2 Feb 2010 by Maesglas Football Club.
Just want to let the clubs without a budget out there know about our pitch see link below to catch up on the saga of our playing surface.
http://www.pitchcare.com/message/message/17997
Since the mole plough was done the pitch has been the best its been for years even after the snow and heavy rain, only one game being called off and that was due to the hard frost. One Saturday morning about 8.30 after an evening of heavy torrential rain I found the pitch with a lot of standing water, but I left it for an hour and when I returned the rain water had drained away. So for some clubs on a very tight budget like we are then mole ploughing may be an option, be prepared for some hard work to repair the pitch after the work has been done though.
My question is can I do this before every season as compaction is due to occur ?
2 Feb 2010 by chick1
Thanks for your very valuable advice. Should the mole hole be left open or should an infill be used and also what should the distance be between each drain.
We have a natural slope on our pitches so getting a run off would not be a problem
Just remember there are mole ploughs and MOLE ploughs
and whch ever one you use there will be some heave.
2 Feb 2010 by vid
Its something you would need to look up chick1. It would depend on so many factors and I dont know enough to inform you more than above (sum of my agricultural knowledge and some experience with a Sisis mole and a Twose turf conditioner). Size of the 'bullet', proposed depth, type of soil, gradient are all relevant. As for leaving the slot open - personally I would always use an opportunity like this to get sand in to the top of the slot so that there is a more direct route to the drain itself. I would not backfill the slot however as no material has been removed and the problems at the start of this thread are likely to occur.
I will quote you the agricultural advice I use and from this you will see the problems using this in amenity!!
"Mole drains should be spaced at 2.7m and at a depth of not less than 533mm.......
For mole ploughing to be effective the following should apply:
1. Mole drains depend on the plastic properties of clay. Ideally subsoils should contain more than 45% clay and less than 20%sand. Subsoils should also be free of pockets of sand gravel or stones which may cause the moles to collapse.
2. Ideally the mole should be drawn uphill so that the fissuring points in the direction of flow.
3. Moling should take place when the topsoil is dry enough for the machinery to perform correctly. The subsoil should be moist enough and the clay sufficiently plastic to form a stable mole but dry enough to get adequate fissuring of the surrounding soil...... ideal conditions are usually best in late spring.
4. Mole channels should be at leas 76mm wide.
5. There should be adequate mains to receive the water from the moles.
6. The plough must be set level in work or the channels will be distorted and soon collapse.
7. Mole drainage is most effective on fields with a gentle slope and few depressions........"
These agricutural ploughs need a lot of horsepower and are generally pulled using a tracked machine, the smaller amenity ploughs often come with a disc to open the turf and operate at depths closer to 300 - 450 mm deep and require only a medium sized minitractor. The rules above however should still be used - a gradient of @ 1:100 would be ideal but a range of 1:40 to 1:200 would probably flow with few problems in a good clay subsoil.
For the mole to work properly it must have an expander on a chain behind the bullet which should be at least 15% bigger than the 'bullet'. Without this the drainage mole will collapse,
(Information sourced from the Agricultural notebook by Dr Ian Moore - 16th edition)
2 Feb 2010 by vid
BTW my previous post seems to have disappeared!!
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