Green Team Report 2024/25

Green team report  February / March 2025

Green team. 

Pete Sidebottom,  Nigel Dodd,  Qais,  Graham Lambert,  Garry Wigfield,       Kevin Doyle, Brian Watson

Gardeners, 

Sue  &  Lawrence Birkin

 

• Green :-  January….

                                February :- .spraying Iron solution to kill moss….. Scarifying 4 ways to remove thatch and dead moss. Sorrell spiking of green, Brushing , swishing, rolling. Fertilizing plan. Equipment review, do the blades on the scarifier want replacing?  The Hover mower has been repaired and is now being used. The scarifier blades do need replacing. The large rotary mower needs repairing, and the drive belt needs replacing.

                                 March……..put down a layer of lawn sand to control moss and to fertilise the grass…     scarify three ways.. First proper cut on a high setting….done on March 10th.  The Hover mower was used on the edge of the green with good results and the green looks tidier now.    Regular rolling…  mark out the rinks. Fertilization program to be established.

                               March…… Update…….

Monday 3rd  ……   Cutting

Monday 10th……   Rolling

Monday 17th…..     Spiking

Monday 24th…..     Fertilizer

Wednesday 26th….  Brushing

 

                                April………rolling and cutting  to prepare for 1st roll-ups  Saturday 19th April

                                May……  1st Home Match  Friday 9th May 13.30pm 

                                June…….

                                July……..

                                August…

                                September …

• Bunkers :-  Repair , increase height, clean, waterproof, ready for storage of unused machinery, (right side)  clean and prepare for storage of bowls equipment (left side) concrete slabs to be laid down in front of bunkers.  All done and achieved by March 10th
• Equipment shed :- make space by removing redundant machinery to bunkers, repair ramps.
• Chemical shed :- remove all chemicals that will not be used, make space to store some equipment.
• Outdoor benches:-  repaint and position on spaces at the side of the tennis court.

 

 

Green team report  February / March 2025

 

• Marquee’s :-  Plan to erect marquees at the beginning of April. Position and set in concrete 4 heavy metal pegs at front of marquees. In order to fasten the guy ropes securely. The top of the marquees to be protected by the material rescued from the torn sides of the marquees from last year.
• Standpipe :-  In the corner (cricket field/ tennis court) a standpipe connected to the existing water supply will be erected, to be used for sprinkling the green and to be shared by the Cricket team. They have offered to share the cost of the standpipe. Concrete slabs to be laid down as a base around the pipe.

 

• Pavilion :-  decoration of the pavilion should be possible after the marquees are erected, volunteers required for this task. We are planning to put up a new notice board as part of this decoration.

 

• Garden :-  Sue may be able to outline any plans she has for the gardens.
• Rink markings:- Plans are in place to improve the rink markings for the coming season. Pete will outline the ideas with a view to rotating/ moving the rinks on a regular basis. Basically the rule will be Afternoon games will be played across from the Bunkers, Evening games and roll ups from the pavilion.

 

• Costings :- see separate sheet for estimates
• March update…………………….. Projects are all progressing well thanks to all my Green Team

 

 

Green team report  April  2025

 

 With only 4 days to go to the first roll up of the 2025 season, the green preparations have gone reasonably well and according to plan. We are lucky to have a dedicated team that has put in a lot of time and effort to get us to this position. Thank you, to you all.

  The ‘green’ or ‘bowling area’ has thrown up some challenges compared to last year, mainly because we had a very damp winter which caused a large amount of moss to develop. Since February we have tackled the moss problem with a fair amount of success, treatment is ongoing but we expect to eradicate it before the season starts properly.

  Recently, there has been an extended dry spell of weather, so the green requires watering and the fertilizer doesn’t work as well without water. Despite the fact that it’s not pleasant bowling in the rain, we do need it to rain regularly.

  We have made good progress with some of the other projects that were started in February. Most notably the bunkers have been raised above head height (for most of us) by Brian and and his able assistant Qais. The bowls equipment will be stored in the left hand side and some less frequently used machinery is already in place in the right hand bunker. The machinery store next to the pavilion is better organized now and a safer working area.

  The marquees have been erected already, which means we can start work on cleaning and organizing the Pavilion.

  Brian and I are working on a more efficient way of organizing the rink markers. The main aim of which is to spread the wear and tear on the green.

The system will be explained as we approach the start of the season. There will be some input required from the Captains.

 Other ongoing projects that are being sorted are the Standpipe in the corner, some new boards round the edge of the green and the new Notice board in the Pavilion.

 We are putting some thought to erecting a balustrade in front of the pavilion as part of our efforts to improve health and safety.

 

Hoping that we have another successful season but most of all that we enjoy it.

 

Cheers

 

Pete