Tillers Turf - North Kelsey, Lincolnshire, 01652 678 000 - Specialist growers of turf for landscape and sport

Royal Cromer GC have made some great improvements remodeling and reshaping surrounds and bunkers on numerous holes, and carrying out works on Tee’s and Pathways. They utilised over 2500 m2 Tillers 100% Fescue and Arena Bargold with fantastic results.

The redesigned 9th green being the crowd pleaser, which has been featured in magazines. We received great feedback from golfers on the course yesterday on the improvements made on the 2nd, 9th and 18th to name a few.

Mark Heveron, Head Greenkeeper made Mark Keysall from Rigby Taylor and I really welcome, he told us about  future planned improvements. Mark Heveron said “I have always used Tillers Turf because of it’s quality”

The Environment Agency announced that the official drought status has been lifted in 19 counties in the South West of England, the Midlands and Yorkshire.

Read the Environment Agency’s drought briefing for 11th May here: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/45_Drought_management_briefing_11_May

For more the most up to date information visit the Turf Growers Association Website at www.turfgrass.co.uk

With mixed messages coming from Water Authorities about the hose pipe ban and whether newly laid turf is exempt. Tillers have been working hard with the Turf Growers Association and the landscape sector to lobby the Water Authorities and get clear messages. At the moment the out look is not great. Please refer to the Turf Gowers Association for the latest information www.turfgrass.co.uk . 

There are some simple steps to take  if you are thinking of laying turf and to look after existing lawns. 

  

Laying New Turf 

1.Plan ahead to prevent the turf drying out: don’t have more turf delivered in a day than you can lay. 

2.Only buy your Turf from a TGA grower or a stockist supplied by one: that way you’ll know the turf is fresh when you buy it. 

3.Buy the right grade of turf for the job in hand. Your TGA approved grower or stockist will have the knowledge to help you. 

4.When your turf is delivered to site stack it in a shady place with the aim of laying all that is delivered in the course of the day. 

5.Prepare and wet the ground immediately before laying and incorporate a water-retaining soil conditioner to keep the soil moist. 

6.To conserve water usage, lay and water-in no more than 20% of the delivery at a time. This means the first turf laid won’t have totally dried out when you reach the end. 

7.In the days following, water only either in the early morning or in the early evening so the sun doesn’t burn off the water you’ve added. 

8.Give the turf a light rolling to ensure good contact with the soil underneath. 

9.Hold back on the mowing: the blades of grass should be at least one inch in height. 

10.As the lawn establishes over the first month water less and less frequently. 

After a month the turf should be well established and ready for your client to enjoy. 

Exsisting Lawns 

Wait before you water
There is no need to water established lawns. It is not only wasteful and unnecessary, it also causes many of the common lawn problems. 

Watering your established lawn should be avoided in most situations. Here’s why: 

• Water is a precious and limited resource.
• Watering increases the chance of disease on your lawn. Most lawn diseases thrive in warm, damp conditions.
• Watering encourages the spread of the weed grass, annual meadow grass. Lawns that are allowed to dry out have much less of this unsightly weed.
• Watering encourages shallow rooting, which in turn means the lawn is more at risk in dry conditions. So, once you start watering, you can’t stop.
• Damp soils are easily damaged by compaction during heavy use, e.g. during family barbeques and games on the lawn.

Essentially, grass is a natural survivor; it may go brown during a drought but in most cases it will recover when it rains. 

Maintaining a lawn during hot, dry weather 

• Increase mowing height to 35-40 mm – this creates deeper roots and more shade and shelter from higher temperatures
• Try not to concentrate wear in one place – move barbecues and toys like slides and swings around
• No need to feed as the grass will not be growing during a drought
• Avoid blanket weedkillers as these may damage the grass – use a spot weedkiller if necessary
• Keep mower blades sharp as blunt blades bruise the grass leaf and they lose more water
• Apply a light dressing of compost to help keep moisture in the soil and protect the grass from higher temperatures
• Scarify your lawn once a year to remove matted and dead growth from the lawn – if allowed to build up, this acts as a barrier to rainfall.

Tillers having a wheelie good time

In the shadow of the London Eye Tillers Turf are helping create a green oasis in the centre of London. We have worked closely with Frosts Landscapes as they complete their design and build contract on Jubilee Gardens. The project will be completed and ready to act as centre stage for the Jubilee Celebrations. The turf is looking great and Frosts have been very impressed with its condition and with the service from Tillers. Within 10 days the first turf laid has put down over 75mm of roots. Click on the link below to have a look.   

London Eye, Jubilee Park

I’ve just come back from a tour of golf clubs in France, Switzerland, Luxemburg, and Belgium. I was really impressed by the investment that many clubs are making in the improvement of the playing sufaces: green renovations, bunker repositioning, fairway drainage, tee levelling, etc. All to enhance the enjoyment and playing experience of the golfer. Many of the problems that we see here due to heavy wear are experienced in Europe, too. These works are being overseen by talented and committed course managers, many from the UK, Ireland and the US, with whom it is a pleasure for us to be associated.

