With the end of one of the most memorable seasons in Torquay United’s history comes the start of more significant investment in the Plainmoor pitch.
Last season saw the Club add initial primary drainage channels and irrigation (pop-up sprinklers). Work is currently being carried out to complete more drainage work to further help groundsman Julian Gouldthorpe and assistant Mark White.
The secondary drainage work consists of slits being made into the pitch from the Sunday Independent Family Stand to the Riviers Storage Away Terrace. A layer of sand and a layer of stone is added which allows water to reach the drainage channels quicker. The work is once again being undertaken by Inscapes.
“It’s another big investment by the Club,” said Julian. “It’s not cheap to do this kind of work.”
“Last season we put the primary drainage in. This time around the new sand slits will meet the drainage and water will fall through much quicker. If we had a sudden downpour the water won’t sit on top of the pitch.
“Normally you would have a sand slit every two metres. We’ve gone every metre to try and alleviate some of the problems we get with the Bristow’s Bench side – this should help a lot.”
Once the sand slitting is completed, the old playing surface will be removed in a process called ‘korrowing’. Power harrowing breaks up the top layer of the pitch which removes any foreign bodies and black layer that has grown on top. Removing this will aerate the root zone and allow for deeper rooting.
The pitch will then receive a new layer of soil (top dressing) and be levelled before fertilising and seeding takes place.
We’ll bring you more on the pitch works being carried out at Plainmoor soon.