Terrain Aeration

Forest Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian, Friday 19th August, 2011

2011-08-10T12:34:42-07:00

The Terralift machine will be demonstrated at the Forest Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9SY on Friday 19th August, 2011.

Terrain Aeration are the only operators of this deep aeration machine which was designed to aerate around tree roots. By injecting air one-metre into the root zone increases the percentage of available oxygen uptake via the root system. Extra benefits mean that by decompacting the root zone helps root growth and rainfall intake. Once this work has taken place, natural rejuvenation of the soil structure takes place and it is highly unlikely that this type of treatment would be required again.

By aerating one-metre around the tree roots excess rainwater is allowed to percolate away from the root zone, eliminating anaerobic conditions as well as reducing the wet conditions favoured by the Phytophthora fungus.

Anyone in Scotland or Northern England who would like a demonstration or to book some work, please give us a call on 01449 673783 so we can treat your trees/gardens, golf greens, pitches etc en route in the weeks beginning the 15th or 22nd August.

Phytophthora in Yews has been quite a big hit on the sitemeter.

2011-04-06T10:19:41-07:00

I would like to remind people that with the bad weather we have been having over the last three years, pests and diseases are rampant and more and more often you hear of Phytophthora problems (water borne).

By using the Terralift machine to aerate beyond the root zone (one-metre) we can get the excess water to drain away and increase the oxygen percentage the roots can access. Injection of the dried seaweed on the tail end of the blast of compressed air expands and contracts with the moisture content in the soil, keeping the fractures and fissures open. Backfilling the probe holes with aggregate aids in the whole aeration process.

The process is carried out using two-metre centre spacings, meaning each air blast interconnects with previous shots. Because the aeration treatment has opened the soil around the root zone, applying a further liquid treatment ensures the best result.

Note:
No other aeration machine can address this problem more thoroughly because they don't reach the depth, nor inject the right product. Water laying in the root zone creates anaerobic conditions, but the Terralift probe goes deeper that's why it is so effective.

New Year Resolutions and Solutions

2011-04-06T07:40:39-07:00

Winter snow, slight thaw and melt water freezes under the snow, more snow, thaw and rain – another terrible combination for groundsmen and greenkeepers.

The trouble is that because of the “perma-frost” which has been very nicely “growing” underneath the soil, the melt water has not been able to penetrate this layer – flooding has occurred and the reason why the UK is not able to recover in a way that the general public do not understand. On a golf course which looks lovely and green now that the snow has melted away, does not show them the permafrost which is underground and why some puddles have not cleared completely – it is the greenkeepers fault because they have not kept up their work.

Budgets have been whittled down to the barest essentials – greenkeepers and groundsmen have to be accountants as well in their field of maintenance. Here are some ideas of saving money in the long term.

Resolution:
To identify the soil structure so a maintenance plan can be drawn up.
Not a bad idea when you really think about it. Why?
Hand soil corers show you the top 6” – 8” and show the root structure and soil/top dressing layers – so far so good. But…
To carry out a deeper soil core sample would show whether there is any compaction panning or other type of foreign matter beneath – this could tell the tale as to what happens on the top surface.

Solution:
Terrain Aeration have a soil corer machine which takes soil core samples of 1m long x 50mm diameter displayed in a clear plastic tube. These tubes could be sent off for a full soil analysis, or the greenkeeper would be able to see instantly where the problem lies.

Resolution:
Compaction panning needs to be addressed. By having a well aerated soil structure, roots grow stronger with a healthier sward. Also, less fertiliser, chemicals, “anti this and that” would be required and in the long term, financial savings would also be made.

Solution:
Deep aeration treatment using the Terralift machine means oxygen is put into the soil structure to help gaseous exchanges underground and rejuvenate the soil. Injection of dried seaweed helps the longevity of the fissures by flocculation, aiding in the aeration process. Using two metre spacings on a staggered grid pattern means each “shot” interconnects with the previous shots, thus aerating the whole surface from 1m depth to the surface. If drains have been laid, by opening the soil structure will allow water to penetrate to the drainage system as well. If you have managed over the years without a drainage system, but the recent flooding has taken longer to disperse, again, deep aeration would be the solution – a “one-off” to get the soil structure opened and working again. This deep aeration treatment is not necessarily required every year; especially if used in conjunction with your top surface aeration machine which would link down to the fissures created by the Terralift machine. Some golf courses may not require this deep aeration treatment for another 10 years or so (after all, the Terralift has been operated in the UK since the mid 1980’s). This course of action can in fact save you money with play continuing, rather than being out of action because of waterlogging and compaction panning.

Trees are also quietly suffering. These last three years have been decidedly wet, allowing pests and disease to thrive. It is only when the tree leaves show a problem that it highlights how serious the problem really is. To take action on the tree “above ground level” is the usual way, hoping to bring a fairly instant response. Unfortunately, the problem could well lie in the soil underneath. Wet conditions around the tree roots, make them “anaerobic” (smells like rotten eggs) and is a problem which can be remedied by aeration.

