Landscape & Urban Design Issue 36 2019 | Page 94

DEEP AERATION CURES WATERLOGGING LONG TERM Heavy downpours of rain on hammers a hollow probe one metre - similar to “breathing” underground. compacted grass areas on sports into the soil using a JCB road breaker The 1½” probe holes created by the pitches, bowling greens, golf courses gun (this is because the ground is Terralift machine are backfilled and amenity areas can leave standing usually so compact at depth that it with aggregate to provide a semi water, rendering them unusable and needs this hammer to break through). permanent aeration/ventilation shaft, stopping play. The action of normal Once the probe has reached one metre helping to keep the whole aeration aeration, use of machines and foot depth, compressed air is released up process working. The top 1” should traffic over time can leave areas to a maximum of 20Bar (280psi), be topped with the usual top dressing compacted and panning occurs, the Terralift being the only machine to encourage grass growth over the causing poor drainage and depriving using such high air pressure, which probe holes. The Terrain Aeration grass roots of oxygen and nutrients. is needed to fracture and fissure the process is ecologically sound, there is Sports turf specialists Terrain soil. The probe is withdrawn and the no mess and once the pitch or green Aeration have been providing a long- process repeated using two-metre has been given a light mow it’s ready term solution to this for over twenty centre spacings on a staggered grid for play to resume. five years, using one- metre deep pattern - this means that each shot penetration of the playing surface. interconnects with the previous ones. The Terrain Aeration Terralift On the tail end of the air blast, dried machine not only solves the immediate seaweed is injected which sticks to compaction problem, the process has the walls of the fractures and fissures a beneficial effect that lasts many and, over time, expands and contracts years. It works like this. The Terralift with the moisture content in the soil 94 Landscape & Urban Design Issue 36 2019 Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk