Cup Final Pitch Preparations

Arrived at ground about 11-00 am set up the irrigation then got to work clearing up in club car park, after a few hours I got fed up of that so started some work on the pitch.

As I said in previous post I fertilised the square last week but with little rain I felt it necessary

to water to wash it in so out came the hose pipe and travelling sprinkler.

The near pitch was the one I used for the first team on Saturday, not the best however we won so no complaints from our guys. I fact the spinner loved it, said it was the first he had played on at FoD that had turned.

One of our batters marked the crease for his guard  some 5 foot long. Why would you want to do that?

If you look closely you may be able to see it.

  The picture above shows the pitch after cutting and brushing for the first time.

It is cut at about 8 mm.

Then after a second cut at 8 mm.

I kept on brushing and cutting four times brushing and six cuts the last of which was down to around 6mm.

This is the stage at which I put the mowing machine and the brush away and got the roller out.

I am please with the grass cover even with not many, if any scars, a little but not much meadow grass and of an even colour with no crowning.

One thing I had done but not recorded was to take a couple of cores out to see the moisture content it was a little on the damp side that is why I took it down to 6 mm to allow the air to get to the surface which would assist evaporation.

After Rolling for an hour view from both ends.

Close up still a little green plenty of time between now and Sunday though some rain forecast on Thursday and Friday so I will need to have the sheets on I think and that will quickly green it up.

 I will keep you posted.

Keep you mower sharp!

Hodgy.