What to plant for erosion control?

[stumpfield]

Last year, I built a new road around the hill to provide a better entrance to my property. It was looking nice (see pic). The rain this year had caused a lot of erosion. I want to plant something on the hillside to keep erosion to a minimum. The soil is mostly DG and sandy. Any sugguestions?

 

[AlanB]

Do they have Lesco in your area?

If you were around here I would say a quick Rye, for immediate stability, then a KY 31, but your area is probably different.

I would hydroseed, or hand seed and blow straw then krimp in the straw with a krimper. I would also hand manage with straw bales where I had erosion forming at the top.


Local Lesco or Ag extension agent should be able to tell you what works well in your neck of the woods, and what other people have had success with.

For real steep areas, we have had good luck with the roll out mats of straw and seed. Couple that with some well placed straw bales to break up the waterflow and some manual intervention and we get pretty fair results.

Good luck.

 

[woodchuckie]

A sprig of Alabama Kudzu will cover the whole area including all those pretty trees, The grass and the new road it's self and if you drive too slow it'll get your car too.

 

[AlanB]

Somehow I bet the Kalifornia ag folks would have KINIPTIONS, if they got any Kudzu planted, but, yep, that would stabilize anything that was there....

 

[slowrev]

Kudzu , another fantastic idea from our gummit....

 

[zeuspaul]

Try Albright Seeds
Albright Seed Company: Your source for wildflower seeds, grass seed, fertilizer, mulch and erosion control solutions. We offer help in gardening with wildflowers, grasses, turf, erosion control, and other agricultural methods. You can find your choice of wildflowers, fertilizer, and ground cover for your gardening needs.

Zeuspaul

 

[HomeBrew2]

Try Albright Seeds Zeuspaul

Good one! Thanks for the link, hadn't found them yet.
Also try SlopeSaver .
Also, just an FYI, 5000+ pages of California natives info at Las Pilitas Nursery

 

[RoyJackson]

I like Juniper shrubbery for ground cover and erosion control. It's a bit expensive and will take a year or so to spread, but I do love that evergreen look.

 

[SLOBuds]

Good one! Thanks for the link, hadn't found them yet.
Also try SlopeSaver .
Also, just an FYI, 5000+ pages of California natives info at Las Pilitas Nursery

Las Pilitas is not too far from me. The ecosystem where they grow their stock is different from Yosemite, but let me know if you would like me to make a visit and ask questions. Plus ... the guy does have EMail which he replies to.

County Ag extension, and Master Gardeners is another pretty good source.

Not sure if you can get through to the right guy, but the Highway's Department is big into erosion control. Might be some data there.

I do know that it's a bit of a science. There are good plans for erosion control and bad plants. Something to do with rooting qualities.

 

[EddieWalker]

A silt fence will cut down on the erosion, but it's just temporary and looks terrible. They are cheap and effective when installed properly.

Rye grass looks pretty, but it's roots are too shallow to control erosion. You will see little islands of it with channels of water cutting through it. Cheap and pretty, but nothing else.

Here the State road crews are using rolls of woven matting with seed in it. They unroll them on the slopes and anchor it down with stakes. The matting holds the ground in place and the seed seems to take root very quickly. My farm store is a supplier to the different Counties who use it and told me it's also the best thing for a dam too. I was gonna get some, but he was sold out and was struggling to get enough for the County.

Price wasn't too bad either, but I have too many numbers in my head right now to remember what is was exactly. hahahaha

Since it's already exposed dirt, can you put down a mixture of plants to attract wildlife? Food plot mix or a wildflower mix?

Eddie