We are now into the last week of February, and what a wet month it has been with many turf professionals struggling with saturated pitches. No doubt they are all waiting for some better weather in March. We are already seeing an early spring show of snowdrops and crocus bulbs.
Soil and air temperatures should start to rise in March - maybe into double figures - which will influence some much-needed grass growth and give an incentive to get ready for the onset of the new growing season.
Spring sees the beginning of the mowing season with people undertaking their first cut of the year. March is a great time to prepare your garden and start work on your lawns and sports fields. Although the weather can still be cold and frosty, there are plenty of winter jobs to do.
First and foremost, you should already have had your mowers and machinery serviced for the up-and-coming season, if not you should endeavour to get them serviced as soon as possible.
General garden maintenance would include tidying up beds and borders, remove dead leaves, weeds, and debris. You can be applying some organic matter to your flower borders and beds like compost or well-rotted manure to enrich the soil.
There will no doubt be some repairs to garden structures such as fences, trellises, and paths for any winter damage. There will be plenty of shrubs, hedges and trees that will require some pruning and cutting back.
Spring is an important time for pruning, helping plants grow healthier, produce more flowers, and maintain a good shape.
Before you start pruning ensure your tools are sharp and clean. Secateurs for small cuts, loppers for thicker branches, and a pruning saw for trees.
Try to prune on a dry day. It reduces the risk of fungal infections. Always cut just above an outward-facing bud to encourage outward growth. Remove dead, diseased, and damaged branches first, this is essential for plant health.
As for lawn care, refrain walking on frozen or waterlogged lawns – it can cause compaction and damage. Once the lawn has dried out and firm to walk on without leaving footprints, you will be in a good position to undertake your first cut of the year. Ideally using a rotary mower, it will be beneficial as it is good at cleaning up any surface debris, twigs and leaves.
We also need to invest in some timely spring renovation work to help restore these natural grass playing surfaces. We will also have to control any moss and algae that may have infested our sward.
Ideally during March / early April, when temperatures rise significantly, it will be an ideal time to undertake your spring renovations.
Key operations of your spring renovations will be to:
- Apply moss killer
- Clean out surface moss and fibre
- Aerate/de-compact the soil
- Topdress with a sand/soil dressing to maintain surface levels
- Overseed with some new grass seed to repopulate the lawn, sowing at a rate of 35grams M2
- Apply a spring NPK base fertiliser
A pre-seeding fertiliser can be used to help promote some growth; something like an 8:12:8 NPK or even a 7:7:7 NPK at 35g/m2 will be ideal.
Bowls and cricket clubs will also be busy getting their playing surfaces ready for the forthcoming playing season with a programme of spring renovations very similar to a lawn renovation but more targeted to meet the demands of the specific playing surface.
However, generally cricket pitch preparations are more in-depth with the advent of the need for some pre-season rolling work required to firm up the square prior to the initial marking out of the wickets.
As for football and rugby clubs, their seasons will be coming to an end in May, therefore it will be important they have secured the relevant funding and services of appropriate specialist contractors to carry out their end of season renovations.
As a pitch advisor, one of the biggest problems for many grassroots clubs is the lack of investment in their pitches, especially in terms of carrying out some relevant renovation work. This can generally be seen as an expense and more often only completed once the pitch has deteriorated so much, they have no choice but to invest in some major repairs.
Clubs should try to secure a relevant budget to cover the expense of both a decent renovation and appropriate maintenance regime during the growing season.
To help grass roots sports clubs with potential funding to improve their facilities or buy essential machinery the GMA launched The Pitch Advisory Service, formerly the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme, that was originally launched in 2014 and is funded by Sport England and the Football Foundation, working in association with the ECB, RFL and RFU.
The aim of the Pitch Advisory Service is to raise the standards of sports surfaces as well as the understanding of sports turf management practices among grassroots sports clubs across England.
It is difficult to put a price on what these facilities bring to the community. From my experience they have played a part in educating, developing and producing well rounded adults who have the skills and abilities to be successful and contribute to our society.
It is imperative we ensure the future of these important assets. Local sports clubs and facilities are an essential hub of the community. We should encourage more participation and ensure these clubs remain sustainable for the next generation of sporting participants.