Resolution:
Maintain a check on trees during budding and throughout the year. Not to delay treatment of a tree – after all a delay of two years means that the rot has already set in and sometimes cannot be stopped. Seek specialist advice on disease and keep an eye out in particular for Yews with possible Phytophthora problems. To spend a few £’s on this advice can save a lot of money if the tree dies, has to be chopped down, branches chipped and taken away, the stump to be ground out and taken away and a replacement tree purchased.

Solution:
Cut back the tree crown if necessary and removing dead branches. If the problem lies in the soil from compaction, aerate with oxygen using the Terralift machine. (The Terralift was originally designed to aerate tree roots when the inventor in Germany watched contractors using dynamite and thought compressed air through a probe was safer.) Foot and vehicular traffic are the main problems travelling over the root zone. Relieving the compaction means the roots can access a higher percentage of oxygen, with rooms for the rootlets to expand and grow. Using 2m spacings at 1m depth blowing in the compressed air as well as specially formulated tree mix (so as not to cause root burn or scorch) will aid the rejuvenation of the soil. Phytophthora can also be addressed during this work. Once this deep aeration treatment has been carried out unless the tree had showed signs of severe stress, then only one treatment would be required.

So… bullet points for you
Golf greens, tees, bunkers, fairways, trees, pathways

Getting your greens up and running again, and save money.

Snow, permafrost, snow, rain – nothing can get away = flooding
Wait until the ground defrosts and look to finding out if you have a problem and whether you can save money on decompaction treatment

Find out where the problem lies using the soil corer to 1m depth
Treat the soil using the Terralift machine to 1m depth

Look to your trees, especially ones you thought may have been suffering last year
Treat them with air.

Tough turf – advice from Terrain Aeration

2011-04-06T07:36:13-07:00

After the weight of the snow, combined with freezing conditions all turf has suffered. The snow has blocked what little restricted winter daylight light there is and will have weakened the plants. Fungi growth and infections are slowed down by the snow but still thrive with the grass to feed on.

Melting snow on frozen ground still produces waterlogging on the top surface as the water cannot drain through frozen ground. Many of the problems lie underground, out of sight, and will remain and cause problems unless dealt with preferably in a cost effective way.

Advice from Lynda Green at Terrain Aeration is to ensure a healthy sward by decompacting and aerating the surface as soon as it can be walked over and when the ground has defrosted. This will produce oxygen around the roots and get them breathing again. An open and aerated soil provides stronger root growth which means a healthier sward without expensive herbicides and pesticides.

Deep aeration using the Terralift system is undoubtedly a cost effective and long term solution than just top surface aeration. The 1¼” diameter Terralift probe holes are placed in a two-metre staggered grid pattern, each probe reaching one metre. The Terralift machine is unique in that it can inject dried seaweed which swells with the moisture content in the soil helping to keep the fractures and fissures open longer.

Using the Terralift addresses the problem of flooding, quickly, effieciently and with minimum surface disrutption, allowing surface water to percolate quicker from the top surface to one metre depth.

Getting a playable working surface means income for the clubs, so the sooner this is done the greater the financial benefits.

Terrain Aeration suggests improving the underlying conditions of your soil structure is the key to long term cost savings

2011-04-06T07:00:24-07:00

Every area of public and private expenditure is under scrutiny to see where savings can be made and the approach to pitch drainage can make a significant difference to long and short term expenditure.

Terrain Aeration is one company that offer a long term economic solution which will carry the sports club through not just one but many seasons.

Lynda Green, Operations Director of Terrain Aeration explains how the Terralift works. “The Terralift offers a clean, reliable, and cost effective and environmentally impact free system for the treatment of compacted soil structures through the forceful injection of air into otherwise poorly aerated soil. The Terralift treats the area and gets rid of any compaction. This treatment is long lasting and has the added benefit of seaweed which is injected into the soil during the treatment to improve it.

The Terralift air blast decompaction and aeration technique has proven itself to deliver not just instant remedies for compacted soils, but long lasting effects which improve and retain these positive changes for up to ten years. By using its Terralift the company says football pitch aeration generally lasts five to seven years and ten to fifteen on a golf course. In addition it is an economic but highly effective alternative to installing a complete new drainage system.

By taking radical action to dramatically improve your drainage now you can avoid costly problems in the future.

For further information please contact Lynda Green at Terrain Aeration
Tel: 01449 673783 email: terrainaeration@aol.com www.terrainaeration.co.uk

Reminder to nominate your Unsung Hero

2010-12-09T04:14:56-08:00

Just a reminder for you to nominate your Unsung Hero - a Groundsman or a Greenkeeper, people who go that extra bit and it would be nice to say "Thank You".

The winners will be announced at the BTME Show in Harrogate on Tuesday 18th January at 4.15 in the Press Office.

So go on, nominate your Unsung Hero - they're worth it.

Download the form here.

Long lasting effects of deep aeration in evidence at Gelligaer Bowls Club

2010-10-24T10:27:54-07:00

It's always nice to be able to back up our marketing with some evidence and we thought you'd like to hear about our re-visit to Gelligaer Bowls Club in South Wales.

See our Scamper in action - view animation.

