Erosion Problem- Sandy Soil on a Slope

Mike, how steep is the slope?

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

Umm….maybe a 30% grade…..not sure exactly.

I can barely push the mower up that hill.

Sorry I can’t help you out Mike but I have never had this problem.Good luck with it.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Sand really sucks but asparagus loves sandy soil. I have sandy soil too and as many 100 cubic yards of manure I throw at it….........the sand eventually sucks the good stuff away…............sigh !!!

No worries though, as anything can be fixed if you throw enough money at it like

dig some out, then pack a foot of clay over the sand, pack and backfill with topsoil.

put retaining walls of stone and/or wood and or concrete…...(landsacpe) it

Mrtlye (spelling) works

IMHO….......gardens with slope have a distinct advantage over “flat”.....they look better, way more options as to what you can do.

Good luck

-- Central northish Ontario

The area is currently covered with bermuda…..is there anything I can add on top of the grass to improve the texture?

I’ve heard that peat moss or manure will work but I’m not sure how to incorporate that on top of the grass….they would have to be very thin layers.

That seems like quite a slope. Is there any way to use terraces or some other type of soil contouring to make the slope less? I had some ideas, but they were not thin layers and I think heavy rains might wash them away without significant root structure to hold them there. I hope you find a solution.

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

Yeah, terraces are a possiblity, I’m also running a drainage pipe to the street from both downspouts on that side of the house to minimize waterflow during a heavy rain.

I’m not really familiar with soil contouring so I’ll have to do some research on that.

Thanks!

Terracing is the only answer to prevent the run off, as far as I can see. I have a similar situation here with about a 30 degree slope also. I have built in several retaining walls, some major, and some with rocks. They substantially reduce the erosion problem, and also as Greenthumb says, provide for a more interesting look.

Once you start gardening, be sure to have a compost pile to add to the soil to make it more sustainable soil. Have you thought about digging out an area where you want to garden, laying down some landscape material, backfilling with triple mix or good compost filled top soil? When I came here, the soil around here was terrible subsoil with too much clay, and so I did exactly what I prescribed here. The contractors thought that I was “nuts”, but it worked. Now I see other neighbours doing something similar, or else leaving their sad looking gardens. I believe that I put in 2 truckloads of triple mix initially, and have topped up annuallly with more. I recall the truck almost tipping over because of the slope here. That would not have been a pretty addition to the wooded area and river below us. LOL

Good luck.

-- jroot

field tile fills with sand….........useless and expensive to fix as I am finding out.

PVC pipe with collector basins help a lot, .......I am considering doing this in spots around here.

sometimes I dream of putting concrete storm sewers….............my own little city.

Mother nature and her water…...........very powerful adversary, much like a wife. They always win …....unless your nice!

-- Central northish Ontario

If you’re dealing with a wash out, there’s little that can be done with the soil. The water will still run and chances are it will wash before any stabilized growth happens.

Consider a french drain to channel water movement.

Might also read up on this page, which has good information.
http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/slope.html

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Greenthumb: Happy wife, happy life. lol

Some of us know this, others learn it the hard way XD

-- Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.. shine on you crazy diamond