Hillside Renewal & Planting Questions

[Haoleguy]

I'm looking for suggestions on converting a south facing 50' by 7' size 25% grade hillside from weeds/grasses to a ground cover and a few dwarf fruit trees. This is a project that I'm doing for a community garden where only organic vegetable growing is allowed. What I plan to do is establish the ground cover first. The issue is that if I strip off what is there I stand a chance to loose ground in a rain. What I'm thinking is to : (1) hitting the hillside with an organic herbicide, like Burnout, for a couple of treatments, and after ~1 week of last treatment to (2) adding soil with ground cover seeds. My hope would be that the dead weeds/grasses with still have a root structure to hold the hillside and that the new ground cover can establish itself. I'm definitely open to ideas on this one. What have others done with similiar circumstances?

 

[studor]

My neighbour and I recovered a similar piece of ground by cutting everthing really short, placing logs across the hill and then filling in between with additional soil (what was there was very poor).We completely buried the logs for appearance.We then planted ground cover and shrubs. Some weeds grew back but not excessively and the logs rotted but not before everything was stabilized again.

 

[MikeInEburg]

I think you're on the right track - kill what's there, but leave root structure in place to hold the ground together. Cut holes and plant ground cover - you may do better with cuttings than seeds. You can also cover existing vegetation with newspapers and mulch to ****** regrowth.

Good luck!
Mike

 

[forgeblast]

What about trellising it? you could make a stepped hillside which would make it a lot easier to maintain, and pick fruit. Its for a community garden, who will be the first person to take a tumble while trying to pick an apple on a 25% slope? Probably the person whos brother is an attorney. but if you cut into the hill side and break the slope into layers once you have the apples and other vegitation in place if will hold together. 50' long by 7' high, if you figure 2' steps, or even 2 1/2' thats only three steps that you will need. if its rocky, you can use the rocks to make the terraces.

 

[Wacky]

What about trellising it? you could make a stepped hillside which would make it a lot easier to maintain, and pick fruit. Its for a community garden, who will be the first person to take a tumble while trying to pick an apple on a 25% slope? Probably the person whos brother is an attorney. but if you cut into the hill side and break the slope into layers once you have the apples and other vegitation in place if will hold together. 50' long by 7' high, if you figure 2' steps, or even 2 1/2' thats only three steps that you will need. if its rocky, you can use the rocks to make the terraces.

Keep in mind to add drain tiles on each step, to prevent slipping due to heavy rains cutting into the step and creating a ditch leaching underground creating an unstable step.

 

[forgeblast]

Nova on pbs did a great show on how the incas built machu picchu and the way that they harvested water and made sure that it would not erod what they built.
Very good show.