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Prepping for a landslide (Part 3): Rooted resistance

By The SHTF App Team

The homesteader who stabilized her steep backyard did it with groceries. Walnuts for the pilings, persimmons for the mid-slope, blackberries for the surface net, all of it holding the hill while paying rent in food. Her neighbor solved the same slope with a concrete wall, and the wall has been patched twice. Hers has never needed anything but an annual prune, and every autumn the arguments about whose slope solution was smarter end the same way: one side feeds people, the other side just stands there. That is “stacking functions,” the permaculture habit of demanding two jobs from every investment.

My dad, the geologist, used to say that “concrete is strong, but it’s stupid. It cracks because it can’t flex.” Biology, on the other hand, is smart, it heals, it grows, and it tightens its grip when the wind blows. While some solve problems with retaining walls and drainage pipes, I prefer to solve them with biology.

On our homestead, we follow the permaculture principle of “stacking functions”, I don’t just want a plant that holds the dirt, I want a plant that feeds my family and holds the dirt. This is where “living rebar” comes in. By selecting specific deep-rooted trees and shrubs, we can mechanically reinforce the soil while creating a food forest that feeds us. This is Part 3 of the landslide series.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as, and should not be considered, geological or horticultural advice. Plant selection depends on your USDA hardiness zone and soil type. Consult a local arborist or extension office.

The Readiness Audit

Is your slope armored by roots or bare to the rain?

  • Green: Your slope has a mix of deep taproots, wide laterals, and dense ground cover.
  • Yellow: Your slope is grass or ornamentals, nothing deep.
  • Red: Your slope is bare dirt or planted with shallow-rooted invasives.

If you are Yellow or Red, execute Phase 1 immediately.

Phase 1: The Root Architecture (Understanding the Tool)

Goal: Plant the three root types a slope needs.

Not all roots are created equal. To lock down a slope, you need a mix of three types, think of it like building a house: you need the pilings, the foundation, and the