Turf Repair And Renovation

Add Turf Repair to Your Green Keeping Skills 

Since turf involves growing many plants in a condensed area, it requires maintaining differently to other plants. Turf has to be cultivated to reduce compaction and enable aeration of roots. It also has to be dethatched to remove debris which can promote diseases.  Many techniques are used to restrict damage to turf but often sections or whole surfaces need to be repaired or replaced.

Learn about turf restoration

Take this course to learn about industry practices for undertaking turf repairs and renovating damaged turf. Learn to recognise symptoms of poor turf health, carry out inspections, and perform operations to maintain turf longevity.  Find out about irrigation systems for turf, and gain an insight into the turf production industry.

The course develops your ability to diagnose and treat problems in turf efficiently.

ACS Student Comment: "In my role within a large Aged Care Facility a great deal of my employment is spent in the area of Turf management and garden care/refurbishment. With ACS I was able to study at my own pace allowing me to put into practice and thoroughly research the subject matter broadening my knowledge and study experience further. I enjoyed the way in which the subject matter was presented as it allowed you to study each subject further, allowing for greater depth, clarity and knowledge. Overall there are not many areas in which the course subject matter will not turn out to be invaluable, everything is covered to allow you to become successful within your own business or place of employment. A big thank you to Gavin Cole [tutor] and all at ACS. It was a pleasure to study with ACS, look forward to further study."  (Craig Ledbury, Turf Repair & Renovation)

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Understanding Turf Deterioration - physiological and biological responses.
2. Repair & Renovation Equipment - use and repair of applicable equipment.
3. Turf Cultivation Techniques
4. Health Improvement Techniques -pest control, feeding, watering, etc.
5. Optimising Turf Usage
6. Replacing Damaged Turf - techniques for replacement.
7. Renovation of Degraded Turf - techniques to repair and renovated turf.
8. Eradicating Turf Weeds
9. Treating Aeration & Drainage Problems - compaction, etc.
10. Managing a Turf Nursery.

What You Will Do

• Compare the characteristics of different turfs with reference to hardiness, pest &
  • disease resistance, tolerance to play, suitability for different applications, etc
• Explain different turf problems (including; soil problems, pest & disease weed, environmental, etc)
• Explain the effect of various adverse situations on the physiology of turf plants.
• Carry out turf consultancy, conducting site inspections and giving appropriate recommendations.
• Develop solutions for the repair of damaged turf.
• Identify the cause of deteriorating condition in a selected turf
• Explain different repair techniques for control of problems identified.
• Compare different solutions for the problem identified.
• Develop turf renovation programs for different types of turf facilities
• Compare renovation programs for different turf facilities
• Identify when renovation becomes economically prudent for different facilities

Preparing Turf For Use

A major problem for any turf is that people and machines move over the surface, and in doing so, cause damage such as compaction, dislodgment, bruising of turf plants, and so on.  It may be that an area of turf suffers wear and tear because people drive cars over it and/or park on it, or because it is used for playing sports on. Different uses will result in different problems.  Generally, turf areas are more susceptible to damage when wet. Therefore, if traffic can be avoided when the turf is wet this will help to lessen the damage.

Damage to turf can be affected by both the type of usage and the quantity of usage. Both are, of course, interrelated.

The turf manager needs to be continually working on turf, repairing any damaged sections, optimising it's ability to withstand use, and where necessary, restricting the amount of use.
Rolling is often undertaken before a surface is used, to firm up the surface and remove any uneven bumps.

What This Course Could Do For You

This course is of value to people who have an interest in grass and turf surfaces. People who take this course are most likely those working in or aspiring to work in:

• Turf maintenance
• Green keeping
• Lawn mowing
• Sports turf maintenance
• Grounds maintenance
• Landscaping
• Horticulture
• Parks & gardens

The course will also be of value to people wishing to include a turf repair service as part of an existing mowing, gardening or landscaping business.