Growing grass on a hill.

[meridianjumper 0]

I am wondering is anyone has grown grass on a sloped hill. I have a fairly steep hill in my backyard and it does not have much grass on it. The makeup of the ground is more of a clay type dirt. Any ideas on what I can do to get seeds to stick to it and not get washed away during watering or rain? Someone told me to take all my grass clippings and spread all over the hill and it would probably grow grass. Not sure.

Blue Skies,
Jeremy

[yardhippie 0]

First decide, for your climate and conditions (sun, water, etc) which grass would be best.
If you really want to go all out have the soil tested for ph and nutrients (although Ive never done anything like that) But if nothing grows there now you may need to add fertilizer and/or orther nutrients

then you need to get the ground into a form that will germinate seed, hold moisture, and allow the roots to take hold.
I.E. tilling.

Spred the seed as directed. Spread straw liberally over the freshly seeded area (this helps to hold moisture and prevent runoff in light right and watering.

Above was what I had to do to get grass to grow at my last home. it was a very steep slope (fall of about 3' for every 5' of horizontal) on lots of clay and small rocks. I also brought in two truckloads of soil (about 30 tons) to help with the poor soil conditions I had.

thats just my .02

Spence and Shrek my chime in here too, they do that lawn crap for a living.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[2fat2fly 0]

Sod it

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[GogglesnTeeth 6]

I'm not an authority or anything....
What about laying sod???
wet the ground really good..... lay down the sod where you want it, and then keep it watered really good for a couple weeks. See what happens.
Then again, I've been apartment living for many many years, so I can't grow anything other than mold in the shower...... (did I say too much??)

Goggles and Teeth

"You fall like a greased safe!!!"

[Snowwhite 0]

I've done it lots of times. I need more info. How much sun/shade. What is the zone that you live in. How easy is it going to be to mow? Are kids going to play on it?
I grow gorgeous to die for grass in places where other people can't, I'll tell you how as soon as I know those things.
DON:T spread grass clippings.

skydiveTaylorville.org
freefallbeth@yahoo.com

[2fat2fly 0]

Quote

I grow gorgeous to die for grass in places where other people can't.

I don't think that your hydroponics experience is applicable here

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[yardhippie 0]

Quote

Sod it

Even high dollah bermuda, centpede, or zoysia requires soil preperation. If its got nowhere to grow, it'll die.
and a yard full of dead sod is an expensive mistake.

half of growing a wonderful yard is making sure the yard has the soil to grow in.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[meridianjumper 0]

I live in Birmingham, AL. The hill is in direct sunlight. As far as kids playing on it, not at the moment, but there will be a set of stone steps going up the hill to an area on the top of the hill. I will be able to mow the hill, just have to walk the push mower from side to side.

Blue Skies,
Jeremy

[yardhippie 0]

Quote

Quote

I grow gorgeous to die for grass in places where other people can't.

I don't think that your hydroponics experience is applicable here

[hijack]
notice in my previous response I made sure to not use the word 'grass' to avoid exactly that response!
[/hijack]

Actually, in a nice yard the 'grass' would be referred to as turf. Where 'turf' comes from the varieties of "turf grasses": bermuda, zoysia, centepede, etc.
Especially when speaking about golf courses

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[yardhippie 0]

Direct sun with no shade at any time of the day?
if there is shade what % of the hill and what % of the day?

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[livendive 8]

Quote

Above was what I had to do to get grass to grow at my last home. it was a very steep slope (fall of about 3' for every 5' of horizontal) on lots of clay and small rocks.

How the hell did you mow it?

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[yardhippie 0]

Quote

Quote

Above was what I had to do to get grass to grow at my last home. it was a very steep slope (fall of about 3' for every 5' of horizontal) on lots of clay and small rocks.

How the hell did you mow it?

