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I am a groundsman

Are you working at the municipality maintaining the local sports complex? Or are you nurturing the natural pitches of a football club? Maybe you are in charge of an 18 hole golf course?

In any case, you know that what happens below the surface controls above.

The composition of the soil is the foundation for top quality turf. Without a sandy soil it is hard to have an all year round playable surface. It is nearly impossible. Loss of grass cover during the winter months, waterlogging after a heavy rain shower and increasing play damage after each training session or game… you’ve seen it all before…

Ill-considered use of the sports fields

During the winter months there is an excess of water that needs to be drained. Because the grass is dormant and temperatures are low, so is the evapotranspiration. This is the sum of water loss due to evaporation from the soil and transpiration by the grass plants. On the other hand, precipitation is relatively high causing a surplus in the water balance. Therefore, a sandy top layer is key to allow the maximum possible hours of play on your pitch. It is the only way to guarantee a stable playing surface and to drain off sufficient water.

Without this sandy composition, the risk is high that your pitch will soon be turned into a mud puddles. An effect that will be reinforced by ill-considered use of the sports fields: allowing training sessions on extreme rainy days, repeatedly goalkeeper practice on the same area of the field, etc.

Limitations of a sandy top layer

The choice to build a natural pitch on a sandy top layer is the right one. A choice that is being made increasingly, yet it has a number of limitations.

• The soil's ability to retain water is strongly related to particle size and pore space. With its large pore and granules size it is difficult for sand to retain water. This is ideal during the wet winter months: excess water being drained away. Nevertheless, during the hot and dry summer months, the soil needs sufficient water buffering or water holding capacity to allow good grass growth.
• A pure sandy soil also lacks structure. As a result, the playing surface will be unstable and the grass plants will be very vulnerable to intensive play.
• Finally, sand has a low cation exchange capacity (CEC). This is the total capacity of a soil to hold exchangeable cations. Or the soil’s ability to hold onto essential nutrients. To put it simple: a sandy soil is less “fertile” than a clay soil.

Unique soil conditioning solution

These limitations are easy to solve. The TerraCottem soil conditioners were designed precisely to address these issues. Its origin lies in improving sandy soils in semi-arid countries to allow plant growth. They are granular products that are mixed with the top soil at preparation stage.

As your grass grows, TerraCottem’s fertilisers and natural growth precursors promote stronger and deeper root development, creating a strong playing surface.

In addition TerraCottem’s polymers increase the water retention of the soil without changing its drainage capacity. They are also known as hydrogels or water crystals. Mixed in between the sand particles, they absorb and store water around the roots which is normally lost to evaporation and leaching. The result: a reduction in both the volume and frequency of necessary irrigation. This water is then kept at the disposal of the grass plants. Water savings up to 50% are recorded by customers.

• The Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, Argentina

Alfredo Schappi, responsible for Estadio Único’s pitch in La Plata: “Based on my 15 years of experience with TerraCottem, I used the product to get faster and deeper root development. We managed to get the pitch ready in record time and shortly afterwards the stadium hosted six matches of the Copa America 2011.”

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• Benalup Golf, Cadiz, Spain

TerraCottem was incorporated into the top 20 cm of the entire golf course. In 2006 the golf course formed part of a study “Golf and its environment in Andalusia”: Benalup Golf was the golf course with the lowest water consumption in the province of Cadiz.

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Yet you and your clients want thriving planting schemes without the worrying.

What if with a simple gesture at the time of planting, you give plants the extra help to start off the right foot instead of struggling to germinate or survive transplant shock?

TerraCottem turf is the soil conditioner for all types of grass.

Just mix the TerraCottem soil conditioner with the soil or substrate. Easy.

• When? Just once, at the time of planting or prior to seeding.
• Why? To get better plant growth. To protect plants against drought and irregular irrigation. To ensure they will survive. To make your work stand out.

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