While the cricket season at Hertfordshire’s Aldenham School may not be long in duration it is intense, with students and community clubs using the facilities for training and fixtures between Easter and early July.
The concentrated play demands fast recovery and outstanding wear tolerance from the surfaces and specifically the grass seed – both of which Grounds and Gardens Supervisor Danny Wells says they achieve with Johnsons J Premier Wicket.
Danny is no stranger to the Johnsons Sports Seed range, having used a variety of formulations in his previous role at Arsenal Football Club.
On joining Aldenham in the spring of 2024, he was delighted to discover Johnsons had once again been chosen for renovation of the school’s four cricket squares. “It’s always been a brand I’ve known you can rely on to perform so it was reassuring to come to this new role with one less thing to be worried about!”
“The work from the last renovation had clearly paid dividends as, come the end of the season in July, we were still seeing good coverage on the squares and we knew this was only going to improve further with another overseed of J Premier Wicket. We applied the seed at a rate of 60g/m2 and, assisted by mother nature, we were doing the first cut in just two and a half weeks!”
J Premier Wicket blends four top-rated perennial ryegrass cultivars to deliver class-leading wear tolerance, rapid establishment and visual merit. High disease resistance can also be expected as standard – something which Danny compliments. “Despite disease pressure being high this year with the combination of warm and overcast weather, we’ve seen very little in the way of any disease.”
He continues, “Another thing that’s important for us as a multi-sport site is that, when cricket season is over, the squares ideally need to look after themselves. While our focus with the maintenance may be elsewhere, we know come the spring that with this grass seed they’ll be ready for play.”
Danny was also fortunate enough to pay a recent visit to one of DLF’s breeding centres in Holland, as part of a trip organised by distributors Agrovista. “While I know the grass seed, it was fantastic to get an insight into the science and years of research and development that go into ensuring the right varieties make it into the bag. This has only reaffirmed my confidence in the Johnsons range, knowing that as a company they’re working hard to find seed solutions that will help us turf managers overcome the challenges of the future.”
