Tricks to Keep the Dirt from Sliding off a Hugel?

I saw a video of a woman gardening in between the bricks of her patio. We live on an old bluestone quarry so my thought was to make my garden mound into a raised bluestone patio - not to walk on but to help slow the erosion, reduce weeds, and help my mound stay warm for a longer growing season. Wonder if this is a good or bad idea?  For now, I simply shovel the dirt from the edge back to the top of the mound before planting. Maybe I'll just leave it this year as it's probably near the 43 degree angle.

Yes, snakes certainly love these structures!  Many times I end up nose to nose with them while gardening.

I transplant a lot of less undesirable weeds onto all my slopes, in the initial attempt to retain soil. Annuals are better of course from a phase 1-2-3 approach.

Rather than shaking out soil and trying to kill the weeds, if they don't produce burs, they get planted onto slopes with all the top soil in place, so the soil on the slope is effectively top dressed.

I also use the root vegetables I have thinned, and likewise transplant them.

In addition, I sprinkle desirable seeds, and I try to do this kind of weeding just before a light sprinkling of rain is expected, which fortunately is often

A favorite seed is carrots, which retain soil nicely, although wild carrots will suffice just fine. Then I take a picture so I can email it to myself, so I have the date, and add notes like what seeds are in it

I make sure I have absolutely no parsnips or wild parsnips, and eat the greens while leaving the roots to do their job. Often in three years, I get decent edible carrots.

I also stick the butts from all my onions and green onions on my slopes: I usually poke them into sections I have just dressed, but try to find the flatter sections or they only survive in small quantities with no irrigation.

If one wanted a hugel with steep or near-vertical sides, and especially if the plan was to use it for trees or perennials rather than annual vegetables, there is a trick that might work.

You start by laying strips of sod all around the outline of the planned hugel, then "staple" the sod to the ground underneath by pushing sticks through the sod and into the ground. Then fill up the interior with a layer of wood/soil, up to the edge of the sod. Put another layer of sod strips on top of the first one, and pin it to the first one (and to the ground if you manage) with more sticks. Fill up again. Repeat until you reach the desired height.

I've used this method to make the wall of small terrace beds in a steep slope, and it works well. Of course, the walls will grow grass and whatever plants were present in your sod, so if you plan to grow things that don't tolerate competition, this might not be the best idea.