Managing one of the busiest multi-sport facilities on the south coast is no small task – especially in a region increasingly defined by prolonged dry spells and intense seasonal wear. At Bournemouth University, Grounds Manager Alex McCombie relies on proven seed performance and trusted technical support to keep standards high across a hugely demanding site.
Alex has been in the post for four years, overseeing an extensive sports complex that includes eight football pitches, three rugby pitches, cricket squares and outfields, hockey pitches, a 3G surface and extensive surrounding landscapes. While the facilities serve students, around 75% of usage comes from the wider community, with Bournemouth Rugby Club, Bournemouth Sports Football Club and Bournemouth Cricket Club all calling the site home.
“We’re a university, but we’re also a massive community campus,” Alex explains. “We’ve got fixtures midweek and weekends, and on some days, we’ll have multiple matches on the same pitch. We’re talking around 5,000 users every week, so wear tolerance and recovery are absolutely critical.”
Situated on an extremely free-draining site, Bournemouth University benefits from excellent winter playability – but summer conditions are increasingly challenging.
“From Easter through to October we hardly had any rain at all,” says Alex. “That’s great in winter, but in summer it puts huge stress on the grass. We need something with genuine drought tolerance that can also stand up to relentless wear.”
That need led Alex to MM Tetra Sport, a specialist overseeding mixture consisting of tetraploid ryegrasses, designed specifically for high-quality sports turf.
“Tetra Sport has been a bit of a no-brainer for us,” he says. “It establishes quickly, it wears well, and it stood up incredibly well during a brutal summer. I was genuinely impressed.”
The mixture delivers fast germination, rapid sward establishment, and excellent winter and summer colour, while offering high disease resistance and strong wear tolerance. The inclusion of new, highly rated cultivars, exclusive to the MM range, has been particularly important at Bournemouth University, where pitches see continuous use.
Alex even took the unusual step of overseeding a rugby pitch in December.
“Soil temperatures here stay fairly good, and we usually have a short break after the last fixture before Christmas,” he explains. “We drilled Tetra Sport in just before that break, and it came through really nicely. The results exceeded my expectations.”
For cricket renovations and repairs, Alex turns to MM50, widely regarded as the leading mixture for end-of-season renovation work and mid-season repairs.
“We’ve used MM50 on our cricket squares for a couple of years now and had superb results,” he says. “The density we get is excellent, and it recovers really quickly from play.”
MM50 contains a blend of fine-leaved ryegrasses, producing an extremely hard-wearing, dense surface, and is treated with Headstart® GOLD to support faster establishment and stronger early growth.
“We don’t tend to spray for disease at all,” Alex adds. “We’re lucky, but disease pressure is minimal. The square we renovated with MM50 played probably the best it ever has last season, and the feedback from the cricket club has been very positive.”
Beyond product performance, Alex highlights the importance of strong relationships and reliable technical support – something he has found consistently with MM Seed.
“I’ve used MM Seed for years and had a long-standing relationship with Matt Gresty,” he says. “Matt’s absolutely superb – always on hand with advice, and he’s even helped put together specialist mixes specifically for our site.”
That bespoke approach proved invaluable following the university’s large annual rugby festival, where tailored mixtures were required to accelerate recovery across heavily worn areas.
“David Bevan from Agrovista Amenity, who I get the seed from, is brilliant as well,” Alex continues. “Between David and Matt, the service is excellent. They’re knowledgeable, approachable, and genuinely supportive. You feel like they understand what you’re trying to achieve.”
For a site facing intense usage, extreme dryness and year-round pressure, Bournemouth University’s experience shows how the right seed – combined with the right support – can make all the difference.
Visit the new and improved MM Seed website at www.mm-seeds.co.uk
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