Following the end of the season, the AJS Stadium at Heritage Park has been very busy with some groundwork, already preparing for the next. We’d like to give an update on the work that is continuing at the Stadium and we’d like to thank Peter Jackson for his images.
Day 1.
Fraise mowing: a cultivation practice where rotating steel blades brush the surface of the pitch, physically removing large quantities of turfgrass sward, thatch and other organic material and some soil in a single pass. This prepares the pitch for further remedial work and removes potential problems which could lead to the propagation of various grass diseases.
Day 2.
Sandbanding: long rotating steel blades dig narrow trenches up to thirty centimetres down into the pitch surface, immediately filling them with sand from the hopper above. These sand bands provide a secondary level of drainage to supplement the existing main drains on the pitch, helping to prevent the accumulation of surface water.
Day 3.
Sanding, Shockwave and Verti-drain treatment: during the sanding of the pitch, a thin layer of sand is spread over the entire pitch, and then brushed to provide a level surface.
The shockwave machine has long rotating steel blades that cut deep narrow slits into the pitch, further helping surface drainage, but more importantly, aerating the surface of the pitch to encourage root growth which is essential in maintaining a good playing surface.
The Verti-drain machine has banks of rapidly rising and falling steel spikes which punch literally millions of holes into the surface of the pitch, again aiding drainage, but primarily to provide aeration for the grass roots.
Photo Gallery, Days 1, 2 and 3:
Fraise mowing and its effect.
Sandbanding and its results.
Sanding and brushing.
The Shockwave machine and its results.
The Verti-drainer and its results.
Day 4.
Seeding: the grass seed is evenly distributed across the pitch in two diagonal directions which has the effect of covering the pitch with thousands of ‘kite-shapes’ of grass seed. Future work by the ground staff will encourage lateral growth of the seed so that, by the start of the pre-season friendly games, the pitch has an even covering of healthy grass. More pictures and update will follow.
More higher definition photos, are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/elmerbats_gallery/albums
A big thanks once again to Peter Jackson for his pictures.