Heavy
downpours of rain on compacted grass areas on sports pitches, bowling greens,
golf courses and amenity areas can leave standing water, rendering them
unusable and stopping play.
The action
of normal aeration, use of machines and foot traffic over time can leave areas
compacted and panning occurs, causing poor drainage and depriving grass roots
of oxygen and nutrients.
Sports
turf specialists Terrain Aeration have been providing a long-term solution to
this for over twenty five years, using one- metre deep penetration of the
playing surface.
The
Terrain Aeration Terralift machine not only solves the immediate compaction
problem, the process has a beneficial effect that lasts many years. It works
like this.
The
Terralift hammers a hollow probe one metre into the soil using a JCB road
breaker gun (this is because the ground is usually so compact at depth that it
needs this hammer to break through). Once the probe has reached one metre
depth, compressed air is released up to a maximum of 20Bar (280psi), the
Terralift being the only machine using such high air pressure, which is needed
to fracture and fissure the soil.
The probe
is withdrawn and the process repeated using two-metre centre spacings on a
staggered grid pattern - this means that each shot interconnects with the
previous ones.
On the
tail end of the air blast, dried seaweed is injected which sticks to the walls
of the fractures and fissures and, over time, expands and contracts with the
moisture content in the soil - similar to "breathing"
underground.
The
1½" probe holes created by the Terralift machine are backfilled with
aggregate to provide a semi permanent aeration/ventilation shaft, helping to
keep the whole aeration process working.
The top
1" should be topped with the usual top dressing to encourage grass growth
over the probe holes.
The
Terrain Aeration process is ecologically sound, there is no mess and once the
pitch or green has been given a light mow it’s ready for play to resume.
