Here's my one cent: I haven't done much landscaping, as I'm from NYC and my patch of dirt was about 12' x 12'. I live in NC in a rental house on about 1/4 acre and have been playing around with the property a little bit, and thinking about what I would do. If you look up permaculture zones, you can get an idea of how to section the property to use it the most economically.

It is wise to halt planting for now until you come up with a grand plan. I understand taking things slow and frugally. I would think about what you value most in your garden as far as structure is concerned. If you have slopes, you can uses swales, french drains, hugelkultur, to maximize your water and recycle/harness nutrients from waste material. You can even set up a site for water collection in a small pond and create an irrigation system from the overflow. Or if you want to invest in managing the landscape for the long term, you can save up to get machinery out or professionals to put in a retaining wall or terrace the slopes around your house. Another thing to think about is containers.

Right now, I am part of a permaculture gardening group and we trade plants and seeds. I have a crabapple, wild peach, elderberry, mulberry, two lime, and grape vine, all growing in containers, until I get my own property. My advice is think about the types of plants you want to grow, join a master gardener's class/club, and start collecting plants while you make your plans. Good luck!

If you like to eat pawpaws, I recommend ordering some trees. If you have never tasted one, get a fruit and save the seeds. Pawpaw season is around September-October. I think they're delicious. They also have very vigorous root systems, so It is a possibility for erosion control. If you plan to start them from seeds, make sure you watch youtube videos because they need special care. No Sprays Needed for pawpaws. If the pitch of the slope is over 20%, add both chicken wire and plants for erosion control. If the pitch of the slope is over 30%, a retaining wall is necessary, and call a professional.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into gardener's clubs. Hopefully I can find some helpful folks as there are a number of organic farms in the area (mountains of western NC). I think you're right muikat, retaining walls and terraces are going to be a must. My guess is the slope is more than 30 degrees. It's pretty steep. My first priority at the moment is going to have to be cutting down some pine trees that are threatening the house. We had some terrible winds recently and one of them looked like the whole top just exploded. There are pine branches all over my yard, and a large one just missed the house. They can't be felled on my property without taking down power lines and possibly hitting the house. Hopefully the guy that owns the property below me will let me drop them on his property.

My gardening this summer will probably be a few types of squash and some tomatoes plus blackberries. You gotta love blackberries. they will grow anywhere. Charles, I've never had pawpaws. I will look into that as well. I know there are some professional landscapers in the area but hate to call someone out if I'm not going to be able to get the job done. Have absolutely no idea of the cost involved but money is very limited.

Start thinking about your plan. That's good. Think about raised beds. Think about amending the soil. Can you start some kind of groundcover that's not too invasive to stop the washing out. Can you grow some veggies in containers or a raised bed? You can start saving seeds and you'll have seeds to trade in the fall. There's a Newbie thread which offers a free variety of donated seeds. Squash is a great place to start as well as melons, cucumbers, etc. Allow yourself to change the plans as you go, but a good plan to start gets you a gold star!

Wild blackberries are growing on my bank. Yay! Not pretty but it works and it will give me blackberries this summer.