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docmom_mn_zone_5

Preventing erosion while converting a slope.

docmom_gw
18 years ago

I have a quite steep slope with very little top soil and lots of sand. It currently consists of Queen Anne's Lace and Horse Tail and some thistle. The previous owner planted a few clumps of Iris, daylilies, and some low growing evergreens, but not nearly enough to cover the slope. So it became over grown with weeds. I'd like to start over, but how do I go about killing what's there and starting new things without the whole slope eroding away. It is steep enough that I think wood chips or mulch would be washed away by rains. I'm not fussy about what grows there. I was thinking deciduous shrubs like Vibernum, Serviceberry, Elderberry, etc. For ground cover beneath the shrubs I was hoping to use Virginia Creeper. The space is triangular with the top of the hill 40 ft wide and the bottom about 10ft wide ( due to the property line). The slope is about 35 ft long at a 45-50 degree angle. Higher up the hill (on the other side of the property line) there is a mess of tangled trees and weeds from a poorly cared for rental property. The slope faces almost directly east. What I'd like to try is a lasagna bed idea for the whole thing. But I don't have a truck to transport the quantities of leaves and manure, etc. that I'd need. I could certainly hire a truck or have what I need delivered. But would layers of newspaper plus manure and leaves be enough to keep Queen Anne's Lace buried? I also don't know if the layers would stay in place. I wonder if a top layer of burlap would hold it there yet allow , for example, the Virginia Creeper to spread and take root. Please share your wisdom. Any suggestions would be helpful. TIA.

Martha

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