The new 9th at Royal Cromer, Arena Bargold & 100% Fescue

Tillers Turf 100% Fescue used on the new surrounds framing the 18th at Royal Cromer GC

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”

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

TURF AND THE HOSE PIPE BAN

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.

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

Richard McGlynn, Course Manager, Blumisberg GC

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

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.

Tillers Turf with the main stadium in the background

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] ]]> http://www.tillersturf.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=270 0 http://www.tillersturf.co.uk/blog/?p=289 http://www.tillersturf.co.uk/blog/?p=289#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:32:42 +0000 tim http://www.tillersturf.co.uk/blog/?p=289 Continue reading →]]> 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

Turfing the 14th green

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.

Colin Irvine, Course Manager, Muirfield

Muirfield is gearing up for the Open in 2013 by upgrading their tees with fescue turf from Tillers Turf. 

Adam dropped in there the other day to check on progress.  Course Manager, Colin Irvine, is delighted at how well the turf has rooted and established.  Also included in the course improvements was a new practice area, where the pros will warm up.  Fescue turf was used for this, too.  Pathways around the course were turfed with our Arena Gold – a mixture of fine-leaved ryegrass and fescue.  Although ryegrass has not traditionally been used on links courses it is becoming more popular on walkways now that very fine, densely-growing cultivars are available.  Results have been outstanding as far as wear tolerance is concerned.  Our Arena Gold is currently being laid on pathways throughout the new Trump International course at Balmedie, just north of Aberdeen. 

We are also supplying turf to all the greens at the Trump International course.  It was grown according to specification at our production site at Lincoln.  More about that in my next blog.

The rain we have had over the last couple of days has been gratefully received and has helped our turf maintain in top notch quality.

With a long dry spell being forecast we are gearing up our irrigation equipment to keep our turf looking great and in top condition. At Tillers we are very fortunate that we have water abstraction licence and a network of lagoons and irrigation pipework that covers the farm, this means that if our turf needs extra water it never goes without and standards are kept high.

We invest a lot in our irrigation equipment and have a range of equipment avaible dependant on the requirements we also utilise technology to its full potential when it is in use. Our equipment is set up to text our operatives to let them know when it needs resetting to ensure our irrigation activities are as efficient as possible and tailored to the turf’s needs. 

All this said I hope the weather is good for the bank holiday weekends at the end of the month; let’s hope the weather is not peaking too soon!

Grass grows better in full sunlight than it does in shade. And grass grows better in partial shade than it does in full shade. The reason for this is that grass gets its energy from a process called photosynthesis, which itself needs sunlight to work. Some species of grass are marginally better at tolerating shade than others.

But there are other factors that are more important in determining the fate of grass in shade:

1 Height of cut

2 Water availability

3 Nutrition

4 Foot traffic

Low light levels put a stress on the grass plant. Any strategy to combat the effects of shade should aim to reduce other sources of stress. So, with reference to the four factors above, where shade could cause a problem:

1 Increase the height of cut. Increasing the height of cut increases the surface area of the grass leaf. This gives the grass plant a better chance of intercepting what light is available.

2 Water when necessary. Where shade occurs under trees drought can be an additional stress factor for the grass. So aim to water the grass if conditions dictate. In addition, by increasing the mowing height (above), the depth of rooting increases in proportion. This allows the grass to search for moisture at depth.

3 Feed the grass. Lack of nutrition will stress the grass, so apply a fertiliser to keep the grass well fed.

4 Reduce foot traffic Keep wear to a minimum. By ensuring that pathways are directed away from shady areas. Where one or more stress factors are occurring together with shade, grass growth is likely to be badly affected.

When RTF turf was first introduced it was thought to have good shade tolerance characteristics. This has not been borne out in practice and we would not now recommend RTF for shady sites. However, where drought resistance and the ability to withstand heavy wear are concerned, RTF is outstanding.

For further information have a look at our Arena & Arena Bargold products.

RTF Turf withstands heavy use at Sheldon Square

RTF Turf Sheldon Square

Tillers Turf – Sheldon Square, Paddington, London.   

2 years after its initial installation RTF turf supplied by Tillers is performing strongly in the Sheldon Square development in Paddington London.  

