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Michael Cox wrote:Have you considered planting vetiver grass hedges on contour? They form a dense barrier that drastically slows surface water flows and erosion, while stabilising slopes. You would probably place them 20ft apart, allowing you to mow strips across the slope as you do now. They have very deep root systems so bring soil moisture up to the surface which other plants can then access. Over time the trapped material collects up slope of each hedge making terraces of fertile soil on a more shallow incline.
Cristo Balete wrote:There are perforated drain pipes that are medium 4" to large that could be buried at the level you would dig a swale down to, 8" to a foot? Not sure how deep you want to catch water at. Pipe will divert it in whatever way you direct the pipe. It's all underground so it wouldn't affect mowing.
It's a bit of a project, but it might well be worth it since they would last a very long time underground, would help with erosion, specifically direct water to a tank or pond or irrigation ditches where you don't mow.
The least expensive option, the coil of black pipe below, has this description from Home Depot. (I have nothing to do with HD, other than they probably get a quarter of my income! ha!) I have this kind of drain pipe, and the only issue is that the gophers on the West Coast will eat through this, I don't know why.
4 in. x 100 ft. Singlewall Perforated Drain Pipe - The Home Depot
About This Product Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (ADS) 4 in. x 100 ft. Singlewall Perforated Drain Pipe provides superior strength while its high density polyethylene (HDPE) construction allows the corrugated pipe to be a flexible, light weight solution.
Anne Miller wrote:Which direction are you mowing downward or crosswise? If crosswise logs could be moved if you just didn't want to avoid them.
In other words, mow across the slope or sideways,
Kevin Olson wrote:Not sure about your physical abilities, but what about mowing with a scythe, rather than the riding mower, on this sloped parcel?
Another thought: could you make switchback terraces down this slope? Level-ish where the mower runs, but with the slope of the terraces alternating back and forth across the fall line of the general slope. Somebody (Ben Falk?) has done a version of this on a steep rocky slope in the northeastern US, with very good results. With your predominantly clay soil, retaining walls of rammed earth may be feasible (with or without an added stabilizer such as lime, Portland cement or wood ash).
Yet another idea: can you do some dirt work to even out the slope, then contour plow with a chisel plow, middle buster or ripper? Search for PA Yeomans for details, though true keyline plowing on such a small parcel probably isn't feasible. This could be combined with the daikons already suggested.
M Ljin wrote:How wide is the riding mower? Could you have very narrow trenches or single pits that it would pass over?
If all else fails perhaps you could use a spade, fork, or some sort of chisel plough. The idea being to make a swale-like tear in the soil that holds and soaks small amounts of water but the ground still looks flat.
Another thought is, dig a trench and fill it with wood chips, sawdust, sticks, etc. up to the brim, adding more to keep it level with the ground around it.
The same could be done with sand or gravel or charcoal if that is more accessible. If it’s sand, that could allow plants to grow on top of it, level with the remainder of the land.
larry kidd wrote:We also have heavy compact clay here. Not sure how cold it gets in 9B but another plant that helps break up heavy compact clay soil is buckwheat and it grows crazy fast like 6-8 weeks from seed to harvest if memory serves. Not that you'll want to harvest it. I'd let it keep reseeding if it were me. Sadly it doesn't tolerate frost or freezing at all! I've had the radishes overwinter here in zone 7a many times.
Seriously checkout Gabe Browns videos. You may be surprised at how much you learn. You also my reclaim a lot of water by combining all these plants locking it in the soil for summer cutting the fire risk way down!
Timothy Norton wrote:If I may ask, why does it have to remain smooth? I feel as if that might play against your erosion control situation. I have a mild slope on my property and I have creatively placed a few logs along the slope to act as a silt/debris catch. While you have an existing wildfire concern, I wonder if you could replicate this with stone through making rock weirs?
Another thought is a different implement for maintaining the area. Would you be amenable to utilizing a weed wacker for this area? You can work around obstacles and still cover a fairly reasonable amount of ground once you get into the swing of it.
Anne Miller wrote:My suggestion would be to use swales that would still let you mow over them similar to traffic bumps that car drive over.
I would suggest using a string method to level those areas.
I also recommend planting winter rye on the swales as soon as possible to prevent further erosion.
Clay soil sounds good to me or doing this.
The good thing about winter rye is that if you temps cool off enough the winter rye will die letting other native grasses prevail.
I would not use landscape fabric or rocks as the fabric will deteriorate and the rocks will make mowing difficult.
Nancy Reading wrote:What sort of slope can you mow with your mower? Maybe you can have more gentle/terraced swales and still mow them.
It sound like you have a Mediterranean climate, so you may find this thread of interest. I believe that by increasing the water content of the soil you can get a benefit in fire prevention too. Swales are just one way of going about that.
As regards grazing animals some are suggested here including borrowing grazing animals and using smaller animals like guinea pigs. Maybe others in the same situation will find it useful.