Bowden Tiger wrote:Our pitch looks very brown on the WebCam this morning, I wonder how long the grass will take to come through, 5 weeks is not a long time!
The technology of this combination surface has come on a long way since they installed the one at Oval Park, a few years ago now!
Good news. As someone who makes the occasional visit to Franklin's Gardens for the local derby, their pitch always seems in much better condition than ours.
But it does look very brown on the webcam at the moment, which I assume is OK? Not sure the current hot weather is ideal for this task, but I encourage someone who knows better to correct me!
I've also been watching the webcam - an occasional glance rather than a fixed, demonic stare (I'm not a wendyball fan) - but I was waiting for them to start laying the 'turf' rather than watching for the green shoots of recovery!
Mind you - what I really want to know is...will there be straw???
Happy days clearing straw from the pitch before the Baa-Baas games! KBO
Wear a Mask>Protect The NHS>Save Lives
As far as I can tell the only action taken on Friday was to remove the turf. I presume that the new hybrid pitch requires either the installation of the mesh and the sowing of the grass seed or bringing in pre-grown carpets of hybrid turf and simply laying it down. I doubt that any grass seed has been sown as yet.
As an ex county 2's cricket groundsman (part time and now retired) I can say that it is the roots which are the most important and hold the turf together and these will grow around the artificial fibres which, I believe are injected 8" into the ground. This leads to a much stronger holding pattern and much less top of the ground movement. I don't know if they are seeding or turfing but turfing is quicker. I suspect that the grass they are using has some perennial ryegrass but is mainly fescues and bents both of which are fast growing varieties at this time of year. County Turf I believe does not have ryegrass and is used more on golf green and luxury lawns.
trendylfj wrote:I don't KNOW but I suspect the lines are the drainage going in and that when that is completed they will lay turf and not seed - just a guess
I think that you are right - probably!
How Simon Cohen has resisted Tweeting as they started digging up the pitch, I don't know! The gradual build up has been ideally suited to his teezing Tweets. Maybe he is on holiday? Then again, maybe he was waiting for something extreme to happen - like digging trenches for drainage
trendylfj wrote:I don't KNOW but I suspect the lines are the drainage going in and that when that is completed they will lay turf and not seed - just a guess
I think that you are right - probably!
How Simon Cohen has resisted Tweeting as they started digging up the pitch, I don't know! The gradual build up has been ideally suited to his teezing Tweets. Maybe he is on holiday? Then again, maybe he was waiting for something extreme to happen - like digging trenches for drainage
Cohen tweeted this on June 25th with a picture of the bare earth pitch.
"Don't know what you mean, Cockers. It looks playable to me!"
Without hope we are nothing, keep the faith, a Tiger for eternity
trendylfj wrote:I don't KNOW but I suspect the lines are the drainage going in and that when that is completed they will lay turf and not seed - just a guess
Could well have been ingrained line marks but definitely not new drainage lines as the half-way line, both 22's and the near touch line were clearly visible.
There isn't time to grow new grass so it looks like they are going to use the turf system which it is claimed can be played on 3 days after installation.
Life can be unpredictable, so eat your pudding first!
The were putting in blue pipes along the length of the pitch and about 5 metres apart. They are probably for drainage, but could even be some sort of frost protection system (unlikely). These have now all been covered over in preparation for the next phase.
Ads677 wrote:The were putting in blue pipes along the length of the pitch and about 5 metres apart. They are probably for drainage, but could even be some sort of frost protection system (unlikely). These have now all been covered over in preparation for the next phase.
Oh - I heard they were strengthening rods like you have in concrete so the ground can cope with Fluffy's sprints!
Happy days clearing straw from the pitch before the Baa-Baas games! KBO
Wear a Mask>Protect The NHS>Save Lives
Ads677 wrote:The were putting in blue pipes along the length of the pitch and about 5 metres apart. They are probably for drainage, but could even be some sort of frost protection system (unlikely). These have now all been covered over in preparation for the next phase.
Either new drainage or Severn Trent were taking a short cut.
New turf next week
Life can be unpredictable, so eat your pudding first!
