Featured

Preparing knapsacks – spray into spring
08Apr
Knapsack and handheld sprayers both have maintenance demands to keep them operating sweetly. The knapsack sprayer is overlooked as a tool despite its importa...
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National Trust Nostell – Spirit of place!
30Mar
Knowing such a marvellous house, gardens and grounds – with Robert Adam architecture and Chippendale furniture in abundance – and then learning about a certa...
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An exciting future
27Feb
This is my first editorial comment since the news of our sale to Agrovista UK became public. It may seem strange to see two direct competitors now working as...
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Winter sports pitches – Keeping it Simple
12Feb
We all want our pitches to look and perform to the highest standard possible. However good we get them, we are secretly never satisfied and want to get to th...
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PCA support for new Amenity Standard
01Feb
National trade body The Property Care Association is playing a key role in a new initiative, developed to create assured standards in amenity management. Dr ...
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Props and ploughers; a rugby groundsman’s tale
09Dec
Valence School, offers some do’s and don’ts for looking after a rugby pitch in winter. Hi everyone. l am thrilled to be publishing my first blog and my years...
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Three’s company for the ongoing management of the historic Bowood estate
29Nov
The ongoing management of historic estates as thriving communities where people work together to make the most of the land’s assets remains key to their comm...
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Rare Japanese knotweed hybrid found in south Wales
18Oct
A team of Swansea University scientists have discovered a rare Japanese knotweed hybrid in south Wales. Although this could mean further proliferation of kno...
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Grounds Training celebrates its 1000th course
27Aug
Grounds Training achieved the 1000th accolade whilst delivering an Initial Sports Line Marking customised course, accredited by Lantra. Over the past thir...
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There’s a lot more to being a groundsman than mowing the grass
23Aug
Leicester City groundsman, John Ledwidge, admits you have to ‘nurture the pitch like it’s your baby’ as he completes 35,000 steps a day. John Ledwidge always...
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Why we should listen to trees
15Aug
When life gets too much, most of us try to get away from it all. Some might head to the pub, play football or knit a jumper. But if you really want to take a...
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Adrian Forbes unveils new all-weather pitch at grassroots club in Suffolk
06Jun
Ex-Norwich City midfielder, Adrian Forbes, was on hand to officially open Beccles Town FC’s new floodlit third generation (3G) artificial grass pitch (AGP) i...
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GreenMech launch Evo 165 at The Arb Show 2019
27May
The ARB Show provided the launch platform for GreenMech to introduce their much-anticipated revolutionary new woodchipper series, the EVO 165. Capitalising o...
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Pesticides of the future – Part 2
03May
In the last issue, Maxwell Amenity Technical Manager John Handley stated that the case in favour of chemical pesticides is that they have worked in the past....
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Spring maintenance of bowling greens 2019
24Apr
The joys of spring soon come round each year. The Bowling Green fraternity will soon be seen out practicing and playing on their bowling greens up and down t...
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A common-sense approach to surveying your trees
15Apr
In the present climate of litigation, many clubs are now afraid of the words health and safety. However, with a common sense approach to surveying your trees...
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Spring – into action?
27Feb
February is always such an uncertain month weather-wise. Last year, we were gripped with sub-zero temperatures blown down from Siberia, but we have largely, ...
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Two greenkeepers seriously injured
04Feb
Two greenkeepers have been “badly hurt” in a tree-felling exercise at Leyland Golf Club. The men, James Dobie and Charlie Bevan, who are described as “highly...
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How To series – Setting cylinder mower on cut
06Dec
In this series of How To videos, Jonny Bowker from JA Bowker, gives a step by step guide how to correctly set a cylinder mower on cut. It is important to set...
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Online mental health support
05Dec
Greenkeeper sets up mental health support page on Facebook Mike Davie, the Head Greenkeeper of Hazel Grove Golf Club in Cheshire, has set up a successful Fac...
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Tree planting in UK ‘must double to tackle climate change’
03Dec
Government advisers call for radical changes, including turning farmland into forests Spring leaf growth on young birch trees, protected in plastic tubes, on...
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Jeffrey Humble Playing Fields opens in Liverpool
17Oct
A major new community sports complex has opened its doors in Liverpool. Jeffrey Humble Playing Fields has become the first facility in the city to open as pa...
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The John Fretwell Sporting Complex – Tied up in Notts
05Oct
The John Fretwell Sporting Complex is managed by The Warsop Sporting Trust which is operated by volunteer trustees from the organisations who use the complex...
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Summer turf stress increases chance of Anthracnose
05Oct
As grass plants have experienced extreme droughts this summer greenkeepers are reminded to act now before disease onset this autumn. Dr Colin Mumford, Bayer ...
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AJ Bell Stadium – Binary Codes
12Sep
Hosting two professional rugby clubs at AJ Bell Stadium, one of the 13-man code and one of the 15-, Dan Huffman, 50, has studs and scrums on his surface year...
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Latest health and safety guidelines for turf professionals “could save lives” following major review
29Aug
The Greenkeepers Training Committee (GTC) has launched a free-to-use web-based platform created by the Xact Group that aims to ensure golf club employers und...
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Cricket renovation (only cheaper)
22Aug
We’ve had a couple of requests for autumn renovation advice from those cricket clubs on the tightest budgets, and thought we’d put a little something togethe...
