We have a garden on a slope (about 45 degrees) and it drove us crazy with
the run-offs whenever it rained.
Luckily, I found a "pro" gardener who suggested to work cocoa shell into the
soil. Over time (about a year), the cocao mulch took hold. It's a great
ground cover (no weeds) and it can rain all day without a bit of runofff.

The only problem is the cost: For us, we have a 30'x40' (1200 sq ft) garden
and we need to mulch the entire garden twice a year. That costs about $40
each time, or $80 a year. But the stuff really works. You can grow
anything on a slope by using this for your mulch. Only one cute problem:
your garden will smell like a gigantic hershey candy bar until it rains once
or twice!

Jim
"rickm" wrote in message
...
I'm in the process of clearing off a rather untamed slope behind my
house (we're on the upside of the slope). This area had lots of privet
and even more wild grape. All of the privet is gone and I'm slowly
removing the wild grape.

The area faces east, we're in zone 7 (asheville, nc). It gets light
shade in the morning, no sun at high noon, then some sun in the
afternoon until the house gets in the way and blocks it. The slope is
roughly 45 degrees. On the top of the slope are a few walnut trees, on
the bottom is my wife's shade garden. Some bamboo grass looking stuff
has moved into one of the areas (hey, it's green!) but I'd like to
cover this with something that will help to stabilize it.

I was considering ivy but I don't want anything to take over the
trees. Something that spreads would be nice especially if it's not
invasive. There is kudzu down the street, but I'm saving that for
someone else's yard.

Thanks,
Rick