I have a hill that has no grass and the rain is washing the dirt away, how do I get grass to grow there?

Answer 1

There are a couple of options. You can get a seed mat: it is a straw mixture with grass seed in it that is all bound together. If all the good dirt is gone, you may have to put another layer on the hill. Another option is to knock the hill down so it isn't so steep, maybe even terrace it, but that is a lot of work, and may not be practical where you live. Good luck!

Answer 2

You can buy sod and place it down but there is alot of prep work to do that so it grows and stays alive. If money isnt a problem then Id say do that.

If not you can go buy seed, (do some research because there is different types of grass, some do better in different regions and soil types) Spreed the seed along with some grass fertilizer, spread about at least a 1 inch layer of hay over top ( the hay helps keep the seed from washing away and also helps prevent birds from eating the seed. Follow the instructions on watering

Answer 3

Do the seed bed prep for grass seed. Sow your seed. Now here is the fun part before you begin watering-in the seed -- find a local nursery or a place like Lowe's or Home Depot and get rolls of BURLAP. Lay out the burlap so the fabric run is across the hill's slope. Do this to counteract erosion especially between the runs. Burlap, not like straw (P.S. don't use hay as your new lawn will be full of weeds. Straw is cleaner - as in much more weed free, but there will be grains of whatever the straw is such as wheat, oats -- but not bad), will stay in place because you pin the cloth to the ground. (Use cut-up clothes hangers, which you need to remove later. I like wooden pegs driven at an angle through the fabric. If you miss a peg later in the clean-up stage, it'll either float, rot, or disappear due to termites.)

Straw will pile up during a rain as it is loose. Burlap cloth stays in place. The grass seed will grow through it. Then the burlap does not need pegs and before it rots, it hold the soil firmly around each shaft of grass.

Straw or burlap is the lest costly of any of the erosion control methods. Sure you can go for hydro-mulch, but that operation will cost more per square foot or yard. Placing sod is much - much more expensive.

Answer 4

It would be hard to know exactly without knowing your region, but I will take a stab at it. There are several grasses that grow rapidly. Here in my area, East Texas, Perennial Ryegrass, (or just ryegrass if you don't mind extra mowing) can be sown we have a really rapid grower, that is a problem in our lawns here, called annual bluegrass, but it germinates and grows so rapidly that you can have a cover for erosion control in just a few days. It dies out in warm weather, but will come back to haunt you later. Find a fast grower, resurface your hill and sow away! There are also seeded erosion control mats which can be had for a price.

Answer 5

However you chose to seed, broadcast or hydro seed, mulch it heavily with straw or hay. It will grow and leave the hay on it, it will grow through. If you wait long enough the hay will rot and provide fertilizer. If you want to rake it off, give it the better part of the summer. I have let it grow very long and ran it over with the rotary mower a couple of times and it ground up th hay. After a couple of mowing's the hay can't be found...

Answer 6

start off with a cheap ANNUAL rye grass seed. this grow very fast within a week. once this is up about 3 inches then put another better grass seed down. the annual rye will protect the other seed till it has time to grow. fertilize with only a starter grass seed fertilizer. its made to promote the root systems. water only in morning NEVER in the afternoon or evening! four weeks you should have it pretty well filled in. PLEASE follow directions on your seed and fertilizer. MORE is not better. if you have to add some more at a later date.

Answer 7

consider terracing the hill. Lessening the slope will reduce erosion.

Probably the most expensive of the solutions, but also the most enduring one.

After terracing, you can sow seed, plant garden beds, build waterfalls.. they sky's the limit.

remember that water flows downhill. even if you sod a hill, the gravitational action of water will pull it from the top of the hill, drying out your sod at the top.

Terraced yards are easier and safer to mow as well.

Answer 8

Forget grass that needs mowing and care. Terrace the slope then add daylilies, daylilies, daylilies!
There are so many very inexpensive ones ranging in colors from reds, pinks, yellows, oranges and purples with newer ones with eyes and edges. check out the American Hemerocallis Society web page for clubs and nurseries in your area.

Answer 9

Unless you want to contend with mowing, fertilizing, weeding and such you might consider another kind of ground cover. My husband and I did a slope entirely in liriope (not spicata, which can be invasive) which gives it a grassy appearance. We gave it a "haircut" once a year to trim off the dead leaves. I think the name of the variey is "Big Blue" which puts out a very nice dark blue flower spike. It is easily found at local home and garden centers.

Answer 10

Ask Agriculture Dept about crown vetch? They plant this along the road but I am not sure about it spreading or thickness