One such course manager is Richard McGlynn at Blumisberg GC, Bern, Switzerland. Richard has been involved in golf course construction and maintenance all over the world, including a stint in Russia. He is currently using our Fescue turf on the sides of bunkers to introduce a more natural look.

On the 28th of September 7 greens keepers from across the Midlands visited Tillers 1000 acre Turf Nurseries.

Following a technical brief from Tillers Production Manager Stephen Richardson the tour covering the production cycle of turf, the multitude of grades we produce, the methods and machinery utilised in delivering top quality turf was carried out under clear blue skies and the day was enjoyed by all. The day was rounded off with lunch and a question and answer session.
Feedback on the day was hugely positive and everyone got something from the experience.

“I never realised all that was involved in the production of turf.”

“It’s great to see the processes and products up close and personal.”

We can also bring the turf production experience to you in the form of a CPD approved presentation which has simulated great interest. It takes about an hour and it is very informative and we also bring along samples of our range of turf.
If you would like further information on free visits to our turf nurseries or our presentation please contact Adam on 01652 678000

We’ve just invested in a Combi truck to increase the level of service to our customers. The rigid section holds 12 pallets and the trailer holds 10 pallets. With 74m2 turf per pallet this gives us a full load of nearly 1500m2, which will help reduce delivery costs per m2. We don’t like going above 74m2 per pallet because of the risk of squashing the bottom layer.

Another great benefit to our customers is that the Combi can drop the trailer off before attempting to deliver to a congested site or housing estate where access to artics is limited. The forklift mounted on the trailer can be transferred to the rigid section for mechanical off-loading.

The Combi with its distinctive livery really gets heads turning on the motorways and building sites.

Upstream from the 2012 Aquatics Centre Tillers Turf has supplied over 15,000 metres of turf as the crowning glory on the completion of the first phases of first public realm and spectator areas. The former wastelands are now being transformed for the games. The work involves the construction of large areas of public realm along with the creation of a wetlands area in the heart of the Olympic Park in Stratford.

Some of the turf has been used on vast sloping spectator lawns between the stadiums. From there, people without tickets for the stadiums will be able to congregate and watch the action on big screens floating on the River Lea.

The area was previously home to polluting industries such as petrol factories, and even a vast Victorian rubbish tip. Not that the area was ecologically “dead”: 2,000 newts and hundreds of toads were relocated away from the future park before the first diggers moved in.

The first phase of the wetlands area in the north park has now been transformed into a green oasis. The turf supplied had to meet the demands of the specification set by the ODA which was produced in consultation with the Turf Growers Association. The success of the turf installation would have not been possible without the cooperative working between Tillers Turf, Rase Distribution (Tillers’ haulage contractors), White Horse Contracting and Gavin Jones Landscaping.

The supply of the turf was in part dictated by, and battling against, the UK’s coldest December since records began in 1910. Tillers’ attention to detail ensured that the turf was treated and protected against disease which can be encouraged by snow cover. Tillers were able to supply strong, healthy turf despite being previously covered in up to two feet of snow and temperatures as low as -19 degrees C over a 5 week period.

Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards, who serves on the board of London 2012, said he marvelled at the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

He said: “I can remember when this was just wasteland, and it doesn’t matter how many times I come here, I always get goose bumps to see how this has changed.” “For the athletes, being in a lovely environment will be part of the inspiration they need to do their best.”

He said that the landing of an Olympic contract was a challenge for any company.
[Comments extracted from an interview by BBC radio]

There’s a great article in the latest edition of Horticulture Week which summarises all the benefits of turf to the environment and human health. It’s the result of a study in the US, and it neatly brings together a lot of material that demonstrates how important turf is in our lives. You can see the article here: http://www.tillersturf.co.uk/pdf/benefits_of_turf.pdf

We’ve just finished supplying turf to the greens at the new Trump International golf course near Aberdeen.  It’s been a great experience for us to be involved in what will undoubtedly become one of the great golf courses in the world.

It all started in May 2010 when Donald Trump phoned me to ask us to grow the greens turf for him. 40,000m2 was ordered, and we subsequently sowed a mixture of fescue and bent on a USGA sand to match the rootzone planned for the greens. In the past twelve months we have treated the whole area like one big golf green. Regular topdressing with the same sand has given us a dense sward with very little thatch. The final mowing height was 6mm, which means the lads up at Aberdeen won’t have to work too hard to bring the height down once it’s been laid.

We have aslo supplied 30,000m2 for pathways around the course. A mixture of ryegrass and fescue was chosen for this. A very fine-leaved cultivar of ryegrass was used, and this will stand up well to the amount of wear expected on the course.

Now that the greens have been finished we will be supplying more of the same turf for a practice putting green, a practice teeing area, and a nursery.