Hillside planting (terracing): Know of any good books/articles on this subject?

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Well Folks, my dream of getting a little place in the country may be coming true after 10 years. My 13 acres is on a hillside, in southern Maine, and I need information on terracing on hillsides. I have plans of putting in at least 3 good size garden plots. I have not been able to find any info on the web, county extensions, etc., and the only title through Amazon is an out of print book. My library also has no info. So, if anyone can help point me in the right direction, I'd surely appreciate it!

...Sandie (Baker) Thompson

-- Sandie (Baker) Thompson (SThompson@unispherenetworks.com), July 20, 2001

Answers

I did a google search for hillside terracing garden and found a wealth of information, much of it from universities.

-- Auntie Annie (sahamett@msn.com), July 20, 2001.

Sadie find your self a dirt contractor that builds ponds and terraces. then check him out with people he has done work for. Bob se. ks.

-- Bobco (bobco@hit.net), July 20, 2001.

Sandie, I also live on a hillside. I terrace the hill with the help of a small cat. (erpillar tractor:)

I then built two foot high raised beds out of concrete, which I made by building slip forms, and poured the walls three inches thick, with a bit of three eighths rebar. I only had to pour three sides, as the cut below the next higher terrace served as the fourth side. Gardens are four feet by eight feet. Terraces are about six or seven feet wide, which gives me room to pass the raised beds with a wheelbarrow.

The size of the terraces will, of course, depend on the steepness of your land. But the raised beds are awesome! Good luck

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), July 20, 2001.


Thanks everyone for the info! I will try the google search, and print these responses out for reference later as well. I haven't tried pouring concrete myself yet, but it's never too late to learn!

-- Sandie (Baker) Thompson (thompsonfarm@greatpoint.net), July 22, 2001.

Sandie, I moved 6 years ago to a hillside in Pa. The rocks that were removed by digging iron from the garden area made four terrace walls 24 feet long and about 2 feet high. I planted a row of asparagus on the upper side of one wall and it makes a great terrace. Read that is what the Chinese do on their hillsides. The far garden wall has blueberries behind it and they are doing excellent. They should also do well in your area.

-- Cynthia Iberg (coriander@pa.net), November 17, 2001.


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