ᐅ Full-surface irrigation with geotextile fabric for sod installation

Hello everyone, we are currently working on the irrigation system for our garden. We live in an area with sandy soil, which is very permeable, and we are planning to install 400 sqm (4,300 sq ft) of turf. We have a 6 cubic meter (6,000 liter) cistern and suspect that this will not be sufficient for irrigation during prolonged drought periods if we go with a “conventional” irrigation system using pop-up sprinklers. We have received a quote for this, and overall the materials are relatively affordable.

However, we were advised at a garden center to consider a fabric-based irrigation system. In this setup, a honeycomb fabric is laid down, and then a drip hose wrapped in fabric, similar to an underfloor heating system, is placed on top.

The problem is that this type of irrigation costs about five times more.

Unfortunately, our budget doesn’t allow for that, but the concept itself is excellent. Therefore, I have thought about trying to replicate it. For this, I found water-retaining fabric.

Does anyone have experience with something like this?

You do realize that after that, you’ll never be allowed to dig a hole in your lawn again? For a tree, a garden shed, a flower bed, or anything else...

Fuchur schrieb:

You do realize that you can never dig a hole in your lawn again? For a tree, a garden shed, a flower bed, or something else...

I understand that. Only lawn is planned for this area. Flower beds, hedges, garden sheds, etc. are planned elsewhere.

The fleece creates a barrier layer in the soil. As a result, nothing can grow deeper than the fleece, and you will get a lawn that will never thrive with natural rainfall and must always (!) be watered. If that is really what you want and want to maintain in the future, using the fleece is certainly something to consider, since irrigation occurs directly in the soil and there is no evaporation.

What does "lawn that can never survive on natural rainfall and always (!) requires watering" mean in this case? I have assumed that, especially during the summer months, you always need to water your lawn with an above-ground irrigation system if you want it to look good.

Where the fleece is planned, it will be purely lawn area, so no other deep-rooted plants would be planted there.

Or instead of wasting a lot of water, consider a dry lawn. It tolerates prolonged heat and direct sunlight well and only needs watering occasionally – this eliminates the need for fleece and allows you to continually make adjustments to the garden design.

It’s better to establish solid foundations from the start than to later try to cover up the mistakes of poor planning with a lot of fuss and expense, as planned here.