I know this is a strange question. I am mulching a new bed at the corner of our driveway and the public street. Most of the bed is level enough, but it drops off sharply for the last 2-3 feet where it meets the pavement. I'd like to mulch it, but think it'll just wash away onto the pavement, next big rain. Retaining walls are not the solution here, that would make egress for larger vehicles dangerous. I'm sure I'm overlooking some simple solution, but would like some ideas, please. I'm leaning towards just layin' it down, and see what happens.
Dig out the edge of the bed where it meets the pavement about 4" deep....then mulch it 4" thick. You'll be fine unless you get a real gully washer.
Thanks! I was going to edge the uphill side, because I think it looks sharp and makes mowing easier, now I'll just edge the bottom to 4" as well. I needed some fill in another place, so this works out great.
I did commercial and residential landscaping for about 6 years in high school and college, during which I spread about 19 gazillion yards of mulch. On a slope all you have to do it edge it in, go extra thick, and maybe 'step it in' (walk on it). If you can get a garden hose to the area, you can water it in to get things settled, but that's probably overkill. Unless the picture flattens out the slope, I see no issues here.
The picture does flatten out the slope, it goes almost vertical the last foot before the pavement. I'm still going to edge 4" in and 4" down, and see what happens. I'm also going to add something to the top of the "gully", where the edging meets where the water runs down the driveway, so the water pitches back onto the pavement and not down through the mulch. May need to add a little retention basin at the radius of the corner, but I'll cross that bridge if I get a wash out
Like lukem said if you cut a "key" for it to get a foothold you should be fine. I have also seen a thin layer of mulch raked on then a real thin layer of soil then the rest of the mulch. Supposed to get the initial layer sorta glued down and the jagged edges then interlock.
I'll try that if I have a washout. Like a hairnet for mulch. Thank you for the idea, I'm keeping it in my back pocket for now.
If it becomes an issue, just loose lay a few flat rocks on top of the mulch on the steepest part. If they get hit by a tire it's no big deal.
Great idea. That'll be in the contingency bucket. I'll keep my eye out for flat rocks during my walks.
Update:. 95% complete, 100% of the steep drop-off area. After a moderate rain last night, almost no issue. We'll see what happens after a heavy downpour.
Final update:. Had a heavy downpour yesterday, on already saturated ground. Almost zero spillage onto the pavement. We are chalking this project up as done. Great advice from you all. Thank you! BTW, I only needed to edge as advised, didn't need netting nor flat rocks under my circumstances. Appreciate all your help!
