A Visit to Lords Cricket Ground with Fineturf
This week, the Tillers Turf team hit the road to London for an exciting collaboration with our sister company, Fineturf, at the world famous Lords Cricket Ground. This iconic venue, where cricket legends like Botham and Anderson have played, is undergoing essential pitch renovations to prepare for next season.
We were invited to observe Fineturf’s innovative steam treatment of the main wicket, a method designed to sterilise the soil in a completely chemical-free way. Steaming the Wicket is a groundbreaking approach at Lords, where maintaining a pristine, disease-free surface is important. By using steam to reach temperatures of 200 degrees, Fineturf ensures that unwanted weed seeds, pathogens, and pests are eradicated, creating an ideal seedbed for new growth. This process is critical in an era when traditional chemical controls are limited. After the steaming, the area will undergo further coring, scarifying, and overseeding, ensuring a fresh, high-quality pitch for next year. We also explored the nursery ground, a secondary training area that Fineturf recently renovated with new drainage and irrigation. Being part of this project was an inspiring reminder of the expertise and innovation driving turf management today. To learn more, check out this week’s Tillers Turf Talk episode, where we delve into the entire process and our visit to this historic site.
