we are getting big problems with lots of cracks on our pitches causing low bounce when ball hits edges,They are the type of cracks that move when u put your foot on them,We are about to go back onto pitches for second use now as almost halfway through the season so any advice to help remove cracks without making pitches too wet for games would be appreciated-would overseeding with my groundsman cluster tines ,a good soak and a general fertiliser help?I have a kaloam square which is on top of mendip so am wondering if i have a binding problem-thanks guys,getting desperate
You've probably given a big pointer at the end of your post ebony. If your square is kaloam overlaying mendip you have the widest discrepancy of any loams available on the market, therefore massive differences in shrinkage rates for the clay loams involved.
Major work during the season is never a good idea so you'll have to get through as best you can with judicious watering and gradual drying using sheets and or covers- do you have either?
At the end of the season you can go for better grass coverage which will help to bind the surface better, but if you are experiencing major problems then you may have to consider more far reaching options with the inherent difficulty you have with the conflicting growing media.
Good Luck!
Green Infrastructure is the way forward
tnx loammeister,am sheeting to keep moisture in as late as possible but for example today i have to take them off to let it dry for sat but covers have to go back on as thunder showers due 2 nite and 2 morro-what are your far reaching options suggested for autumn tho i bet i can guess!
25th Jun 2009 by Charles Johnson
As well as slowing the rate of drying using sheets, do you not also have to keep rolling to keep the loam pressed together as it shrinks ??
Is it valid to freshen the surface with a hose as it dries to depth, even with sheeting, otherwise in hot weather the very top will dry out while it is still damp not far below ??
Cracking can be exasperated by to much rolling. The ideal is a little rolling with controlled drying.
Ebony, how long have you been top dressing with K loam ? and how well was the K loam integrated into the Mendip base ?
It could mean nothing more than hollow coring or spiking for a few autumns during renovations, so that K loam can be incorporated into the base. It might mean a complete make over, expensive.
This has been a common practice here in the west country, where are you based ?
hi bath,not far from you between bristol and weston,and i think laurence gale has given you my mob as he has just come to look at our ground
I think i know who you are, met you some years ago. Lawrence has spoken to me about your problem but did not pass on your number. Perhaps you could pm it to me.
26th Jun 2009 by Loammeister Last edited 26th Jun 2009
ebony as bath suggests the more far reaching options don't have to be prohibitive, it all depends on the extent of the problem.
With two different loams we are always told not to mix products, but inevitably this happens in many instances due to differing circumstances. If the two soils are properly integrated then this will reduce the problems stored for the future, but with a mendip/kaloam mix never sort it for the long term.
Hollow coring and spiking is an option, but its success would be reliant on the depth of kaloam overlaying the mendip. The idea of hollow coring through the profile is to create 'plugs' or effectively 'nails or rivets' of the overlaying loam which can act as a type of 'anchor' holding the kaloam topping to the mendip below. Clearly the better method (with hindsight, not available I know) is to incorporate the loams, effectively mixing the two to create a gradual change from mendip to mendip/kaloam then finishing with kaloam at the surface.
Hope this explanation is ok as it is not so easy to put across in words!
The big drawback with this is that kaloam is the heaviest clay loam on the market and mendip is the lightest (from all avaliable evidence of the main proprietary brands).
This means that each will shrink or swell at different rates and come up with varying problems and challenges over the years!
Charles your point is valid about keeping the surface moist, but you answer your own statement by referring to drying through the profile needing to be uniform. By watering / rolling at different stages you can moisten the surface / bring moisture closer to the surface by your actions; then nature / sheeting will dry out the profile and the surface in its own wonderful various ways.
To think that rolling a clay loam as it shrinks will bind the platelets cannot be entirely correct as the bulk density of the soil becomes less as it dries, i.e. the cubic metre of space occupied by loam with 35% moisture content becomes occupied by less material when moisture content reduces to say 20%, hence cracking can occur.
That's about 20 years of soil physics to learn in five minutes reading guys, hope some of it comes across as comperhensible, if anything needs to be explained in more depth you're always welcome to pm for further advice!
Going back to your end of season options ebony, you first have to establish where you start from. If it is correctible with hollow coring / top dressing / overseeding over a number of years then all well and good. If the layer is too deep then you could consider deep drilling (which can go down to 18"/450mm) and top dressing to firmly anchor the top surface. Total reconstruction is only a final and more expensive option if nothing else will do, so no need to start cashing in the premium bonds just yet!
Good Luck!
Green Infrastructure is the way forward
Charles, yes it is valid to freshen the top.
I have a prevailing wind straight off the sea which will cap a track within a day if allowed to. I will often moisten the top - note, moisten not flood - and I believe that if you're careful not to put too much water on then you won't get a moisture break within the surface. You obviously need to monitor the amount of moisture in the lower profile in order not guess at the amount of water you need to apply.
It's bad enough with my surrey loam, but with a Kaloam on top of mendip you'd never get the mendip anywhere near dry if the top is allowed to dry out.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
hi guys,we have done deep drilling with ecosolve twice in last 5 years even on second occasion filling holes 1 at a time with daffodil trowels to make sure kaloam got to the bottom of each hole!nightmare of a job.
