… we’re already getting our green ready for 2024.
The green gets a lot of use. During the season it’s used thousands of times, and inevitably the underlying soil gets compacted. It's essential to combat this compaction.
Alan Lewis, Greens Maintenance Advisor to Bowls England advises:
“Aeration is one of the most important maintenance tasks carried out on turf.
Aeration means to get air into something. In turf it is simply the production of holes through the turf surface into the underlying root zone (soil) to allow gases (oxygen etc.) in and out of the soil and for water, to relieve soil compaction and improve grass roots through the soil.”
The holes are made using a tool called a hollow tine. So, on Tuesday 26th September our green was hollow tined. Thankfully, this is no longer a job that is carried out completely manually. Bring in the heavy equipment.
Thousands of cores of soil are removed. Although the cores have been removed mechanically they all have to be taken off the green. This is where stalwart members of HBC prove their worth.
But it's not only about aerating the turf. Top dressing needs to be applied and seeding carried out.
Preparing to apply the top dressing.
Followed by seeding.
After all this effort the green looks worse than before the work started! But we are reliably informed that all will be well in time for the new season!
Our Head Green Keeper, Norman Jackson said:
"It was a great effort and we finished sooner than I thought. A real team effort so a big thank you to all concerned, you are very much appreciated."
Roger Hicks kindly provided the photographs for this article. Thank you, Roger.