6 Best Erosion Blankets For Steep Garden Slopes That Prevent Washouts
Stop soil erosion on steep slopes. Discover the 6 best erosion blankets that prevent washouts, secure seeds, and help establish healthy vegetation.
You spend a weekend preparing and seeding a new garden bed on that tricky slope by the driveway. Then comes one of those gully-washing thunderstorms. The next morning, you find your precious topsoil and expensive seeds puddled at the bottom of the hill. Erosion is a constant battle on a small farm, turning valuable soil into runoff and undermining your hard work. Choosing the right erosion control blanket isn’t just about stopping a washout; it’s about giving your plants the stable ground they need to establish and thrive.
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Choosing the Right Blanket for Your Garden Slope
Not all erosion blankets are created equal. The right choice for your garden depends entirely on three things: the steepness of your slope, how long you need protection, and what you ultimately want to grow there. A gentle incline where you’re trying to establish wildflowers needs a very different solution than a steep, unstable bank you’re trying to tame with deep-rooted shrubs.
The biggest divide is between biodegradable and permanent mats. Natural fiber blankets made from straw, jute, or coconut coir are designed to hold soil just long enough for plant roots to take over the job. They eventually break down and become part of the soil. On the other end are synthetic Turf Reinforcement Mats (TRMs), which provide a permanent structural grid for plant roots to lock into, a solution for the most critical slopes.
Think about your end goal. Are you simply trying to get a cover crop established over a few months? A lightweight jute or straw blanket will do. Are you trying to permanently stabilize a bank that threatens a pathway or outbuilding? You’ll need a long-lasting coir mat or even a TRM. Matching the blanket’s lifespan to your project’s timeline is the key to success.
North American Green S75: All-Purpose Straw Mat
When you need a reliable, cost-effective solution for moderate slopes, a simple straw blanket like the North American Green S75 is your go-to. Think of it as the workhorse of erosion control. It’s perfect for helping new lawn seedings get established or protecting a graded bank for a single season.
These blankets consist of a uniform layer of straw stitched between two lightweight, photodegradable polypropylene nets. The straw intercepts raindrop impact, slows down water flow, and holds moisture, creating a perfect microclimate for germination. The netting provides the structural integrity to hold it all together on the slope until your grass or groundcover takes root.
The main tradeoff is its lifespan and the netting. It typically provides protection for up to 12 months, which is plenty for most annual vegetation. However, the plastic netting can be a nuisance if it doesn’t break down completely, potentially getting tangled in mowers or posing a risk to small wildlife. For most temporary jobs, though, its performance and price are hard to beat.
Enviro-Coir Mat for Long-Term Slope Stability
If you’re dealing with a steeper slope or planting something that takes years to mature, like native perennials or shrubs, you need a blanket that sticks around. That’s where coir mats shine. Made from the fibrous husks of coconuts, coir is incredibly durable and rot-resistant, offering protection for two to five years.
The Enviro-Coir Mat is essentially a tough, woven blanket of coconut fiber. Its open-weave design holds soil and seeds firmly in place while still allowing plants to grow through it easily. One of its best features is its ability to hold a tremendous amount of water, which helps keep seedlings hydrated through dry spells on a hot, exposed bank.
This is the mat you choose for a long-term investment. It’s more expensive than straw, but you’re paying for time. It gives slow-growing, deep-rooted plants the multi-year window they need to fully establish and create a self-sustaining, stable slope. For a critical bank next to a barn or along a creek, the peace of mind is well worth the extra cost.
Garden-Friendly Biodegradable Jute Netting Roll
Protect your soil from erosion with this biodegradable jute mesh blanket. Measuring 48" wide x 60' long (240 sq. ft.), it's easy to cut and install for versatile use on slopes, embankments, and gardens.
Sometimes you don’t need heavy-duty reinforcement; you just need to keep mulch or seeds from sliding down a gentle slope. For these light-duty jobs, a simple jute netting roll is the perfect, all-natural solution. It’s a completely biodegradable option with no synthetic components.
This product is just a loosely woven net of thick jute twine. You’d use it over a freshly seeded wildflower patch or on a slightly angled vegetable bed after applying a layer of straw mulch. The netting physically holds the seed and mulch in place against wind and moderate rain, rotting away into beneficial organic matter within a single season.
