Yes that's the entire slope. Our property (1/2 acre) was graded 50 years
ago so that part of the slope became flat and downhill form that became
steeper than the natural hillside...so the slope does continue at the
bottom of my problem area, but that continuing slope is 'safe'. This is
Califorina, the soil is clayish I believe. House is above the slope, but
the flattened area is a good 20' wide, here is no immdeidate danger of
it being involved in the 'overslope' erosion...but I don't want to lose
the hillside at all if possible.

There are no gullies etc. The hill was grassy (with a few bushes) till
last year when a gopher colony took root, and they've been accelerating
the 'slide' of the hill. I wiped them out last year but they've
returned. So looking for a way to mitigate the effects of the loose dirt
they push out. They put out so much dirt last summer than this year the
grass didn't return with the winter rains as it usually does...so all
summer the slope was mostly just exposed dirt. The new gophers are less
numerous but it seems to be shaping up into a continuous battle, they're
not easy to get.

I'm not sure if there are any ag stations around here, the is the east
bay part of the SF Bay Area. I may have to resort to some professional
type, though some I've talked to seem fairly clueless. It's not quite
the situation for a real retaining wall but that's the "regular" thing
to do...so I hear that.

Re plantings, I know that would help. But in my case, with gophers
pushing out finely granulated soil, I think I need something like this
terracing idea to keep the soil from sliding down the hill...it's just
at the slope where gravity takes over.

In article .net,
says...
wheel wrote:
I have to deal with a hillside that has a 2:3 slope (if I'm saying that
right, slope goes down a two feet for every three out). The main goal
here is to forestall erosion, secondary to help plantings take root.
Hillside is about 70' wide, and it drops 10'. It has a mild contour to

Is that the entire slope, or just the portion on your property? ie, are
you on the top or bottom of a mountain?

it, so straight terracing wouldn't be ideal. Anyone have ideas re a good
material for the 'retaining walls'. I'm not really aiming at a full
strength retaining wall system which would probably cost a fortune to
install. More hoping that some easy going terracing will do enough.
Like, steel pegs knocked in two feet deep, with 1 foot up, and some
barrier material as the wall...what that would be I don't know, but have
wondered if there is some recycled plastic 3/4" x 1' king sized
benderboard material out there. Or are there 'systems' for this type of
situation? I'm not eager to use the cement blocks that are common, too
much weight to haul, it'd be a lot of block. There is no snow or
freezing where I live.

That is a pretty large piece of ground to rearrange. Is there erosion
now? Gullies? What is at bottom of slope? Where is your house in
relation to the slope? Soil type? Trees? Native plants? If you are
just dealing with a graded part of a building lot with a few bare spots,
I'd fill in the washed out soil first. Plant something with good root
system. Laying down a little flagstone with landscape cloth behind it
would help keep soil in place til plants fill in. I would consider
taking some photos to county ag extension service - they should be able
to offer advice (free) and give tips on what to plant that doesn't
require high maintenance.

If I understand the message right, the area in question is about 15x70.
New plants with shredded cypress mulch can hold soil just fine. Mondo
grass is one plant that is great for Florida, but we don't have
hillsides to worry about. it is a plant that is attractive, doesn't
require any particular care, and won't take over the landscape. A plant
like that, across a slope, would do a lot to slow runoff and erosion.