine. Most other machines only create a hole without any heave; this is known as ‘spiking’ although this had its benefits this process is now out dated. Our state of the art technology does a lot more than punch a hole in the ground it actually creates a “heave” which loosens the soil. The heave is the important feature of the operation, when our tines enter the ground it pushes back, which creates air pockets within the root-zone. The pitch will be up to 25mm higher when this process is completed and will be much nicer to play on.
In summary older machines simply punch a hole in the ground which may even hold water. Our machinery breaks up the soil, makes the ground more comfortable for playing and maximises root aeration therefore water penetration which will bring the roots further down into the ground making the plants more drought resistant giving you our clients a better longer lasting pitch.
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Sportsturf Verti-Draining Video
Top-Dressing
Usually conducted in the autumn, top dressing is the process of adding a thin layer of sand or sand and soil mixture to the surface of the playing field. Top dressing, particularly if carried out following hollow-core aeration, benefits the turf as it builds up the quality of soil over a period of time making the soil more resistant to drought and improving root development. Another benefit of top dressing playing fields is that the process will help to even out any hollows in the playing surface creating a more readily playable pitch.
There are very few certified / recommended sources for sand for this purpose. It is vital that only this certified top-dressing sand be used for topdressing sports grounds.The incorrect sand will create more problems than it will solve. Other non-recommended sand sources contain silt/small particles, which impede the free flow of water through the surface and will actually cause ponding on the pitch.
Depending on the size of the pitch, an application of 120-150 tonnes (10 tonnes per 1,000 m2) of sand should be applied every year. Topdressing is the best method of stopping the development of an organic layer and that is why it should be done every year. Where it is not done every year, scarification should be carried out to help reduce the quantity of organic matter build up.
PORTFOLIO
You can also view images of our on work on flickr here:
