Worcester College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, is benefiting from using a range of MM grass seed.
Founded in 1714, Worcester College is steeped in history and continues to educate and house around 600 students.
The College's 26 acres of stunning grounds feature plenty of lawns alongside a lake, an orchard, and sports fields. Students at Worcester are the only ones in the University to benefit from on-site sports pitches and excel at football, cricket, and hockey.
Simon Bagnall, Head of Gardens and Grounds, has been working at the College for 19 years, and has been using the MM brand of grass seed throughout his whole tenure.
“I have been using it for as long as I can remember because of the quality of the seed - it is reliable, it performs and it has never let us down,” he said.
MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK amenity industry, with over 40 years of experience and knowledge. The extensive product portfolio is second to none with performance proven mixtures that are used at many leading venues in the UK and Europe.
There are two mixtures within the MM portfolio that Simon and his team rely on, as he explains.
“We use MM50 and MM21 across all our sports fields and utility lawns. We normally oversow with the mixtures during our renovation period and then will apply them through the year if we need to do any repairs.
“Another benefit of using these MM seed mixtures is the speed with which they germinate. We have quite a short window between renovations and when the students come back so to be able to get some grass growing quickly is a huge bonus for us.”
MM50 is one of the UK’s biggest selling grass mixtures. The hard-wearing ryegrass mix is very fine leaved, has high shoot density, is tolerant to close mowing down to 4-5mm and produces a great colour all year round. It also has quick recovery from damage and play.
MM21 produces a dense, fine and attractive sward and is a great mix for lawns and landscaping with low ryegrass.
Josh Hall, Deputy Head of Gardens and Grounds, further explained how the team uses the MM mixtures.
“We use MM21 on the main lawn because it is shaded by mature trees and there is a lack of light. The rye and fescue in the mixture work well together to give us good coverage in what could otherwise be a problematic area. The MM21 is normally applied in March or April so that it is growing nicely over the spring and summer.
“The MM50 is basically used everywhere else, especially on our sports pitches, and it is our go-to product. Our pitches take a real hammering with the number of games we have and to have some grass at the end of a season is important to us. We get that with MM50 – it is very hard-wearing. In fact, you don’t expect something to be so fine to do such a hardwearing job, but it does. It also produces a fantastic colour.”
With Worcester being an Oxford University college, it has a certain reputation to uphold. The demand is high and that in turn can put pressure on Simon and his team. With this in mind, Simon sees the value in working with key suppliers like MM.
“We get a brilliant service and Matt Gresty (MM Sales and Marketing Manager) is always available to speak to if I need advice. He sees us regularly, helps us out a lot and I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“I will always recommend the MM range of grass seed and I would encourage people to come and have a look at our lawns and pitches so they can see the results for themselves.”
