Paul Jackson is a busy man. Responsible for grounds care at Tynemouth Cricket Club, as well as a number of schools and a football club in North Tyneside he says he relies on Barenbrug for the high quality products and on-tap technical expertise to support a wide range of environments.
Paul has to ensure his sports grounds perform to the highest standards, not only to maintain the excellent reputation of his employer, but as a huge sports fan he understands a team’s game is greatly enhanced with a high quality playing surface – a responsibility he is justly proud of.
Tynemouth V Chester le Street
Paul said, “Tynemouth Cricket Club plays 120 games here a year, more than most – and all over 23 weeks. To achieve that, we’re constantly doing everything alien to the turf: rolling it with heavy rollers, cutting it short, starving it of water. We regularly seal the top to help manage moisture levels and protect it from heat and water, so we need a product robust enough to stand up to it all.
"Bar Extreme delivers on all counts, it presents better than other brands I’ve tried and gives me the rapid establishment and ease of cut I need to do my job well.”
Recently, the Premier League club hosted a T20 competition involving three, three-hour games in one day. Supplied by local Barenbrug distributor, Turfcare Specialists Ltd of Consett: Paul found the wear tolerance of Bar Extreme so good that only 1% grass coverage was lost. He achieves the best coverage sowing at 35 to 40 grams a square metre, with frequent mowing.
Paul has been using the mix for seven years now. He says its rapid establishment comes into its own at the end of the season when there is only a short window to renovate the square - just six to eight weeks.
He says: “Renovation begins mid-September and by mid-October we’re already enjoying 98% coverage and ready to cut again. This removes a lot of the time pressure on us.”
And as if he is not busy enough, Paul is also an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) pitch advisor for Northumberland Cricket Board. Dealing with a wide range of turf challenges, he acts as an advisor, showing grounds staff how to maintain and get the best value out of their facilities.
