© 2011 Wendy Dager

Thrice is Nice
Forming a sustainability triangle

Battling the forces of stormwater runoff requires the three-sided solution of adequate soil cover, healthy soil maintenance and sustainable vegetation. Erosion control experts rely on this tried-and-true formula to win the fight.

Each site must be thoroughly evaluated prior to determining the best plan of action. The evaluation and subsequent decision-making process is multifaceted and must integrate data collection with best management practices and the selection of sustainable vegetation.

The power of three also comprises the “sustainability triangle,” a concept that the landscape industry professional must keep in mind when returning a site as closely as possible to its previously undisturbed state. According to the Caltrans technical guide “Key Concepts of Sustainable Erosion Control”, “Soil, water and vegetation must all be considered to achieve successful, self-sufficient erosion control at a project site.” Caltrans says that a project’s success lies in the ability to meet these goals by use of Best Management Practices to maintain water quality that keeps soils in place and increases infiltration to reduce runoff.

Hydroseeding is often the Best Management Practice for erosion control on a job site. The rule of three also applies when seeding a hillside in order to protect soil from raindrop impact and surface erosion. When reseeding, the triad of necessity consists of functional longevity, slope length and slope gradient.

While the second and third points are important because water travels at a greater velocity when the slope length and gradient increase, causing larger erosive forces, it is the first point—functional longevity—that is the most critical. Functional longevity is the ability of the applied material to last and to hold until plants are mature enough to take over for the mulch or erosion control cover, creating the needed soil stabilization. Use of stabilizing agents and quick-germinating, short-lived native grasses such as Bromus carinatus (California Brome) or Vulpia microstachys (Small Fescue) provide the greatest erosion control over the life of a revegetation process.

Since the grasses are native to Southern California, their use will increase the native seed bank and, therefore, protect the regional gene pool.

S&S Seeds strongly supports the practice of reseeding natives for the value and protection that native grasses will provide for many years. We also believe that using mulch with supplemental native grass and native forb seeding can have tremendous mid-term and long-term benefits. Hydroseeding mulch and binder alone—containing no seeds—is expected to last between 3 and 6 months, depending on wind and rainfall. S&S Seeds can guide you to the most appropriate plants and products to hold your slopes and get them stabilized quickly.

S&S Seeds helps our customers meet their goal of creating sustainability, so we carry numerous products that can be used in conjunction with hydroseeding. For instance, when addressing the threat of stormwater runoff—decreased water quality, hillside erosion and pollutants entering storm sewers—bioswales, or Grass Swale Filters, are a relatively simple answer to what can be a complex problem.

Bioswales, densely vegetated drainage-ways with gentle side slopes, collect and slowly convey the runoff flow downstream. The result is an economical, ecologically sound, self-maintaining system that physically secures both the ground structure and trapped pollutants.

Hydroseeding, mulch and bioswales help create and maintain your sustainability triangle: soil health, stabilization and vegetation. For more information about hydraulically-applied seed and other erosion control products, visit our website at http://www.ssseeds.com or call our helpful staff at (805) 684-0436. All our products come with an extra ingredient at no extra cost—40+ years of experience!

Basic Native Erosion Control Mix The best choice for rapid growth! Specially formulated annual Native California mix of Cucamonga Brome, Tomcat Clover, and Small Fescue

To order, call S & S Seeds (805) 684-0436

Seed Mixes: Wildflowers | Turfgrasses | Reclamation / Erosion

Other Products | New! Erosion Control Blankets

Plant Database | BMPs - Cost vs. Benefit | Inventory | Request Information
About S&S Seeds, Inc. | S&S Services | Newsletter | Contact Us | Home

Retail Sales/Small Orders

S&S Seeds, Inc. P.O. Box 1275 Carpinteria, CA 93014-1275 (805) 684-0436 (805) 684-2798 fax

© 1998-2008 by S&S Seeds. All Rights Reserved. Text, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission Web Development: CogniText.