19 Mar 2004 by Malcolm
Cricket Square
I have had trouble with a lot of thatch on the cricket square. I hollow tine
and scarify it as often as I can but I feel that it will take at least
another couple of years to see progress. What I intend to do, in order to get ONE strip in good order for next year (2005) is to remove the turf
(3m.width) and to replace it with soil and loam, seed it and roll it etc.
Is this a feasible project? If so.....
a) How deep should I remove the turf?
b) Do I put soil in on its own and if so how deep?
c) How much depth of loam or do we mix it with the soil first?
d) Any other advice / comments?
Thank you in anticipation of your advice.
Cricket Square
Malcolm
Yes it is a feasible project, but you have to consider several things.
If you have trouble with thatch, you have to establish how far the thatch goes down, because to rectify the problem you would have to remove all of the problem. First of all have you considered deep scarifying along the lines of the Graden machine? These remove virtually all thach without the need to excavate, but you have to consider costs too.
If you consider the thatch is too serious and you have to dig it out (ie remove turf) then you have to ensure that you dig down until you have a firm base to work from; it's no good removing some and leaving some, this would make the operation futile as ball bounce is dependent on what is below your loam as well as the loam itself.
When you ask if you put soil in on its own I take that to mean loam, yes loam on its own to the full depth. there is no point putting back soil you have just dug out as that contains the problem, and to mix it would just dilute or ruin the effect of the loam.
If the depth does become say 4" (100mm) then you would be best advised to relay in two layers of 2" (50mm) heeling and compacting the loam as you go, then creating a 'key' (something for the other loam to bind to) for the second layer, and repeating the heeling and compacting to the surface.
If you need any other advice keep asking through the message boards or you can contact me via info@gsbloams.co.uk or phone 01536 791155 / 0780 857 1051
Good Luck!
The light at the end of the tunnel is not a train
19 Mar 2004 by Dirk Diggler
Relaying wickets
Thatch on cricket surfaces is detrimental to the playing characteristics of the wicket, and therefore should always be controlled.
When the extent of thatch is a problem then there are several ways of dealing with it here are three:
1) The removal and reconstruction of thatchy wickets.
The depth of excavation you carry out depends on your resources, the amount of time the wicket has to be put back into play, and the facilities you have at your disposal for a thorough job.
The deeper you excavate, the longer time it will take to establish, but more likely to be successful. A depth of 4 inches is adequate, 6 the bees knees, however if the problem only goes down two inches why bother.
If possible aerate the base of the hole before filling with new loam, and subsequently spike the base layer of loam within 2 inches of the desired level. This in my opinion allows the roots to penetrate better, and more importantly allows the soil to restructure itself deeper down, thus reducing the amount of surface cracking in subsequent seasons.
There is also no harm in applying a base dressing of fertiliser before applying the last two inches of loam to give the new roots an incentive to explore deeper down.
When replacing the soil, always use a soil that will match the existing rootzone to prevent a potential break. Firming the soil in my experience is best carried out using tractor wheels, whilst the soil is topdressed into the hole using an outfield top dresser (5 foot working width), the soil firms better when it is moist, and the tractor wheel marks allow the next layer to key in. Make sure your finished levels are slightly above the existing square, because it will sink!
There are three options for sward establishment, of which you will have to decide which one is best for you. Over-sowing, using washed turf, or using turf previously grown by you or a specialist in the material you are replacing the wicket with. With careful aftercare there is no reason why you cannot simply overseed, but get the preparation right!
2) Hollow coring, this takes time and may take many years to see an improvement (about 10). Inconsistency may also become a problem with areas of the surface being softer than others.
3) Using the “Graden” or equivalent. This is a highly effective tool, and can alleviate much of your thatch problem. This method is more effective than the hollow coring because more material is removed.
Whichever method you use it is vital that all of the problem material is removed, and even more importantly a compatible material is used as a replacement. I have myself personally just relayed 4 wickets last September, and they will be in use next month, so anything is possible! Best of luck!
Thatchy cricket square
Another possible solution is to have the Koro Field Topmaker remove the offending layers of soil.
This machine is like a tractor drawn rotovator which digs up and collects the soil onto an excavator belt and it can then be loaded directly onto a trailer for removal. New soil is then added to the square and it is re-seeded. Of course this work is done at the end of the season. Over the last few years the Koro has been successfully used to level squares (pricipally by removing the saddles). It would only be practical to do your whole square, and it's not cheap; I think it costs £4000 to £6000 a square, but it should be a one off operation which future good groundsmanship should render unnescessary a repeat.
I believe Richard Campey are the company that does this work.
22 Mar 2004 by loammeister, Dirk Diggler and Michael
thatch in cricket square
Thank you for your clear and very helpful replies to my questions. I am most grateful and feel that I have the confidence to remedy the problem on strip at least. Malcolm
Koro Machine
Last Autumn we used the Koro machine, it had amazing effects. We went from a square that had high spots of nearly 9 inches at the ends compared to some areas in the middle.
We thenused the graden before top soiling at a cost of under 4k with the top soil. Top soil cost 1k.
Our square looks great and we are in the middle of our pre season rolling.
If interested i could send you pictures.
koro
matthew
why not do a complete article with pictures and send it to pitchcare, then we can all see it!
The light at the end of the tunnel is not a train
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