Three vital tactics for healthy sporting fields this Spring.

As the weather starts to warm up, we enter the perfect time of the year for several vital sports field management tactics.

After a heavy winter of foot traffic on drenched ovals, the right greenkeeping interventions will ensure your sports field surface regains its vitality and durability as we enter the summer months.

In this article, we detail three key tactics for improving the playing surface of your sporting field.

Topdressing for sports fields

Topdressing involves applying a thin layer of sand and soil to the surface of a playing field to even out the surface and reduce the build-up of thatch, a build-up of dead plant matter between the grass and soil surface.

Topdressing has been crucial for Sydney’s sporting fields lately. The playing surfaces have taken a beating with all of the rain over the last six months. As these fields are drying out, they’re drying out with dangerous divots and contortions.

Topdressing is essential in levelling out a playing surface that has been warped by bad weather and heavy foot traffic. It’s a low-cost and straightforward procedure that improves the quality of the playing surface and ensures it’s safe.

Aeration for sports fields:

Aeration is the process of de-compacting and breaking up your playing surface and the layers of soil and sand underneath. Making a series of closely placed holes or slices into the ground’s surface allows essential nutrients, water, and oxygen to reach the grass’s roots.

As a result, the grass’s roots form deeper in the ground, providing a much more durable playing surface that will stand up against heavy foot traffic.

For Sydney-based sporting fields, aeration is also drying out sporting fields that have been drenched for the last six months. So many sporting fields have flooded this year and are still bouncing back from these extreme rain events. The small but deep holes from aeration allow oxygen to get back into the soil, giving the surface precisely what it needs to bounce back in time for the summer sporting season.

Herbicide and fertilisation for sports fields

Sydney’s extreme weather has also led to an increase in insects and pests that are detrimental to the quality of playing surfaces. Herbicides and certain fertilisers are beneficial in eliminating these harmful pests and are an essential aspect of any sporting grounds’ ongoing maintenance.

High-quality fertilisers are also crucial in ensuring the proper nutrients are available to the grass as it bounces back throughout spring.

Why do we do these interventions?

To see the best results for your sporting field, topdressing, aeration, and fertilisation should be simultaneously carried out. Each of these interventions compliments each other and will provide the best outcome for your sporting field.

After a tough six months for Sydney’s sporting fields, we must give our sporting fields the best chance of bouncing back. We’ve already missed so much community sport this year, which is never great to see, given the joy and connection it creates throughout our communities.

With the weather warming up, we can’t wait to see our sporting fields bounce back!