Topdress the inner track..
Enrich was contacted by the Racecourse Manager. He was concerned about strength of certain areas of the track. Large sections of the track were holding surface water and were very soft in places, this was inconsistent with the rest of the track.
Our advice was to spread our topdressing compost directly to the surface. Using compost as topdressing has being a recent development showing very effective results.The ground was aerated to a depth of 10 inch prior to application. This was his normal course of practice but the opened holes would close over due to the heavy machines crossing and the poor structure of the soil.
The topdressed compost would will allow to the holes to remain open and it will start to benefit the soil. The compost will increase the microbiology activity in the soil and create better gases exchange.
How it was carried out;
The topdressing compost was loaded on to a modified agricultural dung spreader. Material was cast out at a distance of 12 feet, landing and giving approximately 3mm dusting on the surface. The compost fell into the open verti-drained holes, this will prevent the opened holes from closing over.
This is an on-going programme to monitored over a period of time.
Compost Characteristics
| Parameters | Reported as (units of measure) | Recommended Range |
|---|---|---|
| pH | pH units (1:5 water extract) | 7.0 – 8.7 |
| Electrical Conductivity | µs/cm or mS/m (1:5 water extract) | 2000 µs/cm max or 200 mS/m max for turf establishment 2500 µs/cm max or 250 mS/m max for turf establishment |
| Moisture content | % m.m of fresh weight | 35 – 55 |
| Organic Matter Content | %, dry weight basis | >25 |
| Screen Aperture Size | mm | 25 maximum for turf establishment 10 maximum for general purpose topdressing |
| C:N ratio | 20:1 Maximum |
Benefits of Compost
Enrich compost contains slow release nitrogen plus other major and minor nutrients that can replace fertilisers; this can reduce chemical fertiliser input. Compost topdressings can retain nutrients and make them available to the plant for a longer period, unlike sand-based topdressing that hold little moisture and nutrients. As a result compost will support the plant without excessive growth and so mowing is less frequent.
Enrich compost dressing can:
- Improve soil drainage
- Reduce soil compaction
- Reduce requirement for fertiliser and irrigation
- Improve turf density and colour from slow release nitrogen, iron and magnesium
- Faster turf establishment
- Suppress plant diseases
Compost is a biologically active material and contains beneficial organisms that fight many turf diseases particularly applied as a topdressing or used as a root zone amendment.