Excavated land must be planted now

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Hello, I was referred to this forum from the design dilemma section of Houzz. My family and I have just built a home in the North County area of San Diego, Ca. (Exactly on the border of Zone 20/21, according to our sunset western garden book). We must plant the slope in front of our home in order to pass our final home inspection so we can move in to our home.

We plan to do as much, if not all, of the landscaping ourselves but need some advice on how to start. The slope was recently excavated. Our soil is mostly decomposed granite with a small amount of clay mixed in here and there. I am afraid that if I plant now everything will die because of the excavated soil. I read on a couple websites that excavated soil is lacking nutrients and shouldn't be planted in right away. Anyone heard this? Is this also true for native plants?

If so, how do we prepare the soil for planting? Do we bring in top soil? I hear that native plants don't take kindly to organic matter. There is a mushroom farm close to us that sells soil we used in a garden and it was great. Would something else work better in this case? Or no top soil at all?

We have actually considered doing a quick planting of ice plant just to pass inspection and then ripping it out so we can do our more permanent landscaping when we have time to really prepare the soil. There is a lot of ice plant on the property that we could transplant. We would rather do it right the first time and not waste our time with the ice plant but don't want to kill beautiful plants by rushing into something that the ground isn't ready for.

We plan to use at least 75% native plants for a very drought tolerant/fire resistant/erosion controling landscape. California wild lilac, manzanita, yarrow etc. With areas of succulents and rocks. I am more worried about the succulents not taking to this fresh soil that has just been brought to the surface.

We checked with our inspector and we are allowed to do either the planting or the ice plant.

I have attached photos of the slope on which we will be planting. Within the next couple weeks there will be a large staircase leading up the hill so it's really just the two sides of the stairs that need to be planted, not the center of the hill.

We would be so grateful for some advice!

Featured Answer

Josue (Zone 9b, Central, inland California)

9 years ago

"One of the least-known treasure troves of information in San Diego County is that over two hundred Master Gardeners provide home gardening and pest control information throughout the county, FREE to the public."

The phone number listed on their website is (858) 822-6910. They write "A Master Gardener will answer your questions on home gardening and pest control Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm"

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Comments (11)

Jean
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Start with a soil test from a professional lab and ask for recommendations.

In fact, in your situation, it might be wise to hire a soil consultant. Even though you might shudder at the additional cost, it is likely to pay in the long run. Southern CA soils can be difficult to manage when they have been stripped and/or you are dealing with subsoil.

Jean,

who gardened in SoCal (Long Beach) for 30-some years.
Shelley
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you, Jean, for your response. Since time is a serious issue here, I wonder if the home test kits available at a local nursery would be of any help.
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Tim Walker
9 years ago
My thoughts are, no matter what you plant it will not grow fast enough to work for this winters rains. If it were mine I would terrace the slope and reduce the amount of erosion. Then plant.
Shelley
Original Author
9 years ago
Josue, thank you so much for your reply! I called the number you provided for master gardeners of San Diego. They returned my call a couple hours later and I spoke with a wonderful woman named Beverly. She told me to go ahead and plant my native plants, no top soil, no fertilizer. Terrace if I want to but suggested I could use some erosion control sheeting instead if it actually ends up raining in Southern California this year :o)

For erosion control, she suggested doing a lot of ground cover mixed in with my larger native plants. I am going to go with a bunch of California meadow sedge (carex pansa) for ground cover.

I will try to update this thread with some photos once my project is done. And then maybe some progress photos too.
emmarene9
9 years ago
Consider Baccharis Pilularis dwarf for erosion control. Also, make sure the Carex is a low water variety.
Shelley
Original Author
9 years ago
Emmarene, yes, the carex is low water variety. I actually typed the wrong plant though. I am using carex but in a different spot on the property. For the slope I am going to try myoporum parvifolium (non-native) and ceanothus griseus horizontalis (wild lilac- caramel creeper- a native). I will definitely check out the baccharis pilularis. Thank you!
Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
9 years ago
carex pansa is a low water veriety of grass, but that doesn't mean it is a low water plant. It needs a moderate amount of wat, more if grown in full sun.
Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
lay down at least 6" of shredded wood mulch for erosion control.
gobluedjm 9/18 CA
9 years ago
If the slope will be walked on in any way I would put in thyme instead of myoporum.

Myoporum will get woody after a few years.

I also have carmel creeper put in 9 years ago and its easily 20 feet across now. But it takes 3-4 years to really get going.
emmarene9
9 years ago
Whatever you plant will take awhile to get established. I'd put burlap on the slope.