Hill help

gbd · Feb 15, 2001

The picture does not really show how steep this is, you can't walk down it easily, the tractor doesn't get near it. A few years ago we had to have dirt brought in and a few really big machines to fix the erosion, very expensive. We had to use extension ladders to lay sod(real fun job). The problem is its almost impossibe to cut it, so the grass gets very tall and slowly kills itself off. I need suggestions as to what I can plant to stop the erosion, low maintenance plant or any other ideas you might have. Not much erosion yet, would like to keep it that way.The way the property is I can't extend the hill so it slopes less, so that ones ruled out. And everyone thinks Florida is flat.

Henry · Feb 15, 2001

Crown Vetch is a great ground cover plant for difficult areas. This stuff grows just about anywhere and is used for erosion control in many parts of the country. Take a look at Crown Vetch on the Musser Nursury web site: http://www.musserforests.com/Shopping/Category.asp?category=90. I've never seen it used in Florida, but I don't live in the mountainous region like you do ;-)
Crown Vetch has a nice pink-white bloom, it also sets it roots very deep and it will spread nicely over time. However, once you've planted Crown Vetch, plan on living with it for a long time. It is difficult to erradicate.

Good luck,
Henry

P.S. Musser Nursury is one of the best mail-order tree / shrub nursury's in the country .....

Edited by Henry on 02/15/01 04:01 AM (server time).

Thomas · Feb 15, 2001

gbd,
Thats could be a tough one w/the pitch of the bank.
I seen where dozer have pack that type of area than put in water bars for drainage.
Winter Rye or Highway mix seem to hold the ground in check.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

gbd · Feb 15, 2001

Harv,

Thanks for the heads up on the crownvetch might be just what I'm looking for, if it'll hold the hill together I'll live with it, and be happy.

Thomas,

Have tried several grasses not much luck, I have bahia on it now which has held up better then they others. Hopefully the crownvetch Harv mentioned will do the trick.

Thanks,
Gerald

GrantMO · Feb 15, 2001

GBD,
Henry's suggestion of using crown vetch is a good one. The Missouri Dept. of Trans. uses crown vetch to hold some really steep hills.
An alternative would be to put in terraces. This is expensive but you could get some use out of the slope such as landscaping or possibly a garden. When I lived in Portland I saw people make use of some incredibly steep hillsides using terraces. Just a thought.

Harv · Feb 15, 2001

Harv,

Thanks for the heads up on the crownvetch

You're welcome, GBD, but it was Henry who posted that one. I'd never heard of the stuff. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

(Don't worry -- all those 'H' names sound the same to me, too. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif)

blackcloud · Feb 15, 2001

Crownvetch will definately help as far as erosion control but as Henry mentioned, it is difficult to live with. Here in PA it is used extensively by the highway department and I have it on the bank in front of my house. It does hold the soil but (there's always a but...) it spreads into undesired locations and takes over from just about any other plant. And it takes almost a nuclear explosion to get rid of the stuff.....

black cloud

gbd · Feb 15, 2001

Henry,
oops, sorry about that Henry, just got done answering another post to Harv, and anyone who knows me knows I'm horrible with names, so let me apologize to everyone in advance cause I'll do it again, a hundred times./w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

Gerald

jfakerj · Feb 15, 2001

Does Crownvetch loose it's foliage in the winter or does ir stay full all year round.

Jerry

blackcloud · Feb 15, 2001

Crownvetch turns brown and dies off (on the surface) during winter. Seems that one or two warm days are enough to get it to sprout - well - like a weed! It returns to its' growth state quickly.

black cloud

gbd · Feb 15, 2001

GrantMO,

I've seen some nice terraced hills, I have considered this but its just not in the budget right now, to many other things going on. Really hadn't considered replacing the grass this soon but not much choice, can't have the house sliding down the hill in a few years.

Gerald

gbd · Feb 15, 2001

Blackcloud,

If it can survive on this hill, with the Florida sun(noon till dark)and keep it from washing away I'll live with the but.......this hill has been a problem ever since we built the house. Probably be nice to worry about the plants taking over instead of the house sliding down the hill./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

cowboydoc · Feb 16, 2001

Gerald,
The best thing to do would be to terrace it. That's the only way you're really going to be able to stop it. You could do some very nice looking landscape with terracing. Depending on your budget I would use the landscape stones and it would look beautiful and you wouldn't have any erosion at all. I have seen guys try all types of vegetation with that kind of a hill and the only thing I've seen work is terracing.

gbd · Feb 16, 2001

Since its been mentioned a few times anyone know a good site or book on terracing, if I decide to go that way I'd like to do it right so its the only time I have to do it. Like I said I've seen some nice terraced hills, but have no idea where to start.

Thanks
Gerald

GrantMO · Feb 16, 2001

Gerald,
I don't know of any books on the subject but I'm sure there are some good ones as well as websites on the subject. Another alternative, and I realize possibly expensive, might be to talk to a landscape designer/architect. We had a landscape designer draw up a plan for our house landscaping like trees, shrubs and flowers etc. when we moved in and it was really pretty reasonable. We went with a third of what she thought up and did most of the plantings ourselves. I was very reluctant to let someone else give us that kind of advice but it worked out great. On the other hand you may be able to design and build a fine terrace system with the help of a book or good website. If you find one, please let me know to as I have a couple areas that could stand some terracing.

Henry · Feb 16, 2001

No problem, we do seem to have a few H's on the board.

Crown Vetch will hold any hill side together. I believe that it was developed by the Pennsynvania highway department to be used for hillside erosion control. It's a nice looking ground cover .....

But as the other guys are telling you, what out how it spreads. However, I have seen several suburbabn folks use it on hill sides and seem to be able to control it..... you just need to keep an eye on it.

Henry

poorboy · Feb 17, 2001

For what its worth we used to use vetch as a winter cover crop on our tobacco fields. It was a little bit of a problem to plow in the spring but not too bad, just an entanglement. Here in the hills the road dept. uses vetch and pines to hold the hill in the cut-thru's. I'm not sure if the pines and sycamores are on purpose but they sure seem to hold. The poor quality of the soil must keep the pines from getting to tall to uproot, I guess. Good luck with the vetch that's what I would try.

gbd · Feb 17, 2001

Just to let everyone know right now I'm going to go with the crown vetch. I'm still looking into terracing for a future project, have seen lots of pictures but not much info on actually doing it.

Grant if I come across anything I'll pass it along to you and everyone else.

Gerald