Message Board - Natural Turf: Slitting/Spiking
26 Mar 2004 by Bullybeef
Slitting/Spiking
Is now the right time of year to slit a cricket outfield.Its a good well drained field.
27 Mar 2004 by Hipper
Slitting outfield
Slitters (those machines using knife like tines) seem to cause a bit of debate about their use.
Recent ideas say they should not be used at all as they have no benefit, whereas conventional thinking is that they can be used in 'the right conditions' but not after January. The reason for the January date is that slits will open up when the ground drys and this will lead to cracking and a dangerous surface.
My experience with knife tines is that when used sensibly I think there is a benefit and that you can use them up to March/April. I work at a school which has rugby pitches which become a cricket outfield and as part of my renovation programme I use a slitter which goes in around 20cm (I also use a Pattison solid tine pedestrian spiker (10cm) on some areas, and hand fork a few very bad spots). Where there is good grass cover, or will be before the ground drys out, the slits do not open up (perhaps because the grass cover helps the soil remain moist near the surface). They do open up on bare or sparsely covered areas but then I fill them with sand.
In your circumstances I think you need to ask yourself if it is nescessary for you to aerate now, bearing in mind its fundamental purpose which is to relieve compaction. This leads me to two questions: is the cricket outfield used for winter games; and if not, have you done any aeration work this winter? I would say that if it is exclusively a cricket outfield, it would have been best to be aerating throughout the winter, but if you haven't done this, and it is well drained anyway, it might be wise not to use a slitter this year, just in case you do get cracks. If it is also a winter games pitch, especially football or rugby, you would surely need to do something about relieving compaction and, bearing in mind the possibility of cracking, I would suggest you use the slitter. However if you have a solid tine machine that goes as deep I would advice using this in preference.
Back to Top - Go to Next Unread Message
This Message is closed, you may not post a reply at this time
