Mulching steep bank

[thatguy]

I just had the tree/fence line in front of our house taken out. It is down to bare earth now with seed and straw on it..

we are leaning toward mulching it and planting some sort of ground cover on it.. This bank is pretty steep (greater than 45 degrees).. I would want to also put down a weed block fabric..

any suggestions on how to keep the mulch from sliding down the fabric or the bank (if we didnt use the fabric)?

I have attached a pic showing a little of the bank (right side of the driveway) to give you an idea how steep it is..

thanks

Brian

 

[JoeL4330]

why do you think the "angle of repose" (steepest supportable angle) is much different for your mulch and your soil ...if the bank is stable, why not the mulch?

 

[Western]

It may be the photo, but that doesn't look to steep for mulch if that's what you want to do. Do you usually get heavy rains there this time of year? or at least before the grass seed you have sprouts?. It would seem mulce would do ok if you didn't get a 2-3" rain.

Did you plant a winter grass or is it for spring?

 

[RobertN]

Use Jute fabric. It comes in a roll. The stuff I have used is about 6'wide, 50' long. It is like a jute rope, laid out in a 2"x2" or 3"x3" grid.

Make sure your grading is finished. Lay a roll out at the bottom of the grade. Stake it down. I have used wire stakes. Trim, and continue up the hill.

The jute fabric will help hold the hillside soil. It is in a grid, so you can plant as desired; the plants will grow thru the grid. Place mulch as desired; the grid design will help hold the mulch.

If the hill is real steep, use "gorilla hair" mulch. It is usually redwood bark that is shredded to a fine consistency. It hold on hill sides nicely, and binds to the jute fabric pretty well.

Jute netting from Outsidepride.

Jute® Erosion Control Blanket, 60920 - Lab Safety Supply

Agricultural Supplies, Fabric Structures, Equine Buildings, Grain Storage, Livestock Buildings from FarmTek

Hy-Tex Soil Saver (Biodegradable Jute Erosion Control Meshes)

Erosion and Sediment Control Jute Netting

Poly Jute Netting - Greenhouse Megastore has everything you need to build, equip, and maintain a commercial, hobby, school or institutional greenhouse.

 

[thatguy]

The bank is fairly stable over all- but the top couple inches is really loose dirt... I had to wet the bank to try and get the grass seed to stay in place (it just rolled to the bottom) until we got the straw down. As I was wetting the bank you would get little "land slides" of dirt if you sprayed water on one part too much.. the grass is just to stabilize it until we decide what we want to do long term

Joel 4330 - What I was worried about was mulching on top of the weed barrier fabric. Its pretty slick stuff. Ultimately we want to probably put some low growing, spreading juniper (?) plants on the bank so it will eventually cover the entire bank.

Western - The contractor planted both annual rye and fescue on it.. In the past we have gotten some frequent rains this time of year, but mainly from hurricanes coming up the coast.. Not counting hurricanes the rains are not that heavy..

RobertN - thanks for the links. I have never heard of the Jute netting.. I think it is what i would need to keep the mulch in place.. Wonder if you could use it over the weed barrier??

Ill try to get a better pic of the bank this afternoon

thanks

Brian

 

[RobertN]

You can put the Jute over the top of weed cloth. Then just put plants where you want. For 4" plants, just kinda push the jute apart enough to plant the plant. For larger, you may need to cut a whole in the netting. Easy with a utility knife.

Not sure how it grows in your area, but if you put the just down by itself, and planted buffalo grass, that would look nice on a hillside. Only gets about 12" tall, kinda wavy and tufty looking. There are some hillsides in a nearby town done like that; looks really nice. Easy to maintain.

RobertN - thanks for the links. I have never heard of the Jute netting.. I think it is what i would need to keep the mulch in place.. Wonder if you could use it over the weed barrier??

 

[thatguy]

Here are a few better pics of the finished bank..