are we talking wood mulch, logs, treated landscape timbers? For all but the last I would add tons of nitrogen, organic not store bought, and keep moving it around with a fork, rake, hoe what ever and you will see in no time you will have nice soil. If you have logs you can remove, add layers of mulch and organic matter(OM) and you won't have an erosion issue. Wood mulch isn't that bad of a thing.
Sandy

I saw a post where somebody had taken a bunch of logs and branches and cover them with a foot or so of good topsoil.
There is a name for it, I am sure someone else has a better memory than I do and can point you to the post.
I guess the logs rot and gives you some awesome soil.
Good luck. david

No treated wood just old trees branches and logs.

Is there a way to have them structurally 'hold' the garden on the downhill side, like a retaining wall....they would break down, but could provide some support on the low side of the new garden?

I know that doesn't answer your question, but just an idea I got when I read your post.

Pam

Previous owner used a mix of old concrete construction debris, logs and thick branches on the hill for erosion control. It is sort of like Kerplunk at this point. One stick may make a bunch of stuff tumble.

Whatever new stuff I pull off the hill I place as close to the base as possible. With the hope that the soil and leaf mulch will accumulate at the base.

Cherry

Just keep it wet all the time. Use misters, not sprinklers.

I don't think there's any easy way to deal with it. The logs and larger branches will require years to decompose, and will no longer offer any erosion control. What soil is there will wash away, leaving the construction debris exposed.

The ultimate long term solution is a combination of terracing the hill, installing plants which will control erosion, and using textile erosion control.

If any of the logs are a long-lasting wood, like Black Locust, you might be able to use them in the terracing plan, but even they would only be a temporary fix.

I'd call in a landscape architect, and have him work out a hardscape terracing plan. Slipform concrete walls, which can be 'decorated' with stucco and/or stone veneer, could turn the hill into useful gardening space.

There was, some time back, a discussion led by Frank Teuton about Hugelkultur, using logs to make soil.

Here is a link that might be useful: one discussion on Hugelkulture

Thanks! liked the stuff on the hugelkultur.
Not so keen on hiring someone. Guy down the block had his wood retaining wall fail and the contractor wants $30,000.00 to repair it, he got 5 estimates.

Most of my neighbors have railroad tie retaining walls that will eventually fail and need expensive repair work.

I do not have a retaining wall and do not want one.
What I want is a native plant hillside garden that is terraced. It will require time and sweat but I do believe it can be done. It will take years to develop but the fun is in the process.

I have already done quite a bit of work on the hill.
Creating steps out of old concrete and mulching with bags of leaves. I even put some interesting junk on the hill for the commuters. One of my neighbors has been watching the hill from the train for changes.

Thanks, Cherry

You can add fresh woodchips in the spring and innoculate with mushroom spores. Go to www.fungiperfecti.com for more info on that. Stamets in his book "Mycelium Running" talks a fair bit about remediation of eroded and cleared sites with mushroom spores, and it has the added bonus of producing... edible mushrooms (oh yah).

Otherwise, I would cover with as much soil as you can get and plant some deep rooted but fast growing legume- like alfalfa or even black locust. These will not need fertilization and will keep everything anchored while the wood decomposes.

I posted a query entitled something like "debris reduction" on this forum once. The bottom line of the responses seemed to be shredding or breaking up the woody debris and adding nitrogen. I have also noticed that wood in contact with soil tends to break down quicker. A little moisture also helps. If you even hacked or drilled the big pieces in a few spots it will spead things up a bit but this is still a slow process.

Liked the mushroom culture thing.
We burn wood and sometimes have logs with a bit of fungus on them. I have been burning them worried they carry termites. I think I will place them at the base of the hill.
Try and introduce some of the fungus to the other logs in need of decompostion.

I have always liked how fungus and mushrooms look in a garden. Sort of like aliens from another planet.

I felt that it was in some way unacceptable to actually have them in a garden, now I am going to encourage them.
Surburban culture is one of those things I grew up with, and am slowly finding fault with.

