Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions new pond-soil erosion

Had a 3/4 acre pond dug last fall and before I could get the grass growing on the side good we had 6" of rain that washed a lot of clay off the sides into the pond..now I have these unsitely gullies up the bank...some of the bank was covered with topsoil and some is left in clay..do these gullies pose a problem for the dam wall? what is the best way to fix the problem?? Is there anything that will grow in clay soil and hold the clay together? What is the best way to plant grass on the sides of the dam?? has anyone used hydroseeding??

here's a few pics of what dozer tracks and hydroseed can do (on clay soil).

thanks for the post..so they hydroseeded right on the clay? interesting..nice looking pond by the way...

thanks jeff.

yes, we hydroseeded directly on the clay soils after grooming slopes with a small (JD 550). we didnt move in any topsoil.

two things essential to hydroseed success in my case:

1) because the slopes on the dam and above the pond level are very steep, the dozer tracks were critical in holding the hydroseed job. before germination we had some monstrous storm events and i was worried all the seed washed into pond, but as things dried out and warmed up the hydroseeded surface exploded with growth.

2) most hydroseeders have a generic shredded newspaper mix with dye and fertilizer, these generic mixes dont hold well on steep slopes. we customized each tankful of the hydroseed mix with additional 15-15-15 fertilizer, kellog brand topper inoculant, and plantago binder (psyllium) fiber mulch.

the seed mix included an "erosion control" mix (annual gulf rye, crimson clover, sub clover, brome), a perennial rye mix (palmer, wizard, and line drive), and a CA wildflower mix (yarrow, camas, wallflower, daisy, buckwheat, poppy, blanket and blue thimble flower, flax, lupine, beardstongue, gloriosa daisy, and mules ears).

two years out with no maintenance, and its all doing pretty well despite heavy deer, turkey, gopher, and vole predation on seeds, stems and roots.