What about using goundrys groloam to infill cracks with seed when i see any or is the clay consistency not enough in this soil?Hard to infill cracks with kaloam as in is not milled fine enough to trickle down into cracks
bath,sent you pm with number ,hope you have received it,if not let me know
do not mix groloam and kaloam - they are not even vaguely similar.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
Ebony,
I have the same soil as you in my square,and cracking can be a problem.I tend to use the roll on covers a lot when its a dry spell,taking them off most afternoons in the week,rolling at the right times too,keeping an eye on the moisture content before the saturday game.I find this works as my pitches have played this year with lots of bounce and carry.
Have just finished a long chat with ebony with ref to his cracking.
It would appear, core to be seen later, that the mendip base could be full of thatch. When rolling, this allows the Kloam to move as the mendip acts like a big sponge. This will encourage the Kloam to crack, even more so with the hot dry spell we are witnessing at present.
Problems have not been noticed the last two years because of two very wet summers, now a hot dry one is sorting things out.
I doubt ebony is on his own.
5th Jul 2009 by Anthony Asquith
If any of you guys are Interested a previous research project of mine has been about wicket cracking....I guess a lot won't be that Interested but It Is here If anyone wants to know anymore!!
Cheers
AA
anthony,please pass on your research to me thanks
5th Jul 2009 by bath
Please let me know your findings AA. Never to old learn.
6th Jul 2009 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 6th Jul 2009
There are tonnes of data so Is there anything specific..? a lot of the research Is about crack characteristics such as shape, width etc and Is quite a deep subject...The worst thing we can do Is get 'lost In science' about this area so I have tried to corrulate This data In corrulation with the turfies on the ground preparing wickets...Or the dirt (....Sorry Gordon I know you don't like that word!)
Some areas that I have looked at Is changing the location or shape of cracks and modifying the overall pattern of cracking...A subject I suppose a lot of you guys are not Interested In or could care less about.
Email me at northernstc@hotmail.com with anything specific.
Cheers
AA
Changing the pattern of cracking could be useful in some instances. I've one track that obviously has a weakness in one specific area - it always cracks in a certain pattern right on a length - so changing that pattern might be beneficial.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
7th Jul 2009 by Chris Boniface
hi Anthony,
re;cracking and soils ( clays )
Big subject this as you know and one subject that is vital in the production and manufacture of a cricket pitch.
cracking is an essential part of a cricket pitch, it is the only time the profile gets any air to the root system.
what is for sure that the soil that we use for cricket pitch construction in the UK is not the ideal material for good cricket pitch manufacture.
We know that the clay mineral available in the UK that being Kaolinite is not a good cracker, it is not know as a good cracking clay soil.
The cracks that are created on UK pitches are saucer shaped ( cup and saucer ) turned upside down, ( convex ) that is they sit up and when hit by the ball will produce uneven bounce.
This all leads to pitches generally speaking being produced are on the damp side.
this of course provides slow pitches, this being the curse of good cricketers.
Slow pitches don't allow for good stoke play and good pace bowling.
Having said all that, i will always go for the pace and bounce and except that the odd ball will shoot.
this summer is the best for some time.
happy cracking.
chris boniface
7th Jul 2009 by bath
I,ll go with that odd shooter as well Chris. However the players and league umpires dont like it.
Yes, but they are not the ones putting in X number of hours preparing the pitch for their enjoyment. 
Chris,
Can you explain your cup and saucer thing? My pitches crack vertically - or that's what it looks like to me.
The ciderman rolls
Chris Boniface
We know that the clay mineral available in the UK that being Kaolinite is not a good cracker, it is not know as a good cracking clay soil.
The cracks that are created on UK pitches are saucer shaped ( cup and saucer ) turned upside down, ( convex ) that is they sit up and when hit by the ball will produce uneven bounce.
Interesting points, do you have any data / photos to show this?
Green Infrastructure is the way forward
12th Jul 2009 by Chris Boniface
cracking up !!!
No photos, no data, 25 years experience and preparing thousands of pitches.
The majority of prepared cricket pitches will not contain cracking.
They look unsightly and groundsman will be have it in there mind that the pitch should benefit the batsman,
But cricket is about a competition between bat and ball.
The pitch should benefit batsman and bowler.
Hardness is essential, this can only be achieved by drying the profile out.
This should result in cracking, unless......clay % and organic material and moisture.
Each of these are out of our control, Clay % is that of the cricket pitch dressing producers, organic matter is a natural result of pitch preparation, moisture, unless you have time to cover it will be down to the elements.
As for the cracking, these will be shallow 12mm, the edge of the cracks will be raised, the soil strength will not be sufficient to stop these edges from breaking when the ball hits the crack, the soil breaks, ball will loose it's energy and not bounce.......a daisy cutter !!!!.
This is not the same as the top coming out of the pitch, that is a different subject.
A good cracking clay soil will crack 100mm down and the crack will not break on impact.
Chris
a very simple test to establish wether the crack is a " good " or "bad" crack, is push 2 sides together, if they move- it is a bad one and you will have underlying problems on your square, if it doesnt move then the crack is consistent down to a depth and can be put down to dryness in the profile.
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