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Four pitches ‘just like a big garden’
07Aug
The principal volunteer groundsperson at Willenhall Rugby Union Football Club is 44-year-old Iain Athersmith. He’s a big guy with an even bigger beard. Jake ...
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The threat of resistance is very likely!
19Jul
The ability to control weeds on and around sportsfields, facility grounds and ornamental areas using herbicides is easily taken for granted. But, what if tho...
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Brooksby Melton College train hundreds of students in CPR
18Jul
Tracey Duncan, Health and Wellbeing Advisor at Brooksby Melton College, has completed the mammoth task of training 450 students in CPR during the 2017/18 aca...
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AquaTrax brings Ashton Playing Fields running track back to ‘as new’ condition
14Jun
Ashton Playing Fields provide a variety of sports and leisure facilities across their 50-acre site in Chigwell, Essex. Home to Woodford Green and Essex Ladie...
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Fact, fiction and weed management
04Jun
We live in a world of instant communication and 24 hour news. The power of social media means any story can be transmitted instantly by the press of a button...
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The effect of climate change on pitches set to host international cricket this summer
25May
The impact of climate change is set to be felt harder by cricket than any other sport according to a report by leading action group Climate Coalition. The sw...
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Please – don’t ruin your ground!
24Apr
The weather from the start of this year has been very unhelpful, to say the least to that most long-suffering species, the cricket groundsman. This is not ju...
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Iprodione loss – The best thing that could ever happen – According to John Handley, Technical Manager
16Mar
Just in case you’ve been living on Mars for the last year, iprodione, the Active Ingredient (AI) in Cavron Green, Chipco Green, Emerald Turf, Green Turf King...
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Consequences of workplace accident
26Feb
A Derbyshire man has been forced to leave full-time work and has undergone multiple operations after a horrific workplace accident. The 47-year-old groundsma...
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Basic Tree Survey & Inspection
15Feb
Whilst trees have many values – social, environmental and economic – they may, if suffering from certain mechanical defects, represent a hazard in areas wher...
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Training Update
14Feb
2017 was a very successful year for us and we will be continuing to provide high quality turf and ground care education in 2018. The Team are looking forward...
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So, it’s goodbye from her!
08Feb
After almost twelve years, Chris Johnson is standing down from her day-to-day role as Grounds Training’s Development Manager and is taking a well-earned reti...
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**New** Basic Lawn Care
17Nov
Presenting our new course on Basic Lawn Care. A one-day course which has been developed in response to enquiries from clients. It has been designed for anyon...
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Tree Protection Legislation – managing trees and woodlands
08Sep
Whilst this may seem a dry subject, it is really important that we all are aware of, and understand, the basics here. There are several areas of legislation ...
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Pesticides in the UK: The 2016 report on the impacts and sustainable use of pesticides
04Sep
Pesticides in the UK: The 2016 report on the impacts and sustainable use of pesticides The report is now available to download as an interactive PDF The Repo...
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Trade Body Warns of Giant Hogweed Danger
17Jul
National trade body, the Property Care Association (PCA), is urging caution as the invasive weed Giant Hogweed takes hold this summer. The plant’s sap is ext...
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Replay travel to Iceland to deliver talk on synthetic surface maintenance
12Jun
A team from Replay Maintenance were recently invited to deliver a seminar, entitled ‘The Maintenance of Artificial Turf’, to a select cong...
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Dennis and SISIS announce Cricket renovation event
05Jun
Dennis and SISIS have announced that they will be hosting a cricket renovation event at St Albans School, Woollam Trust Playing Fields on Tuesday 18 July 201...
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Environmental Centre and Nature Reserve application
26May
Tottenham Hotspur FC (THFC) is delighted to announce that its application to build a new education and environmental facility, on a site adjacent to our Trai...
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Pitchcare to Sponsor BCGBA World Club Championship
05May
KING GEORGE V collected the first piece of silverware of the BCGBA season to lift the PITCHCARE World Club Championship trophy at Leyland Fox Lane Sports & S...
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Two new Turf Maintenance Online Training Courses just launched!
03Apr
Following on from the success of our first two online Turf Maintenance courses launched earlier this year – Bowls Green Maintenance and Cricket Pitch Main...
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Speaking truth to power … and to other people at work
28Mar
There are times when we all need to give team members, colleagues and even managers some honest feedback at work. This honest feedback might be about anythin...
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Nominations now open for Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year 2017
27Mar
The Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year 2017 award (ASOY) was recently launched at the Amenity Forum Conference – with the chance for the top operators to w...
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Pitchcare’s Online Learning success
16Mar
Mindful of the need to keep pace with modern practices and learning methods, Pitchcare’s Grounds Training team have created a suite of Online Training Course...
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Grounds Training – A milestone
14Mar
The autumn of 2016 marked 10 years since John Richards invited me to “see if I could do something with a few training enquiries” that had trickle...
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New Pitchcare Training Website Launched
17Jan
Today we are pleased to announce the launch of our new Training website – Grounds Training. A slight change in title to our previous site, but a major...
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Believe, Achieve, Succeed
11Jul
As spring turns towards summer, we approach the end of another college academic year and more young people head off...
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Can you be better, or is this as good as you are going to get?
21Jun
Like many others who made the move from management to skills training, I was soon made aware...
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