I am the head grounds person on a military training base. One of the assets used in the training facility is the main assault course. This is used constantly all year round and is subject to extreme wear from the troops, it is also used for time trial testing in which the troops have to complete in order to qualify. The net result of this is that the soil profile becomes very compacted and therefore does not drain at all well over the winter months. The area becomes very wet and slippery and can cause the troops some severe problems as sometimes it is a challenge to just stand on it.

Andy Sparkes from Gartell & Son of Templecombe Somerset was appointed to offer some advice on how to cure the problem. No permanent drain system was suitable because of the situation of the site they suggested subsoil decompaction using a verti drain type machine, then top dressing with a 3mm rubber granules that will be brushed into the holes left by the verti drainer. This was duly done because the conditions were not great as the field was still very wet but had not had rain for about 5 days, the rubber was still easy to work even in these conditions, and the effect on the ground conditions was immediate. The decompaction helped the water drainage problem and the field started to dry out even though we were still having regular rain. The rubber brushed in to the hole provided an efficient conduit to allow this, also the rubber left on the surface helped prevent the clay content in the soil from flocculating thus leaving the soil surface less slippery. We had lots of excellent feed back form the instructors regarding the under foot conditions and improved time potential for the recruits.

A few months on and the field is still draining well and the grass growth is improved as there is better gaseous exchange in the rooting zone due to the rubber  left in the soil profile. We will be looking to repeat this activity in the summer to help maintain this improvement in preparation for next winter.