Erosion control help

[lowcountrygamecock]

The ditch bank in front of my house keeps washing out ever since the sewer company dug in new lines last year. They fixed it three times and it still washes. I finally had a load of dirt brought in yesterday and got it all level and nice and smooth. In going to seed centipede tomorrow. What should I do to keep it from washing until that seed takes hold? I looked at Home Depot last night to see if they had something you could roll out but I couldn't find anything. Any ideas? I don't want to break the bank but I don't want a load of dirt and half a days work to go to waste either.

 

[BMB]

Straw is probably the easiest and cheapest.
It has to be put down good though, 4-6" thick.

You might try some landscape suppliers too for "blanketing" type material.

 

[Chaznsc]

Wheat straw will help, bit don't put it down as thick as previously stated. Sun still needs to reach the ground.

If its concentrated flow, your seeds likely going to get washed away. I'd seriously consider sodding it.centipede will take forever to cultivate. If you do seed it, mix in some temporary grassing that will take hold immediately.

 

[Clik]

I used to be in the environmental business and rehabed storm water control ponds. I used a product called Curlex. It's like a thin roll of straw like material that can be pegged down. Some pegs are designed to degrade after grass grows through the material and is established, so there's no worry about mower damage and you don't have to pull pegs or oversized staples. Use a seed that's an erosion control mix. It comes up very quickly and has a good root system.

 

[ilovevocs]

If the above solutions do not work you may consider a geotextile fabric. I would plant a rye grass as it will root quickly.

http://geotextile.com/product/landlok.html

 

[Kevin54]

Can you post some pics?

And you say it's a "ditch bank"? Is it the bank of the ditch and the soil is washing into the ditch, or is it a ditch that water is getting into and washing it out? The reason I ask is that for a temporary fix until you get your seed to grow is dam off wherever the water is running from by using straw bales lined up. This will divert the water from running and washing things out.

 

[Ray Kelly]

I'd get Scotts grass seed and it'll be in in about eight days. Scotts has it's own fertilizer on the seed. You don't have to keep it wet all day long with a sprinkler. All you have to do is wet it down once or twice a day. Mine came in in 8 days and it looks great. And you don't have to waste your time with straw. With Scotts, you're not suppose to use straw anyway. It'll mess up the fertilizer. So, Scotts is what I always use.

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

Sounds like good suggestions. For clarification it's the high side of the ditch that's washing. Water is coming down off the road and washing the dirt down into the ditch.

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

Just wanted to post an update to this. We tried seeding with Scotts and before it could take the first could rain washed a lot of the dirt away so we bit the bullet and put a pallet of sod down. Since then we've had about 6-8 inches of hard rain in the last week so that was a good call. Long story short problem solved now. Thanks for the help.

 

[Chaznsc]

Just wanted to post an update to this. We tried seeding with Scotts and before it could take the first could rain washed a lot of the dirt away so we bit the bullet and put a pallet of sod down. Since then we've had about 6-8 inches of hard rain in the last week so that was a good call. Long story short problem solved now. Thanks for the help.

You just cant beat instant-grass to control the erosion. Glad it worked out.

 

[graffix000]

I would use the roll out matting as described above. It seems there is an obvious erosion problem, so the matting will hold the ground in place. I have used it several time with great success. I found a roll of it at my local landscaping place. I did use the giant staples though to hold it in place. Just went around and removed the staples once the grass was in.

I tried using the above method after I did the usual add new top soil and seed technique. it was the only thing that allowed the grass to come in full and not erode away all of my new top soil.

Good luck.

Late to the party. Glad it worked out OP.

 

[NUTTSGT]

A lot of the farmers around here put their rock and stones from the fields at the ditch edges to prevent them from washing out.

 

[onewaydave]

Kudzu?

Seriously, in the midwest, brome, canary grass, fescue. More south vetch seems to be popular. in the 40's my Grand Dad was involved in importing Black Locust for this purpose.

I'd be on the phone to the utility company to get them to fix the water flow which will fix the erosion. But I understand the frustration.

Dave.

 

[mossbackfarm]

Glad it worked...just saw this. Depending on the grade and amount of water, the jute erosion control netting works wonders. Geotextile as well...if it's a higher grade and/or more water, you can install something like this

 

[KEH]

The op says he in in the SC low country so he doesn't have rocks to put in his ditch. In very ancient times, the Eastern part of SC, up to the state capital, Columbia, was under the ocean and as the ocean gradually receded beaches formed to be pounded by wave action. Any rocks were eroded, AFIK. Glad the problem was solved.

KEH