Erosion Control

Erosion is a constant concern.  This is the "little"  channel behind our apartment. As you can see it is flowing pretty full now and you can see the silt (dirt) it is carrying away. After the rain stopped you could see more of the grass roots exposed to the air.  The grass is probably still well rooted but enough erosion can kill a patch of grass.

This is one of the things I do at work is help make sure newly disturbed areas don't have too much erosion.  Sometimes it can't be helped.  You can't stop all erosion.  In this area there are three things that were used to help prevent to much erosion.  One is the slope of the area.  The water flowing down the channel area doesn't have a lot of elevation change as it flows.  This prevents the speed from getting too high and causing more dirt to dislodge and wash away.  A second but less obvious thing is the little bumps or hills.  These cause the water to slow down on the bottom and let the dirt settle out back into the grass.  The third of course is the grass itself.  It's really the first line defense against erosion and what stops it in lighter rains.

Wind can also cause erosion.  While at the beach you can often see the sand blowing away from the wind.  This is a constant problem, so much so that it can cause road damage if the water erodes the sand that far.  Even far inland where there is a severe lack of trees the dirt can dislodge and cause major problems.  Ever hear of the dust bowl.  It was caused by a removing of too many trees to produce farm land.

What does this have to do with gardening?  Too much watering can cause minor erosion of dirt but also in a raised bed or pot it can remove much wanted nutrients.  Don't wash them out. Water as the plants need it and fertilize so as to replenish any that do get washed away.