Maintaining a turf designed to facilitate sports is different, and the needs of an evergreen sports field are far more complex. It’s simply not the same as the garden lawn. A sports field needs to be as even as the floor in your home.
It can not have any irregularities – denser areas can make or break the game. The slightest bump or bare patch can be devastating during a match. If the quality of the sports field sways a game, it reflects negatively on the premises. Everyone – from the players to the audience will know if the pitch has played a part in a goal that is lost.
Your evergreen sports field can impact your income
This is why schools, stadiums, and sports clubs are scrutinised with such care before their services are employed. Some of the most important elements to a sports field include:
- Rigidity – to ensure the turf resists compression and handles impact well
- Elasticity – refers to the turf’s ability to ‘bounce back’ after impact
- Resistance – for lawn that handles extreme temperatures and drought
- Recuperative Capacity – refers to turf’s ability to regrow vibrantly
- Yield – refers to getting a thicker and denser turf
- Verdure – turf that is vibrant and green
- Rooting – is about providing the turf with rooting medium that allows for proper water filtration, assimilation of nutrients, and enough room to grow and expand. Proper rooting will result in a thinner thatch later and greener, softer grass.
Small bumps, mounds, patches of dead grass, and areas that are lusher than others seriously interfere with a sportsman’s game.
A bumpy field is one of the most common challenges faced by a sports field. Getting it perfectly smooth and maintaining it that way throughout ongoing games on the field during the season can be incredibly labour intensive.
Also read: Tips for Sports Filed Lawn Maintenance
FSG sports field spring treatments
FSG has been in the landscaping business for many years. As such, we’ve perfected our recipe for a perfect evergreen sports field. We sweep in, make a few labour-intensive and technical changes (we have superstar equipment to make this simple) and we leave again. After your first mowing, the visible results will have your sports players and your groundsmen delighted.
We have been doing some spring maintenance work on a variety of fields this season.
In springtime turf is in need of some rejuvenation after a long sport season and an inactive growing season in some areas due to harsh winters.
A multi-faceted approach to address various factors that affect the lawn’s stress levels, and to overcome the risk of stress in the summer months were implemented:
- We start out with a scarification, this allows the thinning out of grass and the removal of built-up thatch in the turf. We do a cleanup cut after scarification, the length of the cut was set very short to pick up most of the loose clippings on the field. The use of a blower mower is very useful as all clippings get sucked up in a bag and gets disposed of.
- The next step is to fertilise the sports fields with a prescription mix, following a soil sample taken on our fields and a program compiled by our team of turf grass experts.
- We then aerate all of the sports fields. Aeration loosens compacted soil. When soil is compacted, the granules are so tightly packed together making it hard for water, the roots of grass, and air to get in. Air, in particular, is essential because without it, organisms like earthworms can’t thrive to recycle nutrients and keep the ground healthy. And while grass might not be able to thrive in compacted soil, weeds can. Another reason to aerate: it makes lawn treatments like fertilization more effective.
- The fertiliser needed a two-day rest period. It gets watered intensely and allowed to absorb into the soil. We were lucky to have lovely downpours during our spring treatments. The rain assisted in dissolving the fertiliser into the soil. It also contributed to faster recovery after the spring treatment, and it provided water to the areas that needed it. Rainwater is also high in nitrogen, which helps with leaf growth and the recovery of dry areas.
- A 70/30 (topsoil/compost) mix lawn dressing gets applied next with a drop spreader. Topdressing of the turf adds healthy organics into the soil and also assists in creating a smoother surface by filling up holes and uneven areas.
- The final step is to drag the topdressing in with a “dragmat”. This handy tool helps to even out the lawndressing and pick up loose stones and bigger particles from the turf that might have been inside the lawndressing mix.
- After constant irrigation for the next two weeks, the first cut can take place. The first cut should be set a bit longer and gradually be taken down to prevent damage to the turf and “scalping” of the surface until the desired length can be achieved.
The grass is greener where you water it
The most exciting part of these jobs is when you’ve just completed the first cut. The perfection is enough to satisfy the most particular perfectionist. You can see the results of the hard work, the grass is vibrant and healthy. The expanse is even and free from bumps.
Spring treatments are essential to achieving the best sports fields possible. A good sports field attracts more business and keeps people coming back for more, making it a great business investment.
The hard work doesn’t need to be an ongoing challenge. With the right equipment and over 21 years experience under our belts, we can do this in our sleep.
It’s a matter of sweeping in, making magic happen, and keeping it looking outstanding throughout the season. Pitch perfect this season with the greenest grass. Request a quote today
