LCC Grounds Maintenance

Longwood Cricket Club Grounds

LCC Grounds blog began in 2008. Entries have educated membership and the public on the crew, agronomic techniques, horticulture and clay court maintenance.

We really enjoy what we do and hope the readers of this blog get something out of it. Questions , comments and any feedback on the content is highly encouraged. If you are from another club, or grounds department, please do not hesitate to contact us!

For those loyal followers of this blog, we want to let you know that our focus for social media updates concerning the grounds department will be on Twitter, where you can follow us @LCCgrounds. You can also follow us on instagram here: LCCGrounds

Friday, July 13, 2012

Week Ahead

Our busiest tennis week of the year is approaching and the weather will just add to the stress put on the grass courts. With a member/guest, USTA championship and LCC's 135 birthday gala all in the upcoming week we have been preparing to deal with the weather that enhances wilt, disease and poor recovery from wear. Special attention to fertilty, disease management and especially irrigation is taking up most of our time. Too much water will enhance disease pressure and make the courts not play well. Too little water means wilt stress and potential death of the plants. To have better control of the water we are doing lots of hand watering for a more precise application compared to large sprinklers.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Garden, sweet pea flower by Pro shop and Black Eyed Susan at pool perennial garden.

The garden has an uphill grade so we usually arrange it with the plants gradually getting bigger towards the back. We tried something different this year and planted different sizes from side to side, trying to create a wave effect.

Slow motion video of the Toro triplex mower. It is cutting at 5/16 of an inch. A frequently asked question is, "how often do you mow the grass courts?" Usually six times a week, depending on the weather, stress (people and grass plants) and usage. Next week is a 3 day USTA national championship tournament, so we may end up cutting six times in just those three days.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Wimbledon Rain

Neil Stubley checking surface moisture during the Men's final. I like his high tech use of the hand. Photo courtesy of Nate Salmore via ESPN, via DVR, via iphone.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

A great quote from Neil Stubley - Head Groundsman designate at Wimbledon.

“We have the perfect grass-growing climate in Britain,” he said. “For us it is a constant battle. You will never ever have a baseline that doesn’t wear out. Grass is a living plant and if you kick it on the head enough, the head will fall off. But it’s all about how long you can keep the head on for.”