I don't know how well the loose hay or straw will adhere to a 2:1 slope. I have my doubts, but let's "ask the man who owns one". Straw dogs...?
What I DO know is that the straw blankets will stay where they are put, including the straw. In fact, the manufacturer expects them to last over a year, providing erosion protection and continued moisture control. The mats that I installed this last spring are in the same condition today as when I put them down (except for sun fade and vegetation growth). I got excellent growth from the perennial rye that I sowed. Then, when the summer hit, the growth stopped and everything turned brown. I freaked a little bit, but also know to hang tight thru the hot months. I was only worried that the growth might not have established enough to allow it to come back later. We walked the dam this last weekend. We just got a few decent rains over the last 3 weeks, and it appears that the rye is coming back. So far, I think this is a success. If nothing else, the straw blankets look good. So good, that if next spring is a bust for re-growth, I will seed again right over the existing straw blanket. Right now, I doubt that will be required.
For the record, I also sowed a fairly strong dose of little bluestem, switchgrass, and Virgina Rye. I hope to see that come to life next year....another good reason to have the straw matting in place for an extended short term.
-
Straw matting was in rolls x 6' long. Each roll has 100 sq yards. I purchased them from Contech with a credit card and had them delivered to one of their customer's yards that is about 20 miles from my home (I greased the yard owner $20 for handling the hand-off). The actual cost of the matting was $.45/sq yard.
For your job, 50 rolls for an acre sure does sound scary.
