Erosion protection - Ask Extension
Hello. We recently purchased a home at 8500’ in Park County. We had a very heavy rainstorm 07/22/2024 which caused erosion on our sloped yard. Th...
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Erosion protection #878402
Asked July 23, 2024, 11:34 AM EDT
Hello. We recently purchased a home at 8500’ in Park County. We had a very heavy rainstorm 07/22/2024 which caused erosion on our sloped yard. The steep part of our property has a lot of mountain mahogany, gooseberry and wild raspberry, rock outcroppings and 100s of other plant varieties. My question is, with such sandy soil, what type of low grasses or plants would grow well here? This is an area of the yard we like to use for playing ball with our dog - so it’s high foot traffic!
I’ve attached a photo that I took during the heavy rain event so you can see the area, and erosion concern.
Thank you
Park County Colorado
Expert Response
Hi Donna,
Below are a few shorter grass mixes that would do well at 8500':
Short Sage Grasses
https://www.westernnativeseed.com/SBwildflowermix.html
Low Grow Native Mix
https://pawneebuttesseed.com/pbsi-mixes/pbsi-low-grow-native/
Low Grow Mix
https://pawneebuttesseed.com/pbsi-mixes/pbsi-low-grow-mix/
You will need to keep traffic off the area while the grasses are establishing. If the area is not irrigated or able to be watered regularly, I recommend seeding late fall (late enough that it is not going to warm up again; you want the seed to stay dormant until spring) or early spring after the snow has melted. You want to make sure that you lightly rake the seed into the soil to get good seed to soil contact.
All the best,
Denyse
Below are a few shorter grass mixes that would do well at 8500':
Short Sage Grasses
https://www.westernnativeseed.com/SBwildflowermix.html
Low Grow Native Mix
https://pawneebuttesseed.com/pbsi-mixes/pbsi-low-grow-native/
Low Grow Mix
https://pawneebuttesseed.com/pbsi-mixes/pbsi-low-grow-mix/
You will need to keep traffic off the area while the grasses are establishing. If the area is not irrigated or able to be watered regularly, I recommend seeding late fall (late enough that it is not going to warm up again; you want the seed to stay dormant until spring) or early spring after the snow has melted. You want to make sure that you lightly rake the seed into the soil to get good seed to soil contact.
All the best,
Denyse
