Grass for Erosion Control on a Slope

[admin]

Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been
trying to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year
it had a lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's
Patch in the fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks
awful and a lot of soil has eroded, so it is uneven.
My question is what kind of grass would be best for it? I would like
something that will grow fast and will be tough since it is difficult
to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from the Maryland border. The
slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun since there are no trees
around it. I am so confused by all the grass choices. One I found is
called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that will work in this
area.

Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
long, tough battle!

Mike

[Timothy]

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:

> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
> will work in this area.
>
> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
> long, tough battle!
>
> Mike


Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.

But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.

Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
Hope this helps and good luck.

[Timothy]

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:

> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
> will work in this area.
>
> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
> long, tough battle!
>
> Mike


Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.

But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.

Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
Hope this helps and good luck.

[Timothy]

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:

> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
> will work in this area.
>
> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
> long, tough battle!
>
> Mike


Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.

But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.

Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
Hope this helps and good luck.

[Timothy]

On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:

> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
> will work in this area.
>
> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
> long, tough battle!
>
> Mike


Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.

But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.

Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
Hope this helps and good luck.

[admin]

Thanks for the reply. When we originally moved in, we had planned on
making the whole hill a giant groundcover area, but the weeds got way
too big and it was too much for us to handle, I do have an area in
the middle that has Junipers with weedblock so I hope that they
continue to grow well and connect in that area. The right side of the
hill is fine and the grass is nice in that area, it's just the left
side that has given me trouble.

I have some small evergreen trees along the top of the hill but maybe
I will put in some other plants along our fence as well. Maybe a tall
grass like Pampras?

Thanks for the reply and the advice on water flow. It is greatly
appreciated!

Mike











On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:43:35 GMT, "Timothy" <ywgc@REMOVEcomcast.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:
>
>> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
>> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
>> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
>> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
>> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
>> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
>> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
>> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
>> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
>> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
>> will work in this area.
>>
>> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
>> long, tough battle!
>>
>> Mike
>
>
>Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
>all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
>shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
>year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.
>
>But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
>doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
>off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
>arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
>weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
>work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
>then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
>come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
>doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.
>
>Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
>problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
>slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
>top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
>to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
>real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
>Hope this helps and good luck.

[admin]

Thanks for the reply. When we originally moved in, we had planned on
making the whole hill a giant groundcover area, but the weeds got way
too big and it was too much for us to handle, I do have an area in
the middle that has Junipers with weedblock so I hope that they
continue to grow well and connect in that area. The right side of the
hill is fine and the grass is nice in that area, it's just the left
side that has given me trouble.

I have some small evergreen trees along the top of the hill but maybe
I will put in some other plants along our fence as well. Maybe a tall
grass like Pampras?

Thanks for the reply and the advice on water flow. It is greatly
appreciated!

Mike











On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:43:35 GMT, "Timothy" <ywgc@REMOVEcomcast.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:
>
>> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
>> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
>> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
>> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
>> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
>> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
>> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
>> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
>> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
>> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
>> will work in this area.
>>
>> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
>> long, tough battle!
>>
>> Mike
>
>
>Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
>all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
>shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
>year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.
>
>But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
>doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
>off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
>arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
>weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
>work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
>then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
>come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
>doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.
>
>Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
>problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
>slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
>top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
>to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
>real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
>Hope this helps and good luck.

[admin]

Thanks for the reply. When we originally moved in, we had planned on
making the whole hill a giant groundcover area, but the weeds got way
too big and it was too much for us to handle, I do have an area in
the middle that has Junipers with weedblock so I hope that they
continue to grow well and connect in that area. The right side of the
hill is fine and the grass is nice in that area, it's just the left
side that has given me trouble.

I have some small evergreen trees along the top of the hill but maybe
I will put in some other plants along our fence as well. Maybe a tall
grass like Pampras?

Thanks for the reply and the advice on water flow. It is greatly
appreciated!

Mike











On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:43:35 GMT, "Timothy" <ywgc@REMOVEcomcast.net>
wrote:

>On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 15:54:25 +0000, admin wrote:
>
>> Help! I have a pretty steep slope in my backyard that I have been trying
>> to get grass to grow evenly on for the last 5 years. Last year it had a
>> lot of crabgrass on it and I tried to patch it with Scott's Patch in the
>> fall. I went out yesterday and noticed that it looks awful and a lot of
>> soil has eroded, so it is uneven. My question is what kind of grass would
>> be best for it? I would like something that will grow fast and will be
>> tough since it is difficult to mow. I am in Southern PA, 5 minutes from
>> the Maryland border. The slope is facing south and gets a lot of sun
>> since there are no trees around it. I am so confused by all the grass
>> choices. One I found is called Ridu hard fescue but I am not sure if that
>> will work in this area.
>>
>> Thanks a million for ANY advice someone can give me. This has been a
>> long, tough battle!
>>
>> Mike
>
>
>Good day Mike. If this was my slope, personaly I would forget about grass
>all together. I would look for a ground cover or some type of low growing
>shrub. I wouldn't want to do the maintaince on a steep slope 7+ times a
>year with a lawn mower/string trimmer.
>
>But if your stuck with grass for aesthetic reasons, there are ways of
>doing it. The common problems with seeding a slope are wash off and blow
>off. When it rains or the wind blows, the seed get removed. The work
>arounds for this issue is to lay your seed and then cover the seed with
>weed fabric (the white fabric if you can get it.) or burlap. Straw will
>work some what, but it's not my first choice. If the slope is very steep,
>then you may want to look into hydroseeding the slope. The people
>come,spray the seed mix and in 6 weeks your done. This may cost a bit, but
>doing the job right the first time is always cheaper in the end.
>
>Like I said before, grass would not be my first choice. The most common
>problem with a slope is water. The water will sheet at the top of the
>slope and run to the bottom rather quickly. Less water is absorbed at the
>top and this grass is almost always thinner and weaker. Slopes also tend
>to dry out faster in the heat of summer. A south facing slope will dry out
>real fast on a 85 degree day for sure.
>Hope this helps and good luck.