First up, apologies for the slightly late sending of this week's issue. Some internet gremlins got into the system we use this morning!
Now then, I certainly cannot start this week’s TurfPro without congratulating Italy on winning the Euros. A great achievement and something that their fans, friends and associates will never forget.
England started the game very well, with a well taken first goal, however Italy got back into the game and managed to score and see out extra time - thus bringing on the dreaded penalty shoot out.
It seems to be the same old story when it goes to penalties, as England continued to fail at converting crucial spotkicks, missing three which handed the game to the Italians.
England, however, have proved they can compete against some of the world’s best teams. Let us hope they can repeat this form and do well in the next World Cup that will be held in 2022.
Yesterday also saw the completion of this year’s Wimbledon Championship with Ashlie Barty winning the ladies single tournament, while Novak Djokovic, 34, claimed a record-equalling 20th men's title by beating Italy's Matteo Berrettini in the men’s final - matching the record held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Neil Stubley and his staff deserve a well-earned break after such a testing two weeks. They have worked extremely hard to keep all the courts in pristine condition throughout the tournament. It will be interesting to hear Neil’s assessment of how he thought the courts played and performed this year.
Karl McDermont, head groundsman at Lord’s and his staff were also busy during the week, preparing the pitch and outfield for the Royal London ODI between England and Pakistan held on Saturday in front of a full capacity crowd.
(pic Steve Gibbs)
The fixture fell before the planned relaxation of Government restrictions on 19 July, but the MCC worked closely with ECB, DCMS, Public Health England and Westminster City Council on obtaining the green light for this fixture to go ahead. As for the result, England pulled off another impressive victory over Pakistan by 52 runs to clinch the three-match series with a game to spare.
Let hope this is just the start and hopefully after the 19th July we can start to see full capacity crowds once again enjoying their beloved sport.
Green Feet Week
While on the subject people getting together once again I’d like to take the opportunity to offer another reminder of the Green Feet week being organised by The Amenity Forum week, commencing 20th September with the aim of bringing our industry together. The event is to be our industry’s equivalent of a Red Nose Day or Children In Need, a national fund raising annual event.
In Green Feet Week, organisations and individuals working in the sector will get involved in charitable activities, large and small, and tell their stories of what they do and why what they do matters to everyone. What is planned will be fun, raise valuable funds for charity and highlight the importance of amenity management to the lives of everyone.
John Moverley, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, says “I often say it but it is so true that what happens in amenity management impacts upon every UK citizen every day with all involved seeking to create safe, sustainable amenity and sports spaces fit for purpose."
On the radar
As for other news, over the last few days I, along with some other professional gardeners and groundsmen, have been trying out some battery powered equipment, kindly supplied by STIHL and EGO. Over the course of the next few weeks, I shall be putting together a feature article on their use.
Stihl have sent me their HLA 66 and 86 long pole hedge trimmers and batteries while EGO sent a 51cm long power hedge trimmer, along with their HTX 6500, PPX 1000 models plus battery back pack and batteries to test. With plenty of growth to cut at this time of the year, both sets of tools were put through their paces. I have really enjoyed using both sets of equipment and will of course be giving a detailed report on both sets of equipment in upcoming editions of TurfPro.
And finally on the subject of hedges and trees there seems to be plenty of grants and funding schemes around particularly from the Tree and Woodland Trust.
The Trust says they can help you design your woodland, create a bespoke species mix, supply the agreed trees and tree protection, and cover up to 75% of costs.
Finally, with this ongoing good spell of sunny and wet weather the grass continues to grow vigorously, with many lawns experiencing a growth spurt Some have also suffered from a degree of weed pest and disease infestations. Chafer grubs have been prolific in places, with birds causing a lot of damage while feeding on these pests.
On top of this we have also seen outbreaks of other diseases with redthread and fusarium prevalent.
A timely application of fertiliser, a dose of selective weed killer and, if needed, an application of fungicide should soon retain some decent turf quality. We have an array of products on hand to help us keep our playing surfaces in good condition.
