17 Mar 2004 by nige
More help please
Thanks for all your help so far, but i have a few more quesitons and really appreciate some advice.
The pitch is on very sandy soil, so i was not sure what top dressing mix to use ?? Also which mixture of seed is the best.
Then it comes to the fertilizer,people talk on this about different types and i wondered what was best for between seasons and is it ok to put the fertilizer on topof the new grass seed.
We are going to re-turf the goal mouth areas and seed other parts, as the budget is not great ! Ive acquired some large rolls of light blue polythene and i thought i could use this to cover the seeded areas which i hope would bring the grass on quicker.
Will this work ??????
Thanks
Nige
no simple answers
I would start by finding out the particle size makeup of your soil. You will ned to send it off to a lab (there are links for soi testing on this site) and ask them to do a particle size analysis. This will tell you the sand, silt and clay content as well as the organic content. Ask them to do a nutrent analysis at the same time.
If the pitch is sandy then it is unlikely you will need to ameliorate the soil with a sandy topdressing. I presume your pitch drains petty well. Vetidraining followed by top dressing with 80/20 is a fairly effective, and above all cheap way to improve drainage on a pitch without undertaking more serious measures but you may not feel this is necessary on your pitch.
I would certainly recomend vertidraining or some other form of deep aeration during your rennovations.
A light top dressing may improve surface levels as well as reduce thatch but this is not the only way to do this. Heavy chain harowing prior to overseeding will help.
The seed you use will depend on the pitch, but in general a winter dwarf perennial ryegrass is the essential component. Often the seed mix may also contain some sort of creeping red fescue, especially if shade is an issue. Tufted hair grasses are also gaining popularity. If you have a rep which you trust then I'm sure they could help you.
Do not buy seed because it is cheap! Seed can vary in viability and a cheap bag of seed will usually contain less pure live seed and so pound for pound may work out dearer!
Choosing fertilisers can be a minefield since they are all attrctively packaged and claim miracle results. Firstly start with the nutrient analysis done in the lab. this is the only way to ensure you are applying a balanced fertiliser programme. Remember - fertiliser is not a once a year opperation and you should work to a plan as to what you want to add to the soil and when. This is a big issue and I would suggest some supplementary reading.
However, the question is whether you should spend a lot of money on all singing all dancing fertiliser with all sorts ofaddittions or whether you could make do with a simple 20.10.10 or whatever. Personally I think that if your budget is tight then you can get good results with the cheaper fertilisers.
It doesn't really matter if you apply fertiliser at the same time as the seed.
Polythene will work well as a germination sheet but may encourage disease. It would be worth employing a contactor to drill the seed in for you, get him to do this in several directions. You could also spread seed on the surface but remember that it will only germinate if it is in good contact with the soil so you should use a field roller or the roller of the mower to press the seed down.
I'm sure others may feel differently, but if you have a break of six weeks or more then you could sow the goal mouth and still get excellent results.
The rennovation of a football pitch is, however a huge subject and I would reccomend reading as a way of improving your knowledge. A book costing £20 could save you hundreds!
24 Mar 2004 by MD
Turf
Try "IMPACT GREEN Professional" from Piltland Technology Ltd.
Now is the time to start using it to provide strong healthy root and top growth.
This will improve recovery from hard wear both now and in the future.
The link to their website is at the top pf this page
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