{"id":585,"date":"2022-01-21T16:59:28","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/?p=585"},"modified":"2022-01-21T16:59:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:59:29","slug":"wiedenmann-xf6-helps-sts-york-with-their-cricket-wicket-aeration-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wiedenmann-xf6-helps-sts-york-with-their-cricket-wicket-aeration-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiedenmann XF6 helps STS York with their cricket wicket aeration marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Unusually moderate conditions since October have meant sports contractor, Sports Turf Services York has hardly called off a day\u2019s work, excepting Christmas, these past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director, Simon Race and experienced colleague, Nick Hatfield, operate together and separately across the north, maintaining and refurbishing all types of outdoor sports surfaces for schools, councils, and professional and volunteer clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cricket has long been an area of expertise for STS York, and this season they have aerated dozens of squares. Aerating a cricket square follows a standard timetable but so much comes down to the conditions on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really has to be done between mid-November to December with our machine of choice the Wiedenmann Terra Spike XF6, which is both fast and precise,\u201d explained Nick Hatfield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe try not to deep spike beyond December because you want to give the aeration holes time to close. I always suggest a 10 mm wide tine to a depth of no more than 20 cm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeep aeration is essential as it lets oxygen down to the root system and let\u2019s CO\u00b2 out, plus helps with drainage. It can help break up layering caused by over rolling that causes lateral root growth and helps the roots go deeper. I\u2019m occasionally asked if there is a chance the holes won\u2019t close by the season start. There\u2019s always a chance with anything you do, but I think it\u2019s more harmful to miss the aeration window. It could be a dry winter and they open more. If it\u2019s looking dry and there\u2019s no chance of frost you might even need to water but aeration keeps your square in good health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nick frequently contributes his advice on industry blogs about turfcare and posts regularly on social media<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to be especially careful if you think there is a particularly hard pan such as a chalk layer that may disrupt the tines and then subsequently dent the surface. Even pulling up stones or chalk can disturb the tines. Any lifting of the surface can cause root breaks. In my opinion, using an experienced contractor with the best machine for purpose, in the right conditions is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI often say, an effective way to test soil to see if it is ready, and to check you have no deep pans, is to push a screwdriver into the ground. If it doesn\u2019t pull or stretch the profile when you take it out, it\u2019s ok to go. Also, if you can push the screwdriver in with ease to the optimum depth you want to deep spike, then that\u2019s another good sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cProtecting the soil profile is everything. I run the Wiedenmann for five minutes or so on the outfield beforehand. Next, I stop and check the tines are totally clean and shiny before I make any run on the square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want any \u2018lifting\u2019 whatsoever. The XF6 is the quickest deep aerator on the market and its tines penetrate the surface and then come back out fast. That \u2018in\u2019 and \u2018out\u2019 action must be smooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to take the heave off, which is really easy on the XF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are the tiny details that I try to pass on. There are so many variables; no two cricket squares are ever the same, nor are the conditions on the day.  With timing, the secret is to be patient. Just because someone has had theirs done a mile away doesn\u2019t mean yours is ready to do.  Over time you do find what works best, but it is so important to share knowledge whenever you can,\u201d concluded Nick Hatfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unusually moderate conditions since October have meant sports contractor, Sports Turf Services York has hardly called off a day\u2019s work, excepting Christmas, these past few months. Director, Simon Race and experienced colleague, Nick Hatfield, operate together and separately across the north, maintaining and refurbishing all types of outdoor sports surfaces for schools, councils, and professional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[28,40,29,38,37,30,35,33,36,34,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":589,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions\/589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiedenmann.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}