Ideal Lawn for the Dacha: Instructions + Tips

A lawn is an expensive pleasure: it requires a lot of time, effort and money to grow a beautiful grass patch, and then constant care is needed. That's why the lawn area on dacha plots is often reduced in favor of flower beds, vegetable gardens and fruit trees. This looks more attractive and is easier to maintain.

However, a well-maintained beautiful lawn is a trend that never goes out of style. Together with our experts, let's find out how to avoid mistakes and create the ideal lawn on a dacha plot.

Irina Lukyanova - Landscape Designer - Thinks that every garden is a separate story

Lubov Kvasnina - Art Director - DEREVO PARK Studio

Preparation

Soil preparation is a very important step in creating a lawn. If there are weeds on the plot, it should be treated with preparations such as «Roundup», «Tornado» or «Hurricane» to completely remove vegetation.

Plan the slope for the lawn so that water flows away in spring and does not stagnate on the area.

At least 15–20 cm of compacted soil will be needed under the lawn. Often it is recommended to leave only 10 cm, but this will not last long: the soil quickly runs out of nutrients and the lawn begins to die. In addition, a thin layer of soil will not retain moisture well, and the lawn will have to be watered constantly.

What soil to choose? For a lawn, good field soil that retains surface moisture is required.

Mainly, peat-sandy mixtures and drainage in the form of a sand layer are used so that water does not stagnate and the lawn does not overheat.

After distributing the soil across the plot, the ground is compacted with a special roller to make it dense and free of holes. Then the soil should be loosened to avoid clumps or lumps. If it's a seeded lawn, the soil layer after rolling should be 1–2 cm lower than the level of paths.

The highest germination rate occurs when you follow this method: roller, sowing, top-dressing the seeds with loose soil by hand. Unlike mixing the soil with the seeds.

You will need:

• Garden and lawn soil, 50 liters
• Universal soil «Simple», 50 liters
• Universal soil, 5200 liters
• Geolia «Universal» soil, 50 liters

Is geotextile needed under the lawn?

Geotextile is needed under a sand layer on peat or clay soil to prevent layers from mixing. However, it is not necessary to lay it under the soil.

It is also a misconception that weeds do not sprout due to geotextile. Weeds fly in with the wind or come from imported soil and grow well in a lawn.

The main function of geotextile is to assist drainage. If you have clay soil, lay the geotextile first, then a layer of coarse sand, and then a layer of fertile soil.

Sowing

What kind of plot do you have — sunny, shaded, dry or wet? Selecting grass seeds should be strictly based on conditions.

Depending on the purpose of the lawn, different percentages of grass in the mixture are used — this determines how it will grow in the future. For example, if there are pine trees on the plot, choose a lawn with clover added. It will create a denser layer and prevent patches in the lawn.

Before sowing, the soil is raked with fan-shaped rakes. Seeds are distributed on the surface of the soil using a seeder or by hand. The amount of seeds usually varies from 30 to 50 grams per square meter. Then the seeds are covered with fan-shaped rakes. If the soil is very loose, you can pass over it once more with a roller, but only in dry weather.

It is important to make an even layer of soil — if the soil has clumps, lawn mowing will be uneven.

You will need:

• Dacha lawn Geolia, 3 kg
• Manual lawn roller, 50 liters
• Landscape geotextile, 50 m
• Green manure fertilizer «Vika-Wheat», 0.5 kg

Watering

The optimal solution is to install an automatic irrigation system on the plot before sowing the lawn.

It is important to water the lawn in the morning and evening, preferably from paths, so as not to walk on the seeds. Watering should be even and strictly at 6 AM and 11 PM, when evaporation from the ground is minimal. To avoid a strong jet from the hose, use a sprinkler attachment.

The watering rate is 300 liters per hundred square meters to thoroughly wet the ground. If the plot is small, you can cover the seeds with protective material like lutrasil. This will protect the lawn from drying out. A special microclimate under the covering material promotes faster germination. In addition, it protects against birds that might peck at some of the seeds.

On average, a lawn germinates in about two weeks.

You will need:

• Garden pump Sterwins
• Watering hose Geolia Classic, 25 m
• Watering pistol Cellfast Economic
• Impulse sprinkler on stand Gardena Premium

Lawn Mowing

As soon as you forget about mowing, the lawn begins to deteriorate.

Once the lawn has fully germinated and grown to 9–10 cm, it should be mowed. Subsequently, mowing should be done regularly — do not allow the lawn to overgrow. The frequency of mowing depends on weather and the rate of growth of the sown grasses. Usually, this is 1–2 times a week.

The mowing height should not be below 4 cm. No more than 3–4 cm of grass is cut per mowing. If the area is heavily overgrown, mowing should be done several times with a few-day intervals to gradually reach the desired height. Cutting more than that may cause the lawn to yellow and take a long time to recover and regain its rich green color.

Recommendations:

• mow the lawn when the soil and grass are dry;
• lift flattened grass with rakes before mowing;
• subsequent mowing should be done across the previous or diagonally — to avoid uneven compaction of the soil.

Lawn mowers with mulching function are better to buy — when the grass is mulched evenly and does not need to be gathered manually with rakes.

In autumn, all fallen leaves should also be removed from the lawn to prevent pests from accumulating in them and ensure a green lawn in spring.

You will need:

• Electric lawn mower AL-KO Comfort 40E
• Sandals for lawn aeration - Greenworks Aerator, 32 cm
• Electric scarifier for lawn 1300 W, 32 cm

Seasonal Activities

In spring, this includes raking and aeration using special mechanical or electric rollers, as well as tools that are worn on the feet to puncture the soil. On larger plots, verticutters and scarifiers are used for aeration and collecting yellowed grass on the lawn.

In autumn, it is leaf collection and fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. In summer — weeding. To achieve the ideal lawn, herbicides with selective action (Lontrel or Linuron) are needed, which eliminate weeds. These agents do not affect lawn grasses but only kill weeds, unlike broad-spectrum preparations mentioned above.

It is better to use granular fertilizers that should be broadcast over the surface of the soil by hand or with a seeder, followed by watering. Liquid fertilizers should be diluted in water and applied only to the lawn. This is inconvenient because watering with a hose takes a lot of time.

The first feeding should be done with complex fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium almost at the snow, then until mid-summer it is sufficient to use nitrogen fertilizers. Bright green grass color and absence of moss on the lawn are ensured by treating with iron sulfate.

Rolled Lawn

A big advantage of this type of lawn is that it does not need to be raked and waited for the grass to gain strength and good appearance.

Rolled lawn is sold as a ready-made dense sod of specific width, length and thickness, which has been mowed several times.

It is laid on a previously prepared and compacted surface. The only difference from seeding is in the thickness of the soil layer. Compared to paths, the soil should be formed 4–5 cm lower so that the lawn itself has a thickness of 3–4 cm.

It is very important to thoroughly water the rolled lawn immediately after laying. Unlike seeded lawns, more water volume is needed so that the soil under the root system of the lawn remains moist. A heavy watering is necessary for a month to encourage root growth.

Rolled lawn should not be stored on the plot; it is laid out immediately on the same day it arrives. Therefore, you need to calculate your strength and buy just enough lawn that can be laid in one day.

You will need:

• Rolled lawn «Universal Classic», 0.8 m2
• Plastic lawn grid for creating parking on the lawn
• Battery-powered lawn shears Gardena Classic Cut
• Herbicide for weed control «BIS-300»