Blues,
Dave

I got creative with how I sat on my mower. Yup a riding mower. I also over time added some terraces (im calling em that in the loosest sense)

also, I never measured it, I just remember about how far the bottom terrace was from the back of the house and I wasnt even eye level with the foundation. I dont miss having to mow it.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[SkydiveStMarys 0]

Make sure it gets at least 8-12 hours of light and they tend to like "dry" conditions.



Ohhhh your not talking about that kind of grass are you??









Bobbi

A miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude.

[warpedskydiver 0]

Excelsior balnket

[Misternatural 0]

A job I was on today used a technique called Hydroseeding. Very effective on steep slopes because the grass seed is sprayed on in a mixture of mild fertilizer, water and recycled paper fibers, when that dries it form a matrix layer much like that of an egg carton, very durable in rainfall until the grass sprouts, BUT it is pricey, and damn after a few weeks it looks NOICE!

if you want to try an alternative to a lawn that you have to mow check out crown vetch.

Beware of the collateralizing and monetization of your desires.
D S #3.1415

[jumpinfarmer 0]

When ever we sow grass seed for a lawn we put some oats with it. The oats will grow real fast and act as a growing mulch to hold the soil and moisture for the slower growing turf grasses. Oats can't stand being cut short with a mower so they will die out after a month or so of mowing. If it is real steep and you are afraid of it washing away don't work the soil up (tilling). You could try killing off what is there now with Round up and then seed directly onto the killed surface. If that is the route you go just be sure to keep it wet untill you see the new seed start to grow. Turf likes a firm seed bed so that may be the way to go and eliminate most of the erosian trouble.

Good luck
Marc

[Muenkel 0]

Yardhippie is absolutely correct.

I do have a feeling...as he mentioned...that you're going to have to bring in a couple truckloads of good soil. That clay crap sucks.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[yardhippie 0]

Hydroseeding or hydromulch is VERY expensive, but youre damn near 100% guarenteed to have grass growing after the first rain or watering. Im talking you get a rain in the morning and 24 hours later you have green grass showing. its really quick. The kicker is, you got to have ground that it will take hold. It does it no good if the roots can not penetrate.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[2fat2fly 0]

I was certain that by this morning "Growing grass on a hill" would have become "Mowing the lawn in the valley" I'm really proud of you guys for staying on topic.

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[yardhippie 0]

Quote

I was certain that by this morning "Growing grass on a hill" would have become "Mowing the lawn in the valley" I'm really proud of you guys for staying on topic.

Sheesh! Everyone knows you shouldnt grow grass in the valley!

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[warpedskydiver 0]

hydroseeding is inferior to using Excelsior Blanket, I have been doing Surveying and Civil Engineering for over 20 years and now still do it part time when I can work.

I have seen the results and it is no contest when using the blankets over slopes exceeding 3:1 and also in poor soils where the good dirt has been scraped off.

People pay ALOT of money for us to design or spec what should be done and that may make up yuor mind.

I have done this for detention areas, highways, landfills and nearly any other area so shitty that there is no other way.

Hydroseeding will work if given the proper conditions and soils, but excelsior takes a long time to break down and will provide a barrier to erosion for a long time.

if the slope is so severe that that even excelsior wont work there are products out made of tough recycled fiber that have divots in them to trap soils and provide a stable base for vegetation, we use this on flumes and well as discharge areas
downstream of energy dissapators on retention ponds or lakes.

you can also hydroseed over excelsior and that is VERY effective

[meridianjumper 0]

So where might I find some of the Excelsior Blanket? My hill is 75' wide and around 30' tall.

Blue Skies,
Jeremy

[warpedskydiver 0]

Try calling around to any large commercial supplier of landscaping supplies.

Excelsior is very light and you can easily pick up the rolls with one man.

Make sure you use enough sod staples to hold it down.

*you can rent a hyrdoseeder.

Pick a grass seed that is very tough and can withstand that Alabama summer heat and drought.

Also some nice deep rooting shrubbery can help if you plant it at the top of the slope and use it at the mid points... plus they will look great if you like flowers etc.