Green Maintenance
This page is intended to be informative on all things to do with the maintenance of our green. We have looked after the green ourselves since 2016 when our contractor (Elm Horticulture) walked away from our contract. We started a total noobies to greenkeeping, having had no choice but to do it ourselves or financially go under but have gone from strength to strength and the green is improving every year. We have an excellent team of people who enthusiastically (mostly) look after the green and we are very lucky in that respect, many clubs struggle with one or two green keeping volunteers.
The most recent soil analysis from Symbio including their recommended maintenance schedule can be seen here.
Irrigation system
The irrigation system for the St.Chads green uses Rainbird 8005 sprinkler heads and a controller by Weathermatic. Click here for a copy of the Weathermatic watering system controller.
Irrigation tutorial
For interest, click here for a tutorial on how to plan an irrigation system. It’s a bit ‘dry’ but nevertheless quite informative on how to plan, design and size a irrigation system including the pump.
What follows below is history, it is kept only to remind us why we started to look after the green in 2016.
23rd October 2015
Below are some pictures of the green the day after Elm Horticultural visited on 22nd October. Information received says that 3 1/2 bags of top-dressing were applied. Photos show that no scarifying has been done, no evidence of spiking or rolling and re-seeding [of only some patches] that appear to have been done by hand as the distribution is very poor and uncovered so that birds can eat it. Holes created by the squirrels/birds are still evident in the green as are new weeds. Is this it or are they coming back to do the job properly?
30th October 2015
Brian has spoken to Darren Tubby. Was informed that Elm will carry out
hollow tine spiking but will not top dress. If next spring nature has
not filled in the holes then some top dressing will be applied. Issue
with this is that grass will need to grow through the top dressing and
there will be no growth where the holes were, this could potentially
mean the green is very muddy especially if we have a wet season. Darren
also mentioned that liquid iron would be applied, no date. Brian
discussed what we believe should be the maintenance regime and was
informed that the cost of such would probably be in the region of
£20,000 annually, so for our £6,000 (+VAT) we get what we pay for.
2nd November 2015
Email response received from Paul Clark (LBBD) concerning our request for LBBD to tender to maintain our green: –
Dear Bernard
Apologies for the late response to your colleagues but commitments have meant that I have been unable to respond.
We would be delighted to tender for this work but after viewing the green, I am a little concerned at the quality and consistency of maintenance since you left us for a private contractor. One of our most experienced Green keepers is heartbroken as to lack of care and attention given, and has told me that the green in its current state will take a season to bring it back to a ‘good condition’. For this reason, I would appreciate if I could meet your representative with my horticultural team so that we can be clear as to what is expected.
Would you be able to provide a few dates/times when best to visit.
Best regards
Paul
Paul Clark | Service Manager | Specialist Direct Services
Phone: 020 8227 2977 | Mobile: 07968 571137 | lbbd.gov.uk
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
For info, LBBD people and their email addresses are: –
Paul Clark – Paul.Clark@lbbd.gov.uk
Tony Ralph – Tony.Ralph@lbbd.gov.uk
Tony Brown – Tony.Brown@lbbd.gov.uk
Andy Johnson – Andy.Johnson@lbbd.gov.uk
3rd November 2015
Martin and a colleague from Elm have mowed the green today . Asked
about spiking and he said that Darren [Tubby] had mentioned solid
spiking (not hollow) but their spiking machine was currently being
repaired, could not say when it would be carried out. Enquired about
weeding and Martin said no weeding would be done as it was too late,
this would be done next spring and during the playing season.
August 2016
Following a major argument with Darren Tubby after we pointed out (yet again) where Elm were failing to fulfil their own contracted maintenance schedule, Daren Tubby terminated the Elm contract unilaterally during August 2016. The last email contact with Darren Tubby is noted below with some photos sent to him as part of our complaint.