Lasagna gardening on a slope

I am planning on trying to tame an unruly slope. Currently it is full of weeds and a nightmare to mow. I want to try lasagna/sheet composting since using a tiller is out of the question. (I like all my limbs as they currently are). I have sheet composed before in a flat garden, but never on an incline or slope. Years ago, I tried covering a small part with landscaping fabric and wood mulch, but all the mulch slid off the fabric with the first heavy rain. Does anyone have any tips or pointers to save me some aggravation and mess? The picture only shows part of the area. It's about 140 feet long.

You know, I seem to remember this question coming up before.....

Looks like it would be tough - the slope is kinda inverted, isn't it? Sure you don't just want to put a few evergreens in there and be done with it >grin< ?

I have tried looking for this same question, but I didn't really see anything. Of course, there is so much information of this forum that I could have easily missed it.
On the planting end, I would love to just plant some evergreens and be done with it, but that unfortunately won't work. The town highway department has a nasty habit of mowing things down. I tried planting those wild, orange day lilies on part of it and they were killed with repeated hacking. The town highway supervisor claims that the drivers can't tell the difference between flowers and grasses and they have to mow anything that blocks the view around the bend for safety anyway. So I need to plant it all 140+ feet at once or close to it, with plants that grow less than 6 inches high and are tolerant of the road salt. Some fun, eh? If anyone has other ideas that fit within my restrictions/limitations, I would love to hear it. If lasagna and plants doesn't work, I might try gravel, but only as a last resort. ;-)

Mmm. That's a tall order. I was going to suggest those "blanket roses" or whatever they call them, but I don't think they'd the take the salt or the mowing... drag... good luck!

Thanks, I'm going to need all the luck I can get with this project. If I could just kill the grass that's there quickly and get the new plants in to hold the soil, I'll be okay. I'm almost tempted to use round-up to kill the grass, but I'm afraid of the residue running off/leaching straight into my pond and killing my trout. It's only a about 20 feet away from this bank. Nothing like a challenge, though!!!! I'll figure it out eventually. 8)

I'd use up some gas driving around in similar neighborhoods in the area looking for the same sort of curve/slope. Maybe a half hour three evenings a week. Or more or less.

Fragrance:

I am building a shade garden on a sloped area. I think my slope is similar to yours.

My first suggestion is to make your base something that mats when it gets wet and is porous. Straw or Hay is an excellent choice. If you want to suppress weeds, put a layer of newspaper under the mulch.

Do you have access to a water hose at the site? Or do you have to wait for it to rain? I ask because I found it important to get that base nice and wet when it is first put down.

Once you have your base nice and solid and moist, add your compost or soil layers and wet again. In my experience, the soil tends to sink into the straw base rather than run off. If you cover you soil layer immediately with your mulch and water, I think you will be satisfied with the results.

Hope this helps

BB

Excellent!!

I have access to lots of hay and straw and lots and lots of water-- We've got 2 ponds and 3 streams. I've been known to stick a sump pump into the pond and streams to get water where I want it easily. I've found electrical cords are cheaper and easier to run long distances than hoses and the pressure's better. (let's just say the neighbors think I'm pretty ummm, let's say-- "entertaining"?)

Bronxboy, how thick did you make the straw layer?