Groundskeeping Journal Issue 21 2024 | Page 25

AERATION , IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE
One contractor working with London councils has among the sites under their watchful eye many of the city ’ s sports pitches , of which there are ninety-five football pitches , ten cricket squares , bowling greens and running tracks .
“ A lot of the sites are on made up ground and experience major problems with drainage ,” says their parks officer . “ We have carried out aeration down to 300mm , but it ’ s not enough to get to the pans .”
So what ’ s the answer ? Terrain Aeration has a range of machines with the ability to send a probe to a depth of one metre . It penetrates the ground with the help of its built-in JCB road breaker , reaching the pan . Here it injects compressed air , working on a grid system and fragmenting the ground into fissures . These interlink to help restructure the soil and let in vital oxygen . Turf roots will grow stronger and uniquely the soil structure is kept open by Terrain Aeration ’ s Terralift machine process , which has proven itself over the past 30 years . With the Terralift ’ s probe reaching 1m depth , it ’ s also the perfect way to help move excess water away from stagnating around tree roots .
Flood waters are heavy enough to force the oxygen out of the soil structure , leading to dead or dying turf and trees showing signs of severe stress , leaf fall and rotting roots .
By going deeper than the growing roots , excess water can percolate away and save the roots from rotting . Again , vital oxygen is injected into the soil along with other products to help with the root system in re-establishing itself . The results being a healthier and stronger root growth , a
GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | January / February 2024 25