DAVID FARRINGTON PARK: What a difference a week makes! The grass is looking lush just a few days after our operator Brent Dornan finished sowing turf grass at David Farrington Park, home of the Miramar Rangers AFC. Mexteds has been renewing the surface after a build up of organic matter and weeds in the old profile. Starting before Christmas we planed off the surface 100mm, and then replaced it with 80mm of fresh clean sand, and re-levelled it before sowing.
Once grow-in complete, the park will be hybrid-stitched in the high wear areas with 5% soft polyethylene yarn with our new SISGrass stitching machine, due to arrive in the country soon. It's a system used in many high profile stadia and pitches in Europe and we can't wait to get started! Game on!

The Mexteds crew were keen to get back to Fraser Park after lockdown to complete the upgrade of Fraser Park #1 field in Lower Hutt.
The original soil-based field had no drainage, and Hutt City Council engaged Mexteds to convert it into a top-grade sand carpet field.
In late May we began reshaping and relevelling the surface, prior to installing collector drains and primary lateral drains. Our irrigation manager, Rob Willis, also designed and installed an automated irrigation system.
At Level 3 we were finally able to get back to the job and it was all hands to the pump to install sandslit drains and finish the sand carpet on the #1 field. We also planed off and resurfaced the #1 cricket block with Patumahoe clay.
Now it’s just a waiting game as we wait for the grass to strike.

CONGRATULATIONS to Mexteds’ groundsman, Kevin Wakefield, after Hutt Recreation Ground was named Cricket Ground of the Year by Cricket Wellington at its 2021 Awards night.

Captains and umpires rate the pitches each week during the cricket season and Kevin’s passion and pride in his preparation work - mowing, rolling and irrigating the wickets - came up trumps.

​It’s the third time Hutt Rec has won Cricket Ground of the Year during Kevin’s 16-year tenure as groundsman, following 25 years at Bryan Heath Park, Wainuiomata, where he says he learned 80% of what he knows. Now Kevin’s enjoying passing on his know-how to the younger members of Mexteds’ Hutt parks maintenance crew.
Game On!

After 17 years of history the hallowed turf of Eden Park's Number One field is being replaced.
The team at Mexteds Sports Turf has been removing the old turf and preparing the surface ready for the rollout of the new HG Hero Eden Park Edition turf.
Mexteds has been involved in the initial survey, design work, and using our automated machine control on the project.
Throughout the process, industry best practice has been followed, which meant excavators removed the old surface to  minimise the amount of waste material.
Cameron Mexted says, “We needed to remove all the old Motz turf but also minimise removing clean sand beneath it – this was a big consideration throughout our planning and execution of the works”.
Mexteds then 3D levelled the subgrade to mimic the final design levels, before importing around 800 tonnes of new sand.  The new sand was then 3D-levelled, combined into the underlying sand and consolidated.
"Everyone has worked together very well to overcome a number of challenges that come with a project of this significance."
Eden Park’s Turf Manager, Blair Christiansen, says the project has been years in the making. "It's been a collaborative effort to ensure we deliver the best possible outcome for New Zealand's national stadium."
​Check out how it all happened in this video: tinyurl.com/yxorexpa
Game On!  

Mexteds has been working on something a little different in the last couple of weeks, building a new 9th green at The Morgans Golf Retreat in Pauatahanui, in an area that used to be rough swampland.

After surveying the area and designing the new green, Chris Parkinson and Brent Dornan created a new access road to the site, then dug out the swamp, cleaned out a swale drain and put in novacoil drainage and geotextile.

Using our Fendt and Scoop we excavated 800 cu m of fill, reshaping one of the fairways, and used the won material to create and shape the new green.

Next, we’ll be installing drainage and plowing in an irrigation line, before topping the new green with sand, ready for sowing.

Greg Kirkwood, The Morgans Golf Retreat project manager, says the team from Mexteds, including Jamayne, Marcus, Rob and Jules, have done an excellent job. “Chris is a brilliant operator and really knows his stuff. It’s such a happy, positive team, they have been brilliant to work with.”
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The Morgans Golf Retreat hopes to have the new green ready for play in mid to late summer.

You'll be seeing a lot more of Mexteds around the Hutt Valley from next month, as we've just won the contract to maintain all of Hutt City Council's parks and playing fields.

It's an exciting time for Mexteds, and will see a doubling of our workforce to mow and prepare Hutt's sports fields for different sporting codes from softball and soccer through to cricket and hockey. 

As well  as natural turf, we'll also be looking after Hutt City's artificial sports surfaces.

We'll be working with local schools to give young people  work experience opportunities, and are actively recruiting for a range of roles including grounds persons and mowing crew, through to a contract administrator and operations supervisor.  See our Employment page.

The Hutt is familiar territory for Mexteds.  Over the last 20 years we've undertaken seasonal sports turf renovations (fertilising and decompaction), built top quality playing fields such as Hutt Rec, and upgraded sports facilities with the installation of drainage and irrigation.

We're thrilled to be taking this next step to keep Hutt City's parks and playing fields in tip top condition.

Great view of the resurfacing work we've been doing on the Basin Reserve since getting back to work after lockdown. 

After taking off the top, the surface has been regraded and re-contoured using  a 3D laser on our land levellers and Leica Total Station. 

This will be a surface fit for champions come summer!

Our Operations Manager, Chris Parkinson, and Team Leader, Brent Dornan, pictured here with the latest in laser grading technology - our new Leica Geosystems iCON 2D dual laser system.

We're really pleased with how the system's been performing at Naenae Park, Lower Hutt, where we're re-grading 2.4 hectares across the entire site, installing automatic irrigation in the #1 soccer field and re-positioning the field layout, for Hutt City Council. The cricket wickets used to be located in the middle of the winter sports fields, so now they'll have their own standalone area.
​#GameOn!