Near the bottom of my driveway, the hillside is starting to sag
(probably from all the rain we got last week):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11553009.jpg

Just wondering what the main options are for preventing it from worsening?

On Tue, 4 Dec 2012 00:56:59 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
wrote:

Near the bottom of my driveway, the hillside is starting to sag
(probably from all the rain we got last week):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11553009.jpg

Just wondering what the main options are for preventing it from worsening?

Grass turf. The roots help reduce erosion.

On 12/3/2012 7:13 PM, Oren wrote:
On Tue, 4 Dec 2012 00:56:59 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
wrote:

Near the bottom of my driveway, the hillside is starting to sag
(probably from all the rain we got last week):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11553009.jpg

Just wondering what the main options are for preventing it from worsening?

Grass turf. The roots help reduce erosion.


I was thinking of those quick grass rolls they use on the roadside.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c73o96w

I'm not sure where to get them though.

On 12/3/12 6:56 PM, Danny D. wrote:
Near the bottom of my driveway, the hillside is starting to sag
(probably from all the rain we got last week):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11553009.jpg

Just wondering what the main options are for preventing it from worsening?

I wonder if wooden snow fence would do any good.
Example here http://tinyurl.com/bscx6dn at Home Depot.

On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Danny D. wrote:
Near the bottom of my driveway, the hillside is starting to sag
(probably from all the rain we got last week):
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/11553009.jpg

Just wondering what the main options are for preventing it from worsening?


You could plant kudzu. ^_^

http://www.maxshores.com/kudzu/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu

TDD

gonjah wrote:

I was thinking of those quick grass rolls they use on the roadside.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c73o96w

I'm not sure where to get them though.

Grass farm

On Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:13:47 -0800, Oren wrote:

Grass turf. The roots help reduce erosion.

Maybe that's not so good advice if this web site is correct.
http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/slope.html


Old erosion ideas that don't work.

GRASS.

Planting grass on a slope does not stop erosion. Erosion studies have
consistently shown that slopes that were seeded with grass have GREATER
EROSION than anything other than bare ground. (Even dead sticks beat
grass!). Just because the world is full of ignoramuses, you do not have
to do what they do. Don't seed slopes with grass. This ignorance of
seeding grass on slopes to control erosion has been perpetuated for about
100 years and still occurs after fires in some poorly educated sectors of
our country. EVERY study that has ever been done recommends against
seeding grasses. After spending a day trying at the Cal Poly library to
find an article supporting the seeding of grass to control erosion I
could find none. One of former biologists for Forest Service(she quit
over this) spent 10 hours at the UC Santa Barbara library trying to find
documentation for seeding grasses, she could find none. Seeding slopes
after a fire or grading does nothing but destroy the ecosystem for
perpetuity. Bare, grass-covered or ice plant-covered slopes commonly load
up to field capacity (and beyond), while slopes covered with a mix of
native shrubs and trees and perennials rarely do(Patric). In a home
landscaping seeding with grass makes a weedy slope that is very hard to
stabilize and reestablish plants on and it creates a different plant
community, ie. Weeds.
Mulch.

The type of mulch, placed on top of the ground, is very important in the
management of a slope susceptible to erosion. See the mulch page for
appropriate types of mulch to use. If you use the wrong type of mulch the
plants will not grow very well, weeds could be introduced, and erosion
could be increased!
Plastic.

Plastic is for bags, soda bottles, and children's toys. If you stuck
those items on the hillside they would be about as attractive and
effective for erosion control. (After a few years the plastic 'weed
barrier', 'mulch' or 'erosion matting' has curled and is sticking up in
amongst the weeds.) I removed some of this stuff off of a 'restoration
project' (in a shady spot) near San Luis Obispo a few years ago. The
ground was practically bald (nothing much was alive) after 2 years,
except a little annual rye grass. Next to the plastic, there was near-
normal recovery. In other places where this plastic matting was used
(sunny spots) the weeds had gone crazy. Short term solution that is a
long term pain.
Straw.(Straw punch, Straw mats)

Straw is for animal bedding. On slopes it works for about 15 minutes
during the first rainfall. Then the hillside is a weedy, muddy mess and
the straw is somewhere else. Also, you have just introduced a massive
amount of weed seeds. As with grass, the erosion is greater with straw
than mulch, plants, boulders, walls or anything other than loose dirt.
If you like erosion, fire, gophers and mice, put straw around your
house. Straw=weeds= rodents=erosion.
This straw blanket slid off of the this slope with the first good rain -
grid24_12
Straw is for horse bedding, not erosion control or slope landscaping. A
straw blanket/mat slope before the rain.
jute doesn't do much for bank stabilization - grid24_12
Straw mat hillside sliding away after a few light rainfalls. Should have
been terraced with cross drains, mulched and planted.
Concrete.

Malibu uses concrete as 'erosion' control. Weird! The coastal sage scrub
is beautiful and stable. Some dummy clears the 'brush' and plants grass,
the hillside slides, so they cover it with cement that gradually cracks,
costs a fortune, looks UGLY, and is dead. And after about twenty years,
the concrete falls off of the slope. Also if the water doesn't go into
your soil, it's running on to the neighbors slopes and causing more
problems downslope.
Ice plant, 'red apple', and grasses like Red fescue,

They all behave the same way in a wet year. These plants are not
appropriate to control erosion on a slope because 1) they are alien
plants and not part of our natural plant community, 2) they have very
shallow roots. 3) they are heavy.
The slopes load up with rain water to full saturation and then shed/slide
off. The top vegetation actually ADDS to the weight of the slope. It
feels just like a wet shag carpet, and the roots are about as deep. I
wish the news people would get it right; it usually isn't mud slides,
it's ice plant or 'grassland' slides.

On Tue, 4 Dec 2012 22:07:16 +0000 (UTC), "H. H. B."
wrote:

On Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:13:47 -0800, Oren wrote:

Grass turf. The roots help reduce erosion.

Maybe that's not so good advice if this web site is correct.
http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/slope.html


Old erosion ideas that don't work.

GRASS.

snip

Interesting. That mentions seed. Grass sod was my thinking, so I
mentioned turfgrass. Varieties with a deep rooting system.

Seems like the subject is all over the place.

"...As early at 1986, a U.S. Geologically Survey funded project at The
Pennsylvania State University documented that grassed areas
established with turfgrass sod are up to 15 times more effective in
controlling runoff than seed established grass, even after three
years.

More recently, a University of Maryland team of scientists testing the
"Runoff and Sediment Losses from Natural and Man-made Erosion Control
Materials" found, "Sod offers superior performance when compared with
straw in retarding the initiation of runoff, reducing runoff rates and
reducing total soil losses. None of the man-made materials effectively
extended the time for runoff initiation."

While these and other scientific studies have documented the
effectiveness of turfgrass to control erosion, there continues to be a
debate regarding the costs and associated benefits of various methods
of turfgrass establishment. The purpose of this paper is to examine
all of the associated considerations, costs and benefits of the more
popular grassing methods so that those who are responsible for making
recommendations, or the actual decision making, will have a strong
basis in fact for that action."

....

"Turfgrass Sodding:

•Withstands heavy and prolonged rains at time of installation, without
erosion or damage; steeply sloped surfaces may have to be pegged to
soil until roots are established.

http://www.turfgrasssod.org/pages/consumer-resources/stop-erosion

As others stated shrubs, trees, etc. with a deep roots will serve the
same purpose.

In my area all the highways have rock on the slopes, no erosion.