Woodland Edge Brush Piles

Good Morning,

I was wondering if I am having some confirmation bias or not but I wanted to reach out.

My property butts up against a woodland's edge. The edge drops in slope into a cleared railroad easement. One of the struggles that I have been having is erosion on the bank.

The soil is poor, more rocks and garbage than dirt. I have cleaned up glass, plastic, metal, and all sorts of other things over the years but the erosion just brings more to light.

I have tried seeding grasses with some success, but there are spots that are trouble spots.

Am I wrong to think if I create a brush pile over the trouble segments, the brush pile itself will help prevent erosion?

The brush pile can sit there and process down with time, I am not using the area. I can add to it in perpetuity, or should work still be done to stabilize the soil before creating the pile?

The grade is 3 feet out for every foot drop if that helps.

I'm just spit balling at the moment for future plans.

I too have an infinite supply of glass and metal in my ground and I too use brush piles. My piles are to block wind and catch snow. The only concern is that they are a fire hazard so they are placed far from trees and away from the house. My observation is that the grass and plants grow better around brush piles and they become habitats for all kinds of small animals.

As to the trash issue, I say prioritize cleaning aluminum and plastic which will poison plants. The glass and metal is not so bad. Once, the cans and plastic is gone, then it's better to just cover it up with your brush and call it.

That's a fairly steep slope. And I get the problem -- I'm on a crazy hill too. I think the water will just rush under a brush pile. The trick is to break the force of the water roaring downhill.

If I were in your shoes, I think some crude terracing would be my starting point. Pound junk/pallet wood into the soil along the contours, pack with brush wood and stone/brick if you can scrounge it for free.

All this advice easy to type, of course, from my comfortable chair. I have a hill with a much steeper grade, and all the grass died in the heat waves and drought this year. Hoo boy, I've gotta think of something quick.

I like brush piles and I have lots of them because the brush piles are habitats for wildlife.

As Douglas has suggested, I also feel the water will "just rush under a brush pile".

Maybe some rock dams in front of the brush pile will help stop the rushing water.

I hope you will let us know how you figured this out.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone!

I am planning on doing some work on it when I get some free time today and I will update with my game plan.

Across the way where I'm working, there are old piles of brush/concrete rubble/old wood haphazardly put so I'm hoping to 'rearrange' some of it. It appears to be an old dumping spot used by all the neighbors once upon a time. Some work should improve it.

I had a very steep hill that the previous owners had almost completely cut down, but for a very few evergreen trees.  I made brush rows on contour, and filled them in over time with weeds, chicken poop, grass clippings, wood chips, etc.  (Hauling wood chips up that hill became too exhausting once the summer heat arrived.). This slowed the water considerably.  I also planted deep-taproot plants, including comfrey and dandelion.  It was hard to keep the comfrey alive for a year or two, but then it took off.  I encouraged the black raspberries and other "weedy" plants.  I also planted wildflowers, including lupine, obedient plant, Black-eyed Susan, and a lot of red clover.  New trees began to sprout, and the plant life filled out.  

I didn't have the problem of litter and broken glass.  My chickens spent time up there dust-bathing, to my distress!  But it kind of terraced a little section.

I was back there two years later, and it was a lovely hill!  You can't really see the rows of brush unless you're hunting for them, and the whole hill is covered in plants and small trees.  The comfrey looks good!

Hello Slope Holders!

In the Social Forestry book I talk about making brush bundles for filling walls. I also use these for erosion control. They are called brindles, or faschines or faggots. In pond building and roadside slope control we use Jute netting and very specific grasses like Sheep Fescue and Dwarf Red Fescue. There are commercially available bundled straw ropes also called faschines that can be staked just off contour and collect soil and seeds. I have used logs embedded off contour to support access trails and act as nurse logs for perennial woody plantings.

There is my unsolicited advice! hazel