What Kind of Things We Should Use to Stop Fertile Soil From Washing Out?

Healthy Soil

• Steadily improving your soil by incorporating organic matter -- well-rotted manure, composts, shredded leaves, grass clippings, weed-free straw -- is a proven long-term approach for both developing and conserving topsoil. Loose, crumbly soil rich in organic matter absorbs large amounts of water more readily, which slows runoff due to storms and prevents or greatly reduces erosion, but also retains more water during the growing season leading to healthier plants.

Organic Mulch

• Layer several inches of pine straw, straw or other organic mulch over soil to protect it from the direct impact of raindrops, to slow runoff and to increase the speed that soil absorbs water. Add several inches of compost to ornamental landscaping, flowerbeds, vegetable gardens, family orchards and even vulnerable croplands. Keep bare soils mulched in winter too, not just during the growing season.

Cover Crops

• For large gardens and croplands, growing winter or off-season cover crops protects fertile topsoil from erosion -- green, growing mulch, essentially -- but also enriches the soil. Cover crops such as annual rye are tilled under before spring or summer planting, adding extra organic matter to the soil. Clovers and other legumes also help boost soil levels of nitrogen through their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Landscape Plants

• Trees, shrubs and landscape perennials all help prevent soil erosion by holding soil with their roots. Turfgrass also helps hold soil. A variety of effective perennial ground cover plants are available, including native plants that are well adapted to local growing conditions and require little maintenance.

Cultivation Practices

• How, or even if, you cultivate crops can also protect against soil erosion. No-till, conservation and conventional cultivation systems make use of plant stubble and other plant residues for soil protection. On hillsides, cultivate with the contour of the hill -- across the slope -- to slow the downhill rush of water.

Barriers

• Mostly used for large fields, creating conservation buffers is an approach that can be adapted for smaller gardens, too. Establishing landscaping buffers, or strips of land such as hedgerows, near row crops is one way to stop sediment flow and keep topsoil on your property.

Terraces and Retaining Walls

• Achieve a more permanent form of contouring by building retaining walls and garden terraces down steep hills. Slightly sloped planting areas collect and slow runoff, allowing time for water to soak into the soil.

Revised Drainage

• You can also capture and redirect rainwater on hillsides and slopes to prevent water from cascading down the hill and taking your soil with it. Installing perforated drainage pipe across the hill -- in a bed of gravel just below the soil surface -- can redirect water away from the hill and, ideally, into ditches, water gardens or swales designed to handle it.