I think I need to take a photo of my neighbors PURPLE house.
Some of the neighbors wish it would decompose.

Great stuff, Cherry

You can get cultures of mushrooms meant to grow in the garden. They enhance the release and use of nutrients. Garden giant is one species that gets really large and is quite edible. The mushroom is the fruiting part of the fungus- the rest of the fungus can be really large and spread throughout a lot of OM.

From that site you can even buy chainsaw oil that is infused with spores- as you cut wood that you want to get rid of it innoculates the endcuts with the spores of edible shrooms.

Fresh cut wood is generally better for this, as the sugars etc. present help establish the fungus and there's not as much chance of a competing/inedible strain being present.

Sounds like you got a project, left by a guy who had the same idea you did...let's save a few bucks.

Honestly, the best way around this is gonna cost you. How much, I can't say, because of factors that are unable to be determined without having someone come out and take a look, like your neighbor.

I'd say you have two primary courses of action: 1) Remove the pile and install your tiers. This will be the most expensive up front, but has the advantage of getting it all done at once, and I would say gives you more design flexibility, because with no plie, you can do what you want where you want, not according to where your pile is. 2) Leave the pile, install retaining walls around it, and cover with dirt. As long as you don't put a wall segment over a pile of debris that will eventually decompse, you should be okay. This has the advantage of being a piece meal project, so budgeting becomes easier and is more likely to be something you can do yourself.

The only caveat I'd leave is this: Whatever you do, do something you'd wish the last guy had done.

This does not address your problem but the simple answer is particle size or increased surface area. The smaller the pieces the faster they decompose.

I think "brush mattresses" are the things that lovedemmaters was referring too. That is one of the low-tech erosion control devices that is out there.

Actually bob64 the Hugelkulture is the link I was thinking of...but the brush mattress is similar, sorta. Being of the concrte trade I would like to see a pic of the area. I could point you to a few options that would be pretty inexpensive..not cheap. For example simple pvc pipe put 3-4 feet in the ground set 3 feet apart filled with a cheap mix of portland cement and sand with the same mix around the hole makes a really good foundation for more pvc pipe laid on it side against it with just compacted sand in it. If you want to go a little more sturdy lay one side of the horizontal pvc on a block up against the vertical pipe and pour soupy cement in it a cap it off. The block being used only for gravity then remove it. Once you get that one set, put soil up to the top of that pipe. then keep stacking them until you get the height you wish. I have many more ways to fix your problem but I need a pic and a budjet.

Photos of my hillside. Lovelycherry

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of my Hillside this past fall:

here are some photos of my hillside. I have put bags of leaves and pumpkins on it.
I did add captions but I am not sure if they will show up.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of Hillside taken December '06

I took lots of photos just to be sure... Cherry

Here is a link that might be useful: More dec. '06

FYI, some of the wood may be more rotted than it appears. I am often amazed how mushy some seemingly solid pieces of wood actually are. Rearranging the wood may also help a bit as people have noted.
The project must seem daunting but I can tell that you have already put some considerable labor into this project and have already improved things quite a bit. I know how challenging steep slopes are. Money and help with the labor would help a lot. If money and help are not available then you will have to do things slowly and deliberately (obvious, I know).

I wonder if the seeds from the pumpkins will sprout?
I'm also still wondering if gabions are the way to go. You could even buy the gabions and collect your own rocks with which to fill them to save on cost (but not on time).

Here are some pictures I took before I even started to put mulch on the hill.

I am hoping the pumpkins sprout if the squirrels don't get them all.

I do think it is hard to tell how steep the incline is on the hill and how wide the space is.
Yard is about 109 feet across.

I keep envisioning the finished project.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos taken in Late Summer '06

I would not do much of anything. Mother nature will smackdown anything you try on that hill. But I would make some level (2 foot)pathways back and forth down the hill in a snake like pattern. Then you can grow whatever down both sides of the pathway and you would not have to always stand on a hill side.

Back Yard Habitat on Animal Planet had an interesting project involving a "moss milkshake". Here is the web address for the instructions:

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/backyard/projects/chickadee.html