Growing Grass on a Hill

[deerminator]

Hello! I am wondering if anyone has any advice. We're looking to plant grass on a fairly steep hill this spring that is currently covered with some weeds and even posion ivy. I was thinking of using roundup and roundup poison ivy/tough brush to get rid of all that and then grow some grass over it. I was thinking of removing all the dead stuff and then adding a layer of loose black dirt from a big pile I still have from landscaping last year and add seed to. However, I should probably add something to hold it and was thinking a light layer of straw. I've looked at seed blankets at Menards before and holy hannah it would cost a lot to covere the hillside with those. Any thoughts on the approach I am using?

[Juneau4]

Be carefull with the poison Ivy, even after its been sprayed and dead it can stll effect you.

Now for seeding: sow some oats with the grass seed, the oats will germinate first and act as a mother crop and help prevent washout. You can also use the straw which will help hold moisture and prevent soil eroision; good luck

[deerminator]

Thanks for the ideas. Yes, I have read up on the poison ivy extensively. My wife got it so bad last year from the spot we're going to clear that her eyes swole shut and she had to be put on several medications to help clear it all up. She looked like she had been through a boxing match. What I've read is that you can kill it and then pretty much have to pull it roots and all to truly do away with the oils left behind. I'm going to look into one of those haz mat type suits that will cover me from the neck down while working through that crud.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Are you going to be maintaining this hill through mowing? Or do you just want to get rid of the "weeds" and let the grasses grow?

[deerminator]

I'd love to try a no mow or meadow grass of some sort. It's not that we want to have a picnic on it or anything, just take care of it so my wife and kids don't get poison ivy anymore.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Instead of using roundup or another non-selective herbicide to kill everything, I would just use a decent broadleaf herbicide to kiil the poison ivy and other unwanted weeds.

A product called Tri-mec can be bought at alot of home stores / garden stores.

A product that alot of professionals use is called Momentum, or QuickSilver, or Q4.

All of these will just kill the poison ivy and other broad leafed weeds.

You'll have to get a 2 gallon sprayer and some knee high rubber boots to walk through the area, but after a couple of applications you should have killed 90% of it, without disrupting the other grasses.

Put a teaspoon of dish soap in the mix, this will allow the chemical to stick to the leaf of the plant better.

[Tom7227]

Consider getting some native grasses and forbs and planting them after you biff the poison ivy and just let it grow with that stuff. It takes a bit of effort and some time but you won't have to do any mowing and may get some critters back there that are fun to watch. You can learn a lot about prairie restoration if you google around a bit.