11 Mar 2010 by andy smurthwaite
would mole ploughing help our football pitch. the pitch has about 10 inches of top soil then the next 3 foot at least is clay. the pitch has only just become playable after being under water for the last 2 months. the ground has no drainage installed. thanks andy
Andy
You will need to have an outlet to mole to. A ditch or land drain.
Also a mole plough of any size will form ridges.
Andy...i agree with Martin.....definately need somewhere to run out to.....and due to the size of the lump of metal going into the ground you will get displacement of the soil/turf, whcih will give you slight ridges....you may be better looking at a twose turf conditioner, or an earthquake....similar task but minimal surface disturbance...
Ticky supports British farmers...!!
11 Mar 2010 by andy smurthwaite
thanks for your replies looking for the cheapest way to get some drainage into pitch. this season has been a nightmare but no real funds to do the job properly. teams look for a solution to the problem but are unwilling to put their hands in their pockets and its left to very few to do the work thanks andy
Andy
Take a look at the blec groundbreaker. I'm sure you can hire this with hopper attatchment to get sand into profile also. Have seen some great results with this and you might possibly get enough depth to get to your sub soil also. It's the one piece of kit that a lot of contractors are in the market for as well. This must tell us something!
If you can't afford a groundbreaker/earthquake, a mole plough is still worth a go on heavy clay soils...
If you can't afford a groundbreaker/earthquake, a mole plough is still worth a go on heavy clay soils...
Andy,
If you're prepared to do the research/work there are quite a number of funding sources available. The Football Foundation being one of the more obvious.
From the posh end of the room!!
Just as a note to Williams1 post the Sandmaster (Groundbreaker with hopper) is designed as a Secondary drainage system to connect underlying drainage with the surface and in some cases using it too shallow or on drainage too far apart will not solve issues despite the expense and in rare cases actually make things worse by letting water in and holding it there.
Other point of note is if installed late in the season/Spring the slots formed by Moles, Earthquake/Groundbreakers and Turf Conditioners can open up when conditions dry if you have an expansive/contractive clay leaving you with massive cracks that will make the surface unplayable for late on fixtures/training/other sports.
On the right soils, at the right time undertaken by experienced people they all can have immense benefits.
Good Luck
Plastic.... it's The End I tell you... THE END!!!!
13 Mar 2010 by andy smurthwaite
just need to know if its worth trying the mole plough. as i said not enough money to do much else. will it be effective, how far apart and it will be done at end of season after last kick. no other sports played on pitch. this is the first game on pitch since before xmas. everyone seems so negative i know there are problems with mole ploughing but there seems to be no alternative with virtually no cash. thanks andy
13 Mar 2010 by andy smurthwaite
just need to know if its worth trying the mole plough. as i said not enough money to do much else. will it be effective, how far apart and it will be done at end of season after last kick. no other sports played on pitch. this is the first game on pitch since before xmas. everyone seems so negative i know there are problems with mole ploughing but there seems to be no alternative with virtually no cash. thanks andy
Andy,
The reason we are not shouting form the roof tops to do the moling without looking at the site, the soil, the timing and the suitability is the problem this late in the year that if the clay is expansive/contractive, as it dries quickly each side of the mole slit it will shrink leaving you with anything from a 2inch crack too maybe on the worst soil 5-6 inches wide, bad enough for people to trip on, fall down, break legs on, make unplayable or unusable in the worst cases for the rest of the summer and possibly delay your restart in the Autumn..
There is the potential for more extensive heave later in the year too compared to say in the Autumn if soils are dry and this can affect maintenance/Summer use
Like has been stated great operation if that is all can be afforded BUT at the right time, by the right people, with the right equipment, in the right soil conditions in the right way with an outfall........... done wrong, with no outlet it will likely give you far far more problems than it solves....
Plastic.... it's The End I tell you... THE END!!!!
13 Mar 2010 by IGS
Andy,
I would err on caution and definitely not mole the pitch, especially as the moles have nowhere to run to
if you have some money buy some medium sand as much as you can
Hopefully you will get some funding and be able to install a piped drainage system which will need secondary gravel / sand slits and
Loads of sand ameliorated into the surface, every £ spent on sand will not be wasted as it will be there for good.
A local rugby pitch had the pitched moled 2 years ago - what a mess it made to the grass sward and the surface - it has only just levelled out now after 4 passes with a verti-drain..
if you usea linear aerator eg, earthquake, you can alliviate some of the problems of moling, ie limit the amout of expansion of the leg slits
Perfect Preperation Prevents P*** Poor Pitches
BUT if it is an expansive/contractive clay subsoil YOU RISK creating massive cracks this Summer if it is dry enough....
Have this checked out BEFORE you contemplate using ANY linear aerator this side of Christmas..
