Message Board - Cricket: spiking!!!!!!!!

ROOSTER 69.
HI,
you said that you will spike your square,what will you use and to what kind of depth please ?

i m going to spike to 5 inches if i can as i don t want the hole to pluck, and i will use a 5/16 tine (8mm) just to open the surface up again to let some air in and remove the surface water and get my fine grasses to look a bit more healthy.

Hi

just be careful when you are spiking because if you have a root break close to the surface then you may do more damage than good. ( i.e if the surface starts to heave)

hi

I`ve recently finished my Aeration programme on my grass courts.

However you should have compleated most of this throughout the winter months on clay structures used for cricket and tennis as you`ll now soon want to start preparing a pitch/Court for the season ahead.

Beware... on clay structures Deeper cultivation from now on could cause problem`s if we have an early dry spell as the surface could crack !

You`ll probably be ok at the moment however any later than jan and you could have problems !

Sarrel rolling is ideal from now on just to break surface crust and allow O2 and moisture to enter the structure and also it`ll be ideal for a "tilth" for overseeding !

I`ll usualy aerate to around 4" as this is where most "activity" takes place ie Root growth,Soil derivors ect however different depths will be required to avoid "Pans" and "Layering" forming !

Thanks

So at this time of year would i be better off using a sarrel roller i have than using something more industrial which would give deeper holes?

Hi

Hislop

Do you manage a cricket surface ?

If so.... Thorough Aeration is required once play finishes to relieve Compaction,Increase percolation rates and encourage root growth ect ect.

As a General Rule i wouldn`t cultivate too vigerously after january for the reason`s i gave before !

If for example you`ve got more "Heavier" loams ie Kaloam ect then yes you`ll require a vigerous spiking programme to encourage Root/leaf growth as the grass does tend to struggle a little with more "Heavier" mediums/soils.

And if you`ve got problems such as Layering,Rootbreak ect then spiking during the Autumn period will "Pin" layers together (With topdressing ofcourse) and encourage deeper root mass.

It`s imperative that this is done for the general health of the plant !

The use of a sarrel roller from now on will be of great benefit...I do it as this`ll help Amelioration of very light loam,provide a tilth for overseeding and percolation rates ect.

Spiking`s essential during the cooler periods for many procceses !

Most (if nearly all) of your deeper cultivation should of been done !

If not now`s not the time to start !

Thanks

hi anthony..........i have used a vertidrain on a bowls green but it had 1/2 inch tines and they were worn to halfway, about 8 inches, can this set up be used on a cricket square or is it too much of a machine to put on a wicket......?

Thanks A.A.
We use a surrey loam which as you know has quite a high clay content.i'll carry on with the sarrel rolling!!

hi ticky i used to use a 7212 on my square with 8mm tine on the playing surface i ve always found there the best and i ve seen some horrors on squares that have had 1/2 inch tines on the playing surface. although i do use 1/2 through the run ups and footholes

hi ticky

Vertidrain

Aeration has to be realy done to different depth`s of penetration to avoid potential problems.

Potential pans OR plains of weakness could occur through this.

Layering and rootbreak are also common !


Vertidraining`s an aggresive operation and should be done at the correct time of year and ofcourse at the correct moisture state to gain maximum result`s.

I wouldn`t vertidrain now though...it`s too late ! (On a cricket/tennis structure that is.

Thanks

I know that verti-draining is done on cricket squares, but ussually during the autumn renovation. I wouldn't dream of doing it now.

Last year I aerated with a Pattison (solid 100cm tines) up to the end of January. However, I thought that some of the holes remained into the early cricket season so this year I stopped at the end of December.

I took over as groundsman at my current club at the end of last season. The square had a one inch layer of loam on top of a thin layer of marl. Underneath this was the original soil. The root system did not penetrate the marl layer. I did consider Koroing the top off to below the marl layer and starting again. However this would have wasted many tons of good loam and there was no thatch problem evident. Instead, I decided on an aggressive spiking programme. I have spike the square on eight occasions with my groundsman aerator, finishing today, 9th January. I used five inch tines of half inch diameter, however, by the time I finished today they had been worn down to four and a half inch tines of three eighths inch diameter. My groundsman has four arms with two tines in each holder. This created major problems, lifting the turf above the root break so I took out every other tine. This did the trick and I haven't experienced any further problems.

Peter

Hi

If anyone is carring out any aeration at the moment anthony is correct about being careful incase of a dry spring, but if you are still going to spike use a vertical punch attaction machine with tines that are no greater than 10mm in diameter