Ideal Lawn for the Dacha: Instructions + Tips

A lawn is a costly pleasure: you need to invest a lot of time, effort, and money to grow a beautiful lawn, and then constantly take care of it. That's why the area of lawns 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 and 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, Believes that every garden is a unique story

Lubov Kvasnina, Art Director, DEREVO PARK Studio

Preparation

Preparing the soil is a very important step in creating a lawn. If there are weeds on the plot, it is treated with products like «Roundup», «Tornado», or «Hurricane» to completely eliminate vegetation.

Plan the slope of the lawn so that water flows off in springtime and doesn't pool on the premises.

At least 15–20 cm of compacted soil is needed under the lawn. Often it is advised to leave only 10 cm, but that won't last long: the soil will quickly run out of nutrients and the lawn will start to die. Also, a thin layer of soil won't retain moisture well, and you'll have to water the lawn constantly.

What Soil to Choose?

For a lawn, good field soil is required that retains surface moisture.

Mainly peat-sandy mixtures and drainage in the form of a sand layer are used to prevent water from pooling and the lawn from becoming waterlogged.

After spreading the soil across the plot, compact it with a special roller to make sure it is solid and free of holes. Then loosen the soil to eliminate clumps or lumps. If it's a seeded lawn, the soil layer should be 1–2 cm lower than the level of walkways after rolling.

Germination is highest when you follow this method: roller, seeding, dusting the seeds with loose soil by hand. Unlike mixing the soil with 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's also a misconception that weeds won't sprout due to geotextile. Weeds blow in from the wind or are brought in with soil and sprout very well in the lawn.

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

Sowing

What kind of plot do you have — sunny, shaded, dry, or wet? You should choose grass seeds strictly according to the conditions.

Depending on the purpose of the lawn, different percentages of grass in the mixture are used — this affects how it grows. For example, if there are pine trees on the plot, choose a lawn with clover added. It creates a denser layer and prevents bare spots.

Before sowing, loosen the soil with fan-shaped rakes. Distribute seeds over the surface of the soil using a seeder or by hand. The amount of seed usually varies from 30 to 50 grams per square meter. Then cover the seeds 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's important to make an even layer of soil — if the soil has clumps, the lawn mower will cut unevenly.

You Will Need:

Dacha lawn Geolia, 3 kg

Manual lawn roller, 50 liters

Landscape geotextile, 50 m

Green manure «Vika-Rye», 0.5 kg

Watering

The best solution is to install an automatic watering system on the plot before sowing the lawn.

Watering the lawn is important in the morning and evening, preferably from walkways to avoid walking on the seedlings. Watering should be even, 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 water the area. If the plot is small, you can cover the seedlings with a protective material like lutrasil. This will protect the lawn from drying out. A special microclimate forms under the protective material, which promotes faster germination. It also protects from birds that might eat some of the seeds.

On average, lawns germinate in about two weeks.

You Will Need:

Garden pump Sterwins

Watering hose Geolia Classic, 25 m

Watering pistol Cellfast Economic

Impulse sprinkler on a stand Gardena Premium

Lawn Mowing

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

Once the lawn has fully germinated and grown to 9–10 cm, it should be mowed. Subsequently, mowing should be regular — don't let the lawn grow too tall. The frequency of mowing depends on weather and the growth rate of the grass. Usually, this is once or twice a week.

The mowing height should not be below 4 cm. No more than 3–4 cm of grass should be cut at a time. If the area is heavily overgrown, mowing should be done several times with a few days between sessions, gradually reaching the desired height. If you cut more than that, the lawn may 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;
• Before mowing, lift flattened grass with rakes;
• Subsequent mowing should be done across from the previous or diagonally to prevent uneven compaction of the soil.

Lawn mowers with mulching function are better to buy — when the cut grass is evenly distributed over the lawn and doesn't need to be collected manually with rakes.

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

You Will Need:

Electric lawn mower AL-KO Comfort 40E

Sandals for lawn aeration Greenworks, 32 cm

Electric lawn scarifier 1300 W, 32 cm

Seasonal Activities

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

In autumn — collecting fallen leaves and fertilizing with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, in summer — weeding. To achieve an ideal lawn, herbicides with selective action (Lontrel or Linthur) are necessary, which eliminate weeds without harming the lawn grasses. These products do not affect lawn grasses but only kill weeds, unlike broad-spectrum herbicides mentioned above.

It's better to use granular fertilizers that should be broadcast over the soil surface by hand or with a seeder and then watered. Liquid fertilizers must be diluted in water and applied strictly only to the lawn. This is inconvenient because watering with a hose will take a lot of time.

The first feeding should be done with complex fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium right after the snow melts, then nitrogen-based fertilizers are sufficient until mid-summer. The bright green color of the grass and the absence of moss on the lawn are ensured by treating with iron sulfate.

Rolled Lawn

The big advantage of such a lawn is that there's no need to mow and wait for the grass to gain strength and look good.

Rolled lawn is sold as a ready-made dense sod of specific width, length, and thickness that has been mowed multiple 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 walkways, the soil should be formed 4–5 cm lower since the lawn itself is 3–4 cm thick.

It's crucial to water the rolled lawn thoroughly immediately after laying it. Unlike seeded lawns, a larger volume of water 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 plan your strength and buy just enough lawn to lay 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 scissors Gardena Classic Cut

Herbicide for weed control «BIS-300»