Planting cover crop on a hillside

[rScotty]

We have half a mile of eroded hillside right across the swift mountain creek. The slope looks like good dirt but is too steep to climb. It's only 20 yards away, but you can't get there safely. For a cover crop I scientifically chose whatever we harvested last year from our hay meadow, plus some older commercial seed from the bottom of the barrel.

Did a germination test on the mix this spring & got roughy 50% germ.

Seed projectiles are a mixture of sticky clay mud from a local construction site, Rocky Mountain Fescue, Big and little Blue Stem, Canary grass, and good old Pasture mix - along with clover & some alfalfa. Shape to size and sun-dried.

The planting implements (pictured) are rubber band powered and will broadcast about 30 yards with pretty good application accuracy... Got some volunteers coming up this weekend.

Will let you know....
rScotty

 

[2manyrocks]

Have you considered a water balloon launcher, but fill the balloon with seed and some water?

 

[Omega Woods]

Thanks, @rScotty , for sharing this. I'll be interested to see how it turns out. I have a couple of impossible slopes that could use this treatment as well.

 

[seville009]

Is hiring a landscaping company with a hydroseed machine viable?

They can shoot it pretty far.

 

[kthompson]

Have you considered a water balloon launcher, but fill the balloon with seed and some water?

Puzzled here, guess the seed would sprout in a balloon with water but will they grow through a balloon? Or would the balloons burst on impact?

 

[2manyrocks]

Should burst. The negative would be having to look at burst balloons on an inaccessible slope.

 

[jyoutz]

We have half a mile of eroded hillside right across the swift mountain creek. The slope looks like good dirt but is too steep to climb. It's only 20 yards away, but you can't get there safely. For a cover crop I scientifically chose whatever we harvested last year from our hay meadow, plus some older commercial seed from the bottom of the barrel.

Did a germination test on the mix this spring & got roughy 50% germ.

Seed projectiles are a mixture of sticky clay mud from a local construction site, Rocky Mountain Fescue, Big and little Blue Stem, Canary grass, and good old Pasture mix - along with clover & some alfalfa. Shape to size and sun-dried.

The planting implements (pictured) are rubber band powered and will broadcast about 30 yards with pretty good application accuracy... Got some volunteers coming up this weekend.

Will let you know....
rScotty
View attachment 804662

I have aerial seeded hundreds of thousands of wildfire acres in the west, much of it on steep slopes. I prefer to mix a ratio of about 20 pure live seed of a grain cover crop (winter wheat or barley) with 20 pure live seed of native grasses per square foot (40 PLS/square foot). The grain is fast germinating and will form a cover crop to hold the native grass seed on the slope. Even better would be to just seed the grain and wait to seed the native grass into the established grain. The grain provides a cover crop for native grass establishment. Over the next few years, the grain will disappear and the native grass will become dominant. For native grasses in our part or the country (central and southern Rocky Mountains), some of the species that I recommend are: slender wheatgrass, mountain brome, side oats grama, and some forbs such as American vetch.

 

[Streetcar]

Many tool rentals have hydro seed machines. I rented one with about 100 ft spray reach

 

[nyone]

Cerial rye grows very quick with very little water. It also self seeds and has nice thick stalks to help lock things in when they fall over or you can crimp it after the seed has dropped if you want more rye. If you want less rye you can seed into standing rye and crimp before they seed.

 

[jyoutz]

Cerial rye grows very quick with very little water. It also self seeds and has nice thick stalks to help lock things in when they fall over or you can crimp it after the seed has dropped if you want more rye. If you want less rye you can seed into standing rye and crimp before they seed.

Winter wheat or barley work better if the objective is to establish native grass. These tend to only reseed for a couple of generations, then the native species become dominant. Rye and oats can be persistent.