Message Board - Football: EXPERTS
7 Jul 2009 by nut250
i just love this time of year when managers , coaches and players , even the secretary become pitch experts ,
telling me what i should be doing makes me laugh ,
the seed has been in the ground 4 weeks and they say its quite bare , have they not noticed the heatwave we have just had ,
so after all this sun and rain this week hopefully the seed will fill in and they will the tell me how to cut it .
7 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
"It's a bit long isn't it?"
The grass that is!!!
From the posh end of the room!!
8 Jul 2009 by chucky
Couldn't agree more. In terms of the heatwave, I haven't cut my pitch for a week and a half. The first week due to the obvious stress the grass was going through and the other days for other reasons that are out of my control at present.
I feel that at my non league level it doesn't hurt to let the grass flower and set seed which can help fill in bare areas. I have had major budget cuts this year which has prevented me using liquid feeds along with Primo Maxx as used in the last two years which were of tremendous benefit. It's just a shame that these cuts came at a time when yet again the pitch was very much overplayed in conditions that we haven't had for many a year, leaving less grass cover than previous years.
This closed season has gone so fast and with just over two weeks before the first games the pitch isn't in as good a condition as I had hoped. An extension of the season by two weeks hasn't helped either.
What's your take on letting the grass flower?
No wonder I'm Mr Grumpy!
8 Jul 2009 by Aladdin
If that question is aimed at me, Chucky, then I'm afraid I can't answer it. As yet I have neither the knowledge nor experience to give an informed reply.
From the posh end of the room!!
9 Jul 2009 by Mightyjimbob
Where are yout at Chucky?
10 Jul 2009 by Neil Dixon
Chucky, i will often let the grass go to seed for the exact reasons you state, especially if germination has been poor in the spring, the biggest issue IMO is making sure you have a suitable machine ( rotary mower) to cut the seed heads down with.
10 Jul 2009 by Philmort
When will lower league football realise that without huge budgets pitches need time to recover between seasons?
When the season was "only when there is an 'r' in the month" the poor groundsman had half a chance but now the close season is a mere 6 weeks in many cases pitches are getting steadily worse.
Just getting greedy I feel. Even Rugby is now sinking into the same trap.
Proud to serve grassroots cricket
10 Jul 2009 by chucky
From my point of view this time around Phil you're right. They extended our season by close on 2 weeks to fit Cup Final games that generated a fair bit of income to our club. If we had finished at the "normal" time the weather was so conducive to quick germination and establishment. However, the window of opportunity was missed.
The follow on has been just basic maintenance. ie cutting and slitting. This time last year I was well into a granular, liquid feeds along with Primo Maxx programme which helped tremendously. Basically I had learnt from the drought of 2006.
Funding this year simply wasn't there as it has been in the last two years. No money for top dressing or the above programme. Although I do have 10 bags of Scotts 12:0:9 to put on asap. With only two weeks to go before the first game I will also take the risk of putting on 10 bags of Scotts Cleanrun at the same time which will help check the weeds too. That's 22% N in total. Mind you, I could do with losing a few pounds and no doubt when that kicks in I will need to mow daily!! I just need a quick spurt of growth to fill the gaps.
After that we shall have to wait and see. I sincerely hope that we don't get another winter like the last one this time around as I think the pitch will suffer badly. I strongly believe that the addition of the Primo Maxx over the last two years has keep that pitch in a relatively decent condition given the soil conditions and the number of games/kids being allowed to do what they like on it!! Bitchy!!!
No wonder I'm Mr Grumpy!
13 Jul 2009 by jlawrence
It's not just football/Rugby that want to extend the playing season. I've seen posts on the exact same thing from Bowls as well.
I know our lot (cricket) are questioning why they can't play throughout September. I have to say I do have some sympathy with them.
My own statements were pretty obvious (to all on here) - Extend the playing season into my renovation window and you'll see the renovation budget go through the roof.
Yes, you can do it, but only if you make the funds available to put things right afterwards.
Of course there's no bounce, bend your back and put some bloody effort in.
13 Jul 2009 by IGS Last edited 13 Jul 2009
I realise that the above post is about sports pitches but as Jon say above extended seasons are affecting all sports surfaces. Germination sheets may not be viable on pitches but renovation at appropriate times can have its benefits.
Money is the key issue to all turfgrass management. that is unless you have experienced groundsmen / greenkeepers and a free supply of appropriate products, fuel, oil, machinery, water, seed, and so on
Dedication goes without saying but whether free of paid for it is essential.
Most things can be achieved and wickets can be turned around for re-use if so required in the same season. Personally I see the benefits of attending to the wickets immediately to outweigh the waiting until the end of the season –
END OF THE SEASON????
There is no end of the season as what operations and tasks are undertaken throughout the year are directly responsible for the quality of the wicket and the health of the grass plant for the next playing season and beyond
The attached photo shows grass over sown on a wicket the day after play, the effect of germination sheets, effective nutrient management (not just fertilisers), disease prevention and AERATION!!!!
The patch at the end is where the germination sheet could not cover, and although it looks relatively bare the coverage is now even with mowing, scarifying started again.
I would have thought the in some cases an extended playing season could procure income for the club, which could then be provided back to the turfgrass manager and their future budgets.
13 Jul 2009 by IGS
PS
I would not rely on the seed from in-situ plants to provide the grass coverage you are looking for.
The reason, as mentioned above, for the grass to shoot up a seed head is survival brought on dry drought conditions. Where the plants response is to reproduce. In doing so the mother plant dumps all its potential to promote new deep roots, etc in favour of forming seeds, that must be adequate to germinate and establish. These seeds will usually sit around until conditions are favourable for germination.
Preventing the grass plant from seeding with regular mowing (rotary or cylinder) will promote the development of roots as energy is needed to produce another batch of seeds.
So even if there are no funds for grass seed keep mowing and prevent the formation of seed heads.
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