Repairing your football ground after a soggy match
A vigorous footy match is great fun to watch but it can be destructive on your turf. Unfortunately as a groundskeeper you often have to do a relatively quick around and get any damage repaired over the week before the next week's match.
Here are some tips to get the turf repaired and looking great with minimum fuss.
Dry off the turf
The first step to repairing the turf is to get rid of the excess water. The easiest way to do this is to dry off the ground in the sun if the rain has cleared, but this may not be possible if you have a long rainy period ahead of you. This best solution is to use turf covers in this case to cover the ground when it's raining and use turf driers during the sunny periods to accelerate drying. These can be hired from many landscape stores and use a gentle dry heat to drive off the water.
Repair any damage
The next step is to assess any damage and see whether you need to cut out turf sections and replace with new turf. This can be an issue after muddy games as the sharp spike of footy boots can do a lot of damage to delicate turf. Once you have laid the turf it's important to accelerate the growth as much as possible by laying down fertiliser around the damaged areas and keeping to a regular gentle watering cycle. Fertilising is very important as the rain may have washed away nutrients and a lack of suitable soil nutrients contributes to a lawn with a dull colour.
Mow the lawn
You might find that the day before the next weeks match you have a luscious and high lawn after the repairs and all of that rain and fertilising. Make sure to trim it back to a reasonable level the day before the match to have it looking as good as possible. If you mow the lawn while it is still wet you can do more damage, so if you are having a lot of rain keep it under covers until you are ready to get out there on the mower.
If you find yourself struggling to maintain a good looking turf through a long rainy football season it can often pay to get some advice from a professional lawn or turf supplier. They can give advice specific to your usage patterns and desired appearance.