ditch help

my little plot of land has a longggg stretch of road frontage (basically all road frontage) that drops down to a ditch with varying degrees of slope. It’s full of many invasives (and poison ivy) that I cannot keep out of our gardens and yard for the life of me. Anyone have thoughts on what I could plant to either out compete it or be a barrier to slow it down? It’s too steep to till or cardboard and mulch or solarize or any of what I’d try to just kill it all.

Poison ivy means disturbed open area. You also say there is a quite steep bank to the ditch, and being in WNC you probably get a lot of rain, so are possibly worried about erosion too?
Perhaps look at planting some Rhododendron and Hemlocks. Tsuga caroliniana has problems with the woolly adelgid, but Tsuga chinensis is completely resistant. Both of these plants are shade resistant and would themselves cast a lot of shade and inhibit poison ivy.

John Gould wrote:are possibly worried about erosion too?

Yes I hadn’t even thought to mention that too! Thank you for the recommendations I’ll look into them

Get goats, borrow goats, rent goats. etc ...

Or as mention leave for erosion control??  And as mentioned plant to plant out undesirables ...

Try to find a seed (local) source for native vegetation for your area. You will not do better for soil building and eventual weed control. Visit a site that has native vegetation and a steep slope to see if this looks like a fit for you.