5 years after the launch of RTF this is one of many projects completed using Tillers RTF that has stood up to its claims of drought tolerance, hard wearing, fast establishment and recovery .     

The Sheldon Square project was originally completed in 2003 and acts as the central focus for 1000’s of people on a daily basis in both offices and using this retail and leisure area. The square had previously been turfed using a standard amenity grade turf supplied from another turf grower which struggled under the pressure of the heavy use. The square was given a new lease of life in 2009/10 using RTF turf supplied by Tillers Turf.  

The Sheldon Square development combines an oasis of a green open space in an inner city environment. The worlds of cutting edge hard landscaping meet the soft landscaping aspect that turf delivers. The turf has to perform under high usage day and night 365 days of the year. The summer brings regular week-day lunch time concerts which deliver a real al fresco bustle to the square. During the evenings the venue plays host to street theatre and events. These requirements put demands on turf rarely expected or seen.  

The square undergoes biweekly maintenance by Green Mantel who keep the area looking in tip top condition and it also has a bespoke irrigation system. The turf its self is bedded on a root zone and flourishes in the face of heavy use.  

Russell Holmstoel Director of the Green Mantel said:  

“The RTF turf has work fantastically well and has stood up to wear and tear over the last 2 years, we now use Tillers RTF turf on our projects following this success”

In preparing a bed for the turf great care should be taken to avoid compaction. What do I mean by compaction? A compacted soil is the opposite of a well-structured soil – and it’s the well-structured soil that is what we’re aiming at for optimum grass growth. A well-structured soil has got lots of air spaces interspersed between the soil particles so that grass roots can grow uninterrupted down through the soil. Compacted soil, on the other hand, has very little air space between the soil particles.  Root growth is restricted leading to poor, stunted plants that are prone to the affects of drought and heavy wear. 

It’s difficult to compact dry soil, but when it comes to wet soil compaction can occur very easily. There is a further complication in that wet clay soils are much more prone to compaction than wet sandy soils. But why should this be?

In simple terms, all soils are made up of a range of particle sizes, but clay soils are characterised by having a high proportion of very fine particles with tiny air spaces between them.  Sandy soils, on the other hand, are made up of larger particles with larger air spaces between them.  And loamy soils are somewhere in between.

When a clay soil is dry it has great load-bearing strength.  But when it’s wet it becomes soft and sticky, and very easy to smear and squash.  And when you squash a clay soil  you squeese out the air spaces leaving a dense “poorly-structured”, or compacted, soil.  In these conditions grass finds it very difficult to grow.  However, a wet sandy soil is not as easy to squash and is less prone to compaction.

So, going back to our original problem, you can see why care needs to be taken in preparing soil before turfing.  During wet weather it’s best to stay off clay or loamy soils.  If you put machinery over them and try to work them into a fine bed you will smear and squash the soil and cause compaction.  Even walking over wet clay soils will cause problems.  The best thing to do is to wait until the soil is dry enough to work without sticking to machinery and boots.  Patience is a virtue – many of the problems associated with lawns and turf  can be traced back to the preparation of the soil in wet conditions.  And it’s very difficult to correct compaction once a lawn has been laid.

As a result of talking to Dutch Greenkeepers during Harrogate Week we have just supplied turf to two golf courses in Holland. The turf was for use on greens, tees and pathways. On an overnight sailing from Immingham, the delivery time is similar to deliveries in the south of England. When it comes to longer hauls we use refrigerated transport. We supply regularly to France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Germany and Norway when the trip can take up to three days. The loads are kept at a temperature of 4 degrees C to arrive in perfect condition.

As professional turf growers we apply a preventative fungicide to all our turf in the autumn which prevents fusarium. But, of course, not everyone can do this. However, all is not lost because grass has a remarkable ability to recover. As we go through February and into March the days will be lengthening and temperatures will start rising. Very soon the grass will start growing again after a long period of dormancy. In fact, even now grass roots have already started to grow. You can see small white roots beginning to grow from the crowns of the grass plants.

In the majority of cases lawns will completely recover from the ravages of the winter. You can help them by applying fertiliser in March. Use a fertiliser rich in nitrogen and potash. You may have to overseed the areas worst affected by Fusarium, but that’s a subject for a later blog.