This 600-foot jute twine is perfect for crafting, gardening, and gift wrapping. Made from natural jute fibers, it's strong, biodegradable, and easy to use for various DIY projects.
Be realistic about its limitations. Jute netting offers almost no structural slope stabilization. It won’t stop a serious washout on a steep grade. Its job is to prevent surface-level movement on gentle slopes (think 3:1 or flatter). For the organic gardener who wants to avoid plastics entirely, it’s an excellent tool for giving new plantings a secure start.
American Excelsior Curlex: For Tough Washouts
When you’re facing a slope with concentrated water flow or particularly loose soil, you need something with more bite than a standard straw blanket. American Excelsior’s Curlex is a specialized product made from curled aspen wood fibers. These fibers have a unique quality that makes them incredibly effective at erosion control.
The magic is in the "curled" shape. Unlike straight straw fibers, the wood fibers in Curlex are barbed and interlock with each other, creating a dense, three-dimensional matrix. When it gets wet, it actually expands slightly and clings to the soil surface, creating an exceptional barrier that slows water velocity and filters sediment.
Use Curlex in places where water is the main problem—like lining a newly dug drainage swale or protecting a slope that gets runoff from a roof or driveway. It has a higher shear stress rating than straw, meaning it can withstand faster-moving water without tearing apart. It’s a problem-solver for those specific, challenging spots on your property.
Grotrax Roll Out Mat: A Quick Seeding Solution
For small-scale repairs or establishing grass on a gentle slope with minimal fuss, an all-in-one product like Grotrax can be a real time-saver. This isn’t a traditional erosion blanket; it’s a seeding system. The product is a biodegradable fabric roll with grass seed and fertilizer embedded directly into it.
The concept is simple: you prepare the soil, roll it out like a carpet, and water it. The fabric holds the seeds in the perfect position and protects them from being washed away or eaten by birds. As you water, the fabric dissolves and the grass grows, creating a uniform lawn.
This is a convenience product with clear tradeoffs. It offers very little in the way of true erosion protection compared to a dedicated blanket and is best for mild slopes. You also give up control over the seed variety. But for patching a bare spot on a sloped lawn or quickly greening up a small, stable bank, its simplicity is a major advantage.
US Fabrics TRM for Permanent Slope Reinforcement
When you have a critical slope where failure is not an option, you move beyond biodegradable solutions and into the realm of engineering. A Turf Reinforcement Mat (TRM) is a permanent, non-degrading synthetic mat that creates an incredibly stable soil-and-root system.
A TRM is a three-dimensional web of tangled synthetic fibers. You install it on the slope, and then seed directly into it. As grass and other vegetation grow, their roots intertwine with the mat’s structure, creating a single, unified system that has the erosion resistance of concrete but looks like a natural, vegetated slope.
Let’s be clear: this is overkill for 99% of garden projects. You’d use a TRM on the bank of a farm pond, along a stream that’s undercutting its bank, or on a very steep slope directly behind a building. It’s the solution you choose when a washout would be catastrophic and you need a permanent fix that will last for decades.
Proper Installation and Pinning Techniques
The most expensive erosion blanket in the world will fail if it’s not installed correctly. The entire principle relies on intimate contact between the blanket and the soil. Any gaps underneath will allow water to gain speed and cause rills and washouts right under your protection.
Start by preparing the slope. It should be graded as smooth as possible, free of rocks, clumps, and old vegetation. At the very top of the slope, dig a small "anchor trench" about 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide. Lay the top edge of your blanket in this trench, secure it with sod staples or pins, and then backfill the trench, tamping it down firmly. This anchor is non-negotiable; it prevents water from getting a start behind the blanket.
Roll the blanket down the slope, but don’t stretch it tight. It needs to lay naturally and conform to the contours of the soil. Overlap any adjacent rolls by at least 4-6 inches, with the uphill roll on top, like shingles on a roof. Use sod staples every 2-3 feet throughout the body of the mat, paying special attention to securing all seams and edges. A proper pinning job is what ensures the blanket and the soil act as one.
Ultimately, an erosion blanket is a temporary helper. Its job is to hold the fort until your plants can sink their roots in and take over. By matching the type of blanket to the severity of your slope and the needs of your plants, you’re not just preventing a washout—you’re building a stable, resilient landscape that will pay you back for years to come.
