5 Essential Tasks to do on a Cricket Square

Some guidance on what to do on your Cricket square for the month of May.

Cutting

Most of us know how to set a mower up, but l am also aware of the volunteer groundsman may not know, so l have added some videos for those who it may help.Hopefully this blog will help you manage your cricket square better.

Check out this video, on how to set a cylinder to cut –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7FJoJdUBAY

Remove no more than a third of the leaf in any one cut, to prevent stress to the plant.

Height of cut between 18-22 mm, this will assist in keeping some moisture in the square.

Keeping the square at this hoc(height of cut) will help the plant thicken out and in doing so will also assist in deeper rooting, rather than leaving to get long and leggy.

Cut once or twice a week.

Check out this video on setting the height of cut- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b79Ur6UrMM4

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Verticutting

(notes curtesy of Andy Mackay ECB Pitch Advisor)

Verticutting is a very light form of scarification carried out on fine sports turf areas, which raises loose vegetation at the base of the grass plant.

It should not be used to penetrate any underlying thatch layer, as severe defoliation of the sward can easily occur due to how closely spaced the verticutting tines are.

Verticutting in cricket is typically carried out on a bi-weekly basis when the grass plant is growing strongly throughout April to September.

The benefits of Verticutting:

– An improved sward density due to the encouragement of tillering

-A reduction in the potential for annual meadow grass invasion by producing a denser sward in the first place.

– A reduction in the potential for disease attack.

– As a cultural control for, or assistance in controlling, weeds and coarse grasses.

– To produce an upright grass prior to mowing, which will assist in giving a cleaner more even cut.

– The playing speed of fine turf sports areas can be improved.

Whatever surface you play on thatch is the number one turf problem, regular verticutting, along with the above recommendations is the key in prevention.

Otherwise you’ll have to mechanically remove it during the renovation process in the form of scarification.

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Watering

Once off heavy watering, is said to be a better option than regular top ups that can be soon burn off by evaporation and wind.

Try and water the area as heavily as possible as late in the day as possible, this will prevent evaporation and allow the water to soak into the soil overnight.

Avoid water runoff, so just prior to ponding of water turn off, allow to soak in and come back.

Shallow watering can mean, shallow rooting which is something we don’t want.

The use of perforated hosing such in the image below are a great idea.

90% of the plants water needs are taken from the soil, so watering of the surface is not really enough(l hear you with low water pressure)

Take a look at this blog l did for more details -Why Water https://turfcareblog.com/why-water-nomads-diaries-week-four/

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Weed Control

Easy weeds to remove, daisies and plantains these all have a shallow root system, so after watering when the soil is soft, they can be easily removed with a knife.

Tap root-these are tricky to remove, but if you can get them when they are small, they can be removed with a knife or by pulling out, when the soil is moist. Dandelions fall into this category.

Trickier weeds such as clover and buttercups can be tricky to remove, once established can probably only be removed by chemical application.

Any chemical applications involving selective herbicide needs to be carried out by a certified operator, once government restrictions have been lifted.

Key is in prevention, so regular cutting and verticutting are great preventatives.

Higher seed rates during renovations ,if they have a key to sit in (groove/hole) can also prevent weed seed invasion ,along with control of worm casts.

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Plant Nutrition

As you cut the grass and box off you will remove nutrients and pre-season rolling, will also put a stress on the plant.

The loss in nutrients from cutting will need replacing in the form of fertilisation/feeding.

If containing iron(fe),ensure very well washed in, or iron can easily burn the leaf, turning it black.

Fertiliser is the no 1 killer of grass, so avoid spilling on any grass surface when filling the hopper.

Use a cyclone spreader rather than a drop spreader.

Use a spring /summer nitrogen fertiliser based product , if unsure ask your fertiliser sales representative.

Ideally a fertiliser regime should be based on annual soil testing results.

Allow weather to wash in fertiliser prior to cutting and rolling ,or risk damage to the plant.

The key is not to over feed but keep it light green and avoid periods of yellowing ,which is an indication of a hungry grass plant.

Little and often, is a better option than boom to a bust feeding programme.

Brian

Images courtesy of our community

Looking ahead, what blogs subjects interest you. If you have any ideas please leave comments below, would be appreciated.

I published my new episode The TurfCareBlog Podcast, please check it out.
https://www.podbean.com/ei/pb-hs8nz-daf0a1

Note -I was young and needed the money and sorry for the sound quality,will work on that.