9 Oct 2008 by Mike
Good evening all,
After an all too short jolly across the water to see how the pro's work, I have come back home with more questions than answers.
My question relates to the effects of differing tine spacings, thicknesses and depths during scarification.
Ay my site we have a small, pedestrian scarifier. The tines are 1mm thick and they are spaced 10mm apart. I have seen scarifiers which can accommodate 100mm spacing however, and tines which go up to 3mm thickness.
Can anyone tell me the differing effects of each of these dynamics and in what conditions should should the different tines/spacings be utilised for the best results.
Cheers
9 Oct 2008 by Poa7
Tines - are dependent on the operation.
Thinner/close spacing - Used for grooming (see below)
Thicker/greater spacing - Used for Verti-cutting (see below)
Thickest/widest spacing - Used for Scarifying (see below)
Grooming, the lifting of the plant leaves only to remove grain (nap) and improve cutting qualty of the sward
Vert-Cutting, the control of thatch, usually carried out by setting the tines to penetrate half-way or so into the thatch layer. Best way to treat/maintain desired thatch levels.
Scarifying, deepest penetration, penetrates to base of thatch/mat layer, used to 'remove' it, the most damaging type of operation.
Thinking of the above, you should be able to understand why differing machines have differing tine spacings and thicknesses.
Proper 'scarifying' machines, tend to be bulky and have powerful engines! Most so called 'scarifyers' are actually verti-cutters!
I hope this helps a little!
9 Oct 2008 by Mike
Thanks Poa, that has clarified a few things for me.
Mike
9 Oct 2008 by mario Last edited 10 Oct 2008
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I know no boundaries.
9 Oct 2008 by mario
As Poa has alluded to, "we" tend to use the word scarifier as a generic term. I assume, because that is what it's sole purpose in life was when it was first brought into the marketplace.
As the years have rolled on and we have all improved (LOL!), manufacturers have made their machines multi-skilled. I.E Thatch removal, thatch control and verticutting - not to mention their ability to brush/lightly scarify. Oops there's that word again!!
Just this week I have seen one of the cricket clubs up here using a scarifier which has no ability to cut into a clay based profile.....BUT IT HAS BEEN ADVERTISED BY THE HIRE SHOP AS A SCARIFIER. Yes....but for garden lawn use.
It's horses for courses. Education is paramount in all of this.
Can the scarifier you are about to use, assuming that you do not already have a thatch problem, cut into a heavy loam surface to a depth of 6mm?
REAL scarifiers (the Graden, the SISIS TM1000 or 600; I'm sure there are others) are purpose built for this.
Year on year, rip the proverbial **** out of the square. Only then can you go to your Winter holiday destination safe in the knowledge that when you bump into Bath in Teneriffe you can bore him to death with tales of how deep you penetrated!!
I know no boundaries.
10 Oct 2008 by Mike
Thanks for that Mario.
Based on that picture and the very informative breakdown from Poa above, it appears that when we are scarifying we aren't really scarifying! The tines on our scarifier appear to have a similair spacing as the Thatch Control Reel.
To take things a step further, i'd like to know how each one compares for making a seed bed. Obviously grass seed germinates best at a certain depth (not sure what this is though), and with the Verticut and the Thatch Control reels a machine would most likely struggle to attain those depths unless the ground was very soft or the actual machine was very powerful. On the plus side though (I think...), there would be more grooves for the grass seed to sit in. So, is the reason that we scarify in a number of directions not so much for thatch removal, but to create enough grooves in the soil to enable the grass seed to germinate with an even coverage as opposed to a single direction thus creating a 'regimented' growth pattern?
10 Oct 2008 by Mike
"Just this week I have seen one of the cricket clubs up here using a scarifier which has no ability to cut into a clay based profile.....BUT IT HAS BEEN ADVERTISED BY THE HIRE SHOP AS A SCARIFIER. Yes....but for garden lawn use."
I'd bet a pithcare pin-up calendar that the machine you speak of is the same as the one we use on our square!
"Can the scarifier you are about to use, assuming that you do not already have a thatch problem, cut into a heavy loam surface to a depth of 6mm?"
No, in truth it barely scrathes the surface. The machine simply doesn't have the power or the weight to achieve this.
We do have a TM1000 on our 'to be purchased' list however. And for my own use i'm currentl looking for a scarifier. Just to do a little garden maintenance work on the side, looks like i'll have to up my budget and look for a graden.
Cheers, Mario
10 Oct 2008 by mario
It's a combination Mike.
Firstly, I scarify in four directions to remove the detritus. As a by-product you are also creating a seed bed.
I scarify at 6mm, whether it needs it or not, as I read somewhere that in any given season, the grass plant has the ability to deposit dead material which could be up to a depth of 5mm.
With the use of ryegrass cultivers, by their nature they require a wee house to live in. i.e. a slot/hole/depression with sides and a roof to maintain stability of warmth and moisture. Hence good scarification and top dressing gives you this.
End of season work?? Hah!! It's the beginning of the season more like!!
I know no boundaries.
10 Oct 2008 by Mike
Very interesting Mario, thanks for the schooling!
Mario, i could not have put it better myself !!. In my opinion, there are to many who do not scarify any where near hard enough. There surface gets no more than a tickle.
I am not sure about rubbish to 5mm, but there will always be some dead plant that needs removing, it is amazing how much gets rolled in.
My surface was brand new last autumn, come this September there was generally very little grass left. Even i was surpised at the amount of rubbish that i was getting out. Very little soil, because theis year most of the surface was damp, but still lots of fluffy cr-p.
Yes, off on the annual very early next Friday. Should there be anybody out there likely to fall over my carcase on the beach, please do not wake me up!!.
10 Oct 2008 by mario Last edited 10 Oct 2008
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I know no boundaries.
I'll try and find the photo's of what I took out of my main square.
The square is pretty much brand new (finished 2 years ago) and then Koro'd at the end of 2007 season. I took 2 trailers full (about 4 Cu m ish) of rubbish out of this square alone. It was lovely and damp when I did it so I was able to get around 5mm in with my ARR/4.
When I checked cores before scarifying there was absolutely no thatch evident. It just goes to show how much is hidden within the surface and how much dross is created during a 'normal' season.
I took way more out of my other 2 squares using a graden down to 25mm - but then I expected to.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
10 Oct 2008 by mario
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I know no boundaries.
10 Oct 2008 by Andy Matthews Last edited 10 Oct 2008
Could I just add to all of the above, that if you have a Rotorake or similar machine with a brush attachment then brushing the whole strip after every game is also another great way to control the thatch, it's amasing how much crap it picks up and prevents it getting rolled in, I also tend to brush each of the strips on either side of the one thats been played on, going up and down each time before moving over, again it picks up loads of crap from bowlers follow throughs and the batsman running. If the square was wet when the game was played I will often go as far as to brush the whole square again it's worth the effort, I am sure you'll all agree anything you can do to help prevent it building up has got to be worth the effort. It's also a great way to get all the grass standing up.
10 Oct 2008 by Mike
Hi Andy, we verticut and brush each strip as part of our wicket prep and we also aim to verticut the whole square every fortnight.
The above may well 'control' the thatch levels in the upper layer but it appears that we are not taking any deep laying thatch out of our squares.
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