It’s Multigreen® magic for Cornish contractor W R Sandow

By Alistair September 8, 2021 08:21 Updated

Sports turf contractor W R Sandow has come to swear by Multigreen® temperature-controlled release fertiliser from Headland Amenity, to satisfy the nutritional requirements of more than 60 winter sport pitches. The introduction of feeding programmes is a relatively recent addition to the list of services offered by the Cornish contractor, but in a short space of time the consistency of results and superior technical support from the Headland team has really impressed director Andrew Sandow.

Established in 1964 and based just outside Penzance, family-run W R Sandow offers the full package when it comes to the construction, installation and maintenance of both natural and artificial playing surfaces. “Until recently, we would go in and do the mechanical maintenance and leave clubs to apply product themselves, but you’d often find that due to time or financial constraints, this wasn’t being done” explains Andrew. “After many discussions and support from the Pitch Advisory Service at The GMA, we began advocating fertiliser programmes based around Headland’s Multigreen®.”

Multigreen® features urea or potassium nitrate prills within a permeable polymer-resin coating which only start to release their solubilised nutrients once soil temperatures rise above 6oc – in line with the requirements of the grass. Nutrient availability is gentle and controlled by temperature alone, avoiding ‘flush’ growth and producing a strong, healthy sward that is sustained for up to six months depending on the analysis.

“We had conducted some trials of controlled-release products and were seriously impressed with the long-lasting results we achieved with Multigreen®. On the back of this, we now use Multigreen® on the vast majority of our football pitches, together with a number of rugby surfaces and cricket outfields, in two different formulations – 28-3-15 which is applied in the spring, following any renovation work and 15-0-22+5MgO which goes down in the autumn. Its consistent release pattern gives the clubs season-long nutrition from a single application, with minimal leaching and without flushes of growth.”

In addition to the performance of the product, Andrew has also been impressed with the support received from Headland. “Whenever we’ve needed technical advice our regional technical manager Andy Lane has been fantastic. Headland were even kind enough to donate some product for a recovery project we were working on, following vandalism at one of our clubs in the spring of 2020. With Headland, alongside the right equipment and expertise, we now consider ourselves to be a one-stop shop to support our customers with their surface needs – from sports pitches to amenity areas, from Lands End to Exeter.”