Ukrainian Dachas

… Dacha. What does this word mean for many Ukrainian city dwellers?

The meaning of the word is seriously different depending on who uses it. For some, a dacha is a tiny shack in the middle of small vegetable and fruit garden where every square inch is used to produce something eatable and storable for the coming autumn and winter. For others, it is a huge cottage surrounded by lawns, flowerbeds, and other masterpieces of landscape architects...

Oh dacha! This is the place to escape from the rush and the problems of a big city. This is the place where the retired people find the hobby of their life: orchards, gardens, farming. This is the place where the working people come during the weekends to take a breath of fresh air and to have some physical labour. Daсha is the best place for barbeque or shashlуk parties, singing songs with a guitar, swimming in rivers or lakes, sunbathing, biking or just walking around, and the place to hunt for wild berries and mushrooms in the forests. Dacha is the way to live closer to all these natural things for those who cannot afford or do not want the travels.

The last decade of April (if it's warm enough) is the beginning of the active farming at the dacha. But already in February when it is still frost and snow outside, the dacha fanatics start to grow seedlings of tomatoes and other vegetables to be replanted later, in early May, when it is warm enough and there is no threat of night frosts. June is still busy with planting, weeding, watering. And at last starts the season that all devoted dacha owners enjoy most of all. Here comes the time when every week brings new rewards for love and caring. New vegetables, berries, and fruits are greeting dacha people every morning. Lettuce and raspberries, cucumbers and apples, tomatoes and beets, radish and carrots... You would not believe how long is the list of what Ukrainians grow at their dachas! Plots are often cultivated manually using instruments like a spade or a fork. In autumn the grown potatoes and other crops are gathered and transported to the city where they are stored in cellars or in personal automobile garages.