Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

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Puncture-Proof-Tyres.co.uk, Unit 1, Barons Court Gardens, Newhouse Lane,
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B61 9ET
• Our own sets of three or five trailed gang mowers are fitted with
universal multi tow frames and high quality cutting units.
• Manufactured exclusively for RTM to our specification.
• A range of quality traditional gang mowers at an affordable price.
• Supplied on a direct basis or through a network of garden
machinery and grounds maintenance engineers.
• Supplied complete and ready to work with a few set up
adjustments and fixings.
• Hire or buy, we have a package to suit a range of budgets and
individual requirements.
• Traditional mowing with a low cost investment for long term
performance and quality of cut.
RTM Machinery Ltd - Linking Value with Service
Hill Farm Buildings, Nether Winchendon,Aylesbury, Bucks HP18 0DX
Tel: 01296 738197 Email: sales@rtmachinery.co.uk
Website: www.rtmachinery.co.uk
Mark Bailey, Deputy Head Groundsman
Further Education and
Horticulture. Mark’s career
has included working as a
nursery manager, looking
after a large private country
estate and running his own
garden contracting business
for several years.
Whilst at Solihull School
Mark was presented with a
Licentiateship from City &
Guilds. Mark studied under
Andrew Turnbull at
Warwickshire College and
graduated from Harper
Adams University College
with an HNC in Sports Turf
Management. He is currently
completing his Graduateship
for City & Guilds, which he
hopes to gain later this year.
Winter preparation is
essential, says Karl. For the
last few years Phil Day, a local
sports turf contractor, has
come in and koroed,
topdressed and seeded all of
the wickets in August. This
has proved to be a labour
saving and cost effective
practice. It has also improved
the quality of play on all
squares. The school has
recently purchased a
Groundsman Spiker for
aeration during the autumn
and winter months.
Karl believes it is essential
to clean the pitches
thoroughly and ensure all
debris is removed from the
table, leaving a key for new
loam material (Kaloam) to be
worked into the pitches at a
rate of 6-8 bags per strip.
In the autumn a tonic of
Scotts Pro-Iron, 7% fe
+seaweed, is used right up
until December, and again in
February.
Plenty of pre season rolling
is essential for good pitches,
and Karl likes to start as early
as he can, usually in February,
while there is still plenty of
moisture in the soil profile.
He begins his rolling
programme using the weight
of the square mower, and
then moves quickly onto his
main roller, rolling in the
traditional union jack
pattern.
Pitches are then prepared
in the usual way bringing
down the height of cut in
stages, cleaning out, watering
and covering if required. A
Dennis Cassette mower, fitted
with a tungsten tipped
verticutter reel, is used to
help prepare the wickets, just
cleaning out the sward
without damaging the soil
profile.
The square and outfields
are kept at 13mm, enabling
the triple mowers to mow
straight across the squares for
presentation.
Pitch preparations take
anything between 14-10 days
to prepare depending on
time available. Final cut is set
between 3-6mm, depending
on the fixture and time of
year, using a Lloyds Paladin.
Karl and Mark have a