Spring has arrived with a bold splash of colour from all the amazing displays of spring flowering bulbs, trees and shrubs. Groundsmen have been extremely busy preparing their facilities for the upcoming growing season. 

Pre-season rolling has been at the forefront of cricket groundsmen’s minds, trying to fit it in within a favourable weather window. With cricket due to start any time soon, focus will be on preparing the pitches for when play may resume sometime in April.

Most local authorities have also started their grass mowing rounds, with a first cut of the season completed along with preparing many of their wildflower areas for sowing this year’s mixes of wildflower floral displays.

As for football and rugby, their playing seasons will be coming to an end soon, so the emphasis for many groundsmen will be planning and organising their end of season renovation works that usually commence at the end of May.

As for me, I have also been busy conducting some lawn renovations, spraying with iron / lawn sand products to kill the moss, a light scarification, overseeding and dose of spring fertiliser to get the grass moving. With soil and air temperatures beginning to rise into double figures it will not be long before the grass seed begins to germinate (7-14 days) and we start to see some tangible recover and re-growth.  

New to market

Last week, I was privileged to attend two commercial Zoom meetings, one with STIHL who gave me an update on several new products that they will be bringing to market in the coming months. 

The call was mostly centred around the improved performance and design of a few of their popular battery powered strimmers, pole saws, and hedgetrimmers.

Launching is the new FSA 86 R, adding to the manufacturer’s range of brushcutters designed for landscaping professionals and groundskeepers. 

STIHL said the new unit offers the low weight of its predecessor, the FSA 85, with added features like the ergo lever handle, cutting attachments that can be changed by hand, a new design and more power. The all-new high revving direct drive motor produces 20% more power. In addition to the loop handle, the FSA 86 R also features an ergonomic control handle from which the locking lever, ERGO lever and main trigger lever can be activated. 

The company has also expanded its range of professional brushcutters with the launch of the new FSA 135 and FSA 135 R. These machines benefit from new compatibility with their AP battery system, making it suitable for contractors and grounds management tackling large areas of grass and brush with a variety of cutting attachments.  

Also talked about on the call were the new HLA 66 and HLA 86, which updates the range of cordless long-reach hedge trimmers designed for landscaping professionals and groundskeepers. I am hoping to be undertaking a trial of these products as soon as they become available. These two new models, I was told, feature a series of upgrades to improve the user experience. 

Due to the EC motor, rapid acceleration of the blades is achieved and the tool can apparently be used in wet conditions to minimise downtime. The 115º swivelling cutter bar allows user to achieve top, side and bottom cuts easily, whilst the blade is also sharpened on both sides for cutting in any direction. 
Many of these new models feature a new ergonomic control handle and a self-resetting locking lever in combination with the Ergo lever for an intuitive start-up process. This design also ensures that the tool is comfortable to use whether right-handed or left-handed and features anti-slip protection. 

STIHL have also updated its range of cordless pole pruners, designed for both domestic users, as well as landscaping and gardening professionals and arborists. The new HTA 66 and HTA 86, will be replacing the HTA 65 and HTA 85 models. I trailed the HTA 85 recently and found it to be a very accommodating tool.

The company have also introduced the new HTA 135, the manufacturer’s most powerful model to date, quiet in operation and suitable for working in noise-sensitive areas. This comes fitted with a 3/8” PMM3 semi-chisel, anti-kickback saw chain. It also features a square telescopic shaft that can be adjusted between 285cm and 405cm using the new twist and click adjuster. When used in conjunction with the AP 300 S battery system, the unit has a run time of up to 45 minutes.

And finally, the company has also launched their new KMA 135 R. Featuring a sturdy new battery housing, users can now easily slot the 36V AP batteries, enabling users to carry out a range of jobs using their complete range of KombiTool attachments.

The other Zoom meeting I attended was with a new online retailer, YourGreen, who launched their website last week. The aim of the company is to provide advice and a range of products to businesses who are looking to offset their carbon footprint, support local environmental community projects and sponsor green plantings across the UK.

YourGreen was the idea of Nick Birkinshaw and Bethan Pugh, following their working together for a number of years in the agricultural industry. Nick had previously worked in the seed/ag sector for over 30 years and Bethan joined his team around seven years ago. After years of working together, Nick and Bethan spotted an opportunity and realised that they could create a green business to support individuals, communities and organisations by selling a range of eco-friendly wildflower seed mixtures, grass seed, environmental mixes and tree/hedge packs. 

I am sure, that along with many similar businesses, there will be opportunities to supply planting materials to help improve the biodiversity of our local towns and cities in the coming years.

Finally to complete my week, I took the opportunity to visit Charlies Groundcare dealership in Welshpool to conduct an interview with the owners. The size and scale of their operations were truly amazing and all will be revealed in for a forthcoming article in our Service Dealer magazine.