The last time we were there was eight years ago in 2002 having originally been called in mid-season because the green was not performing well. Poor grass growth, standing water and a strong smell of sulphur (rotten eggs) suggested that something was drastically wrong with the underlying drainage: failure of grass growth resulted in black areas forcing members to play from rubber mats for the first match of the season.

The green was built into the side of a valley with the green forming a terrace with the down slope end on well drained black soil. The down-slope wasn't a problem and was in excellent condition; it looked good and played well and the drainage was how you'd expect.

The problem was the upslope area; dug out of the mountain side, it had a subsoil of heavy but not wet clay, with small areas of sandstone bedrock at about 600mm below the ash base of the green.

The saturated surface, overlying a relatively dry subsoil led us to suspect that the ash layer, which had originally come from the steam boiler at the local colliery, had become cemented and was forming an impermeable layer preventing drainage.

Using a hydraulic hole preparation machine, we punched holes through this pan layer before bringing in our Terralift machine to insert a steel probe one metre below the surface. Compressed air was then injected through the probe to create fractures and fissures to break up the subsoil and provide air channels from one metre depth, right up to the surface. Dried, milled seaweed, injected on the final air blast ensured, as it swells when wet these new channels stayed open.

Working at two metre spacings on a staggered grid pattern, the terralift was used to treat the whole green, reducing the air pressure on the down slope as the sub soil conditions were softer, so that the surface remained undisturbed and following treatment the probe holes were filled with Lytag.

Four hours later, the wettest areas of the green had dried, and the surface was checked for flatness and curl. To the bowlers delight, flatness was deemed acceptable and the curl was restored. Two days later the entire green was cut ready for an important county standard match which was reported to be a great success.

The long-term success of this treatment is the reason that Simon Beacham, Senior Parks Officer for Caerphilly County Borough Council, decided to bring us back, not just to re-treat the green at Gelligaer but eight more within the county.

This time we took our new, improved Scamper Terralift, designed especially for bowls greens.

Commenting on our visit, Simon Beacham said “The de-compaction treatment has had a big impact on all nine greens. Basically they were all compacted and taking a while to drain away. All the clubs are happy.”

See our Scamper in action - view animation.

AERATION GETS TOP MARKS AT MERSEYSIDE SCHOOLS

2010-10-05T03:38:53-07:00

It's fair to say that a lot of our day-to-day work tends to be on golf courses or bowling greens but we do actually treat a lot of recreational facilities in public open spaces and schools.

We've just returned from treating nine primary school fields across Merseyside and as a result of our efforts, the children and staff can look forward to a full winter of sports events unhindered by standing water under their feet.

Dave Connor, Construction and Development Officer for Knowsley Council in Liverpool brought us in during last spring to treat twelve winter sports pitches.

Commenting on the work, Dave said: “The fields were poorly drained because; I think the 60 year old field drainage employing 75mm serrated clay pipes had got blocked up. It wasn’t efficient at all,” he says. “Rather than go down the traditional route which would have meant digging the areas up and putting in new pipe work we decided to opt for one-metre deep air injection which was much more cost effective and is guaranteed for 8 to 10 years.”

We despatched our Airforce and two Airforce Scamper terralift machines to work on the sports fields for the best part of a fortnight.

The sports grounds used to be part of the flood plain for the River Mersey. They're flat, relatively low lying and has problems with clay and in times of flood where there’s a high flow in the channel the river wouldn’t be carrying anything much more than pebbles. We punched through the clay into the gravel.

Due to the nature of the treatment, not only are the sports fields now draining efficiently but the lack of disruption to the schools concerned meant that the treatment was carried out in the morning and the kids could come out to play in the afternoon.

Unsung Hero 2010 kicks off at Saltex

2010-09-14T06:12:04-07:00

It's that time again when you can put forward your nominations for the unsung hero in your life.

Now in its eighth year, our Unsung Hero Awards are open to any greenkeeper or groundsman, deemed to be outstanding in his or her dedication to the industry, whether it be help and support given to colleagues, extra effort in the face of adversity or sterling, solid performance over and above the call of duty. In other words, those who go that extra mile without any thought of reward.

One of our current Unsung Heroes, Keri Jarman helped us celebrate our 10th anniversary and open nominations for this year’s awards sponsored by Pitchcare and the English Golf Union.

We'll be announcing the winners during Harrogate Week after judging by BIGGA, the IOG and the STRI, and they will receive holiday vouchers, a framed certificate and a cheque for £200.

download an nomination form.

Nominations are invited from anyone in the industry (bar immediate family).

We're celebrating our 10 year anniversary at IOG Saltex

2010-08-31T11:04:46-07:00

We will be at IOG Saltex next week and we couldn't think of a better place to celebrate ten years in business.

It's been a successful and eventful twelve months which saw us reunited with the Deep Drill.

If you're in any doubt as to which aeration method you'll need then come along to stand DAB40 and we'll explain how the exact soil structure can easily be determined by employing Terrain’s Soil Corer which produces one-metre soil cores encased in transparent plastic tubes.

Also, see our Air Blaster. This machine gently but effectively excavates around tree roots to determine their overall spread. This information is vital for planners and architects working on sites with mature/protected trees.

As ever, the company offers 15% discount on any orders taken at the show.