No one on this site can advise you accordingly without a proper look at your soil type...
Or just go ahead and find that you may have created more problems than you solve....
I am not a misery guts... I just get v frustrated when I see people who have ill informed/selective informed/part informed/not informed of downsides.....
Plastic.... it's The End I tell you... THE END!!!!
Andy, if you really must use a mole plough, please consider using it around next November and even then monitor the soil condition at the time.
14 Mar 2010 by andy smurthwaite Last edited 14 Mar 2010
following on from the post about sand. came across local sports sand quarry near York. used to play semi pro with manager, he is willing to sponsor 20 tonne of sand and supply more at £18at tonne how do i best use it and how much should we buy. i know you dont know the soil conditions but need help. thanks for advice andy. have small 14hp tractor slitter , roller and aerator attachments
14 Mar 2010 by IGS
To be effective the sand does need to be a medium / coarse grade and with no more than 10% Calcium Carbonate content - the quarry will inform you of this.
I say this as if the granulometry of the sand is different greater amounts may be needed to make improvements.
The price is good if the product is good.
It could take several 100's of tonnes of sand to produce the sandy loam required. Applying 100 tonnes at one time 1 – 2 a year is a big step further to rootzone improvement.
When the ground conditions are favourable sand can be applied either before or after any form of slitting to help incorporate the sand into the rootzone.
Increasing the sand content will help surface but not address the overall drainage. It will be best to assess / quantify the whole drainage scenario.
Physical aeration undertaken when the ground conditions are favourable will be beneficial but may be short lived as compaction can soon occur.
You may also be able to get some grant assistance as well as sponsor contributions
25 Mar 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
Hi Andy,
Our village football club in Semington, Wiltshire has played outside of the village for 14 years. A year ago an opportunity to lease an unused agricultural field came up.
After a few cuts we had a local farmer mole plough the field mid May 09.
We hoped that it would recover in time for September 2009 but with virtually no rainfall at the end of August / September the cracks didn't close sufficiently. Once it became obvious that it wasn't going to be playable (safe) this season we set a new goal of September 2010.
The cracks haven't improved over the last 6 months so last weekend we had a delivery of 25 tonnes of compost that we wheelbarrowed on and raked in to fill the cracks. If cracks reopen in the summer we will apply a similar amount of appropriate sand.
When local games have been cancelled due to heavy rain we check the field and have always been impressed with how the mole drainage has performed.
Our plan is to play our first game (a village friendly) on Good Friday, again dependent on having a safe surface! A few days dry weather would be nice...
Could we have done more to get it ready for September 09? I think we were right to wait and see if the cracks would close themselves but if we had acted after 10 weeks (beginning of July) we might have had the surface ready for September 2009.
If only people would ask advice of the right people, situations as above may well not happen.
I find it amazing that the cracks have not improved over the last six months with the amount of rain we had during November and December. Who advised on filling the cracks with compost ? and what compost was/is it ?
26 Mar 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
We had a bulk delivery of Hills PAS 100 certified Warrior Compost 0 - 6mm. This cost about £22 per tonne delivered - http://www.hills-group.co.uk/documents/brochures/Compost4pp.pdf
As mentioned the cracks haven't really any further over the last six months, despite the rain! Some areas of the pitch were safe but others aren't.
Interested to hear your thoughts Bath...
26 Mar 2010 by IGS
The problem with heavy soils is that they can be very tight with high magnesium levels and associated pH values
If the soil has a lower and balance Calcium / Magnesium ratio then flocculation will be encouraged and a more friable soil can be possible
Adding organic matter may be of use but what is the current content?
Adding or better still incorporating sand (a medium to medium course) sand will help to shift the soil texture towards a loam type.
If the slits created by the mole are still there - this may be due to the moisture level in the soil and the time and the cementing acting of the high magnesium, compaction, etc
You could try to VertiDrain to shift the soil to relieve the compact both vertically and horizontally
A few tonnes of gypsum may help but get an analysis to take away any guess work that may lead you down the wrong path
Alternately sell the field for pottery and move to a sandy type soil elsewhere
26 Mar 2010 by Kelvin Lockwood
Based on the work we have done so far and overseeding that we plan to do after Easter, when would be a good time to apply gypsum? Is liquid gypsum the most cost effective solution?
26 Mar 2010 by IGS
Granular is the most effective as it contains the most calcium sulphate. In liquid fprm it has to be dosolved in water and therefore diluted.
It would be best to get the soil analysed to get to know more accurately what is and what is not.
you will ideally need to analyse the following items
pH
Organic matter
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Sodium
also useful
;-
Phosphorus
and soil texture
take any guess work out of the equation and quantify - the above analysis should cost approx £30/-
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