Meet the greenkeeping team at South Essex

 

 

from the left Sam Cooke,Sean Eady (Deputy)Craig Raymond,Terry Sapsford,Luke Herron and myself Peter Dawson.
The summer months can prove a little difficult as we take our summer holidays,so we are usually one staff member down at this time.At the moment we have another shortage as Terry tales time off with his wife to celebrate the birth of there first child a daughter.
The recent rain has helped green the course up again especially the tees,so we have applied a little feed and weed and growth regulator to them.

Ragwort seen below is found on the course and although poisonous to horses and cattles (not many of them on the course thankfully) it is home to the cinnaber moth caterpillars which love to eat it ,they store the poisons from the plant  in there bodies which then makes them un-palatable to birds .The moth is totally different to the caterpillars see photo below

cinnabar caterpillars

cinnabar moth

 I took this photo on the course of a common carder bumble bee ,so far I have seen 5 species of bee on the course

 We were able to receive a free load of bark,and Luke is spreading it out  on the bed by the 9th green vixen