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Ready To Go
As we approach the beginning of the new season, the last of the renovated pitches are being measured and marked in ready for play including the stadium pitch which is now 6 weeks old.
The Portman Rd pitch was renovated straight after the concert and seeded on the 16th June giving about 40 days to the open day and training on the pitch. The session went well, with very little damage in open play. Warm ups and Goal keepers tend to cause wear in a small a area. This has been top dressed and seeded which should cover up any worn ares by the time we hold the first game of the season on the 10th August.
Due to the large stands, particularly on the south and west sides of the stadium, we get a lot of shade even in the summer when the sun is high. In these areas, the sward tends to be a bit slower to fill out, so we have put the light rigs out which speeds up the grow in process.
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| Lighting rigs helping with the grown-in |
We will be aerating the pitch for the first time now. This process is held off to allow the roots to establish adequately to prevent any plucking of the new turf. From now on there will be some form of aeration on the pitch every two weeks working around the fixtures.
ICL's Proturf has been applied and we are putting Primo Maxx growth retardant down at a low rate at fortnightly intervals. we are also still pushing the pitch with extra applications of WSF high N fertiliser and Vital Nova Blade (molasses/trace nutrients) to have the pitch where we want it to be.
At the training ground, we have continued to replace ball stop netting on the first team pitches and developing a new goal keeper training area.
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| New stop netting and camera tower |
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| New GK area |
We have also renewed some rabbit fencing as we have a problem with rabbits eating the grass on the pitches as seen on the image. Although rabbit fencing is relatively cheap to purchase, the installation can be expensive or time consuming doing the work yourselves. This is the first stage in replacements and the most important area as this is the direction they tend to gain entrance to the 1st team training area.
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| Rabbit damage |
Our grounds team has been strengthened with the addition of a mechanic to maintain and service all of our machinery. This will be a great benefit to the rest of the groundstaff to ensure the equipment is ready to go in the mornings and someone is on hand to see to any breakdowns quickly.
We regard mowing with a sharp cylinder as essential, so for the mowers to have time spend on them in the workshop without losing a groundstaff member off the pitches to do this is valuable. It is also a benefit to have the same person setting the blades on cut every day to ensure they are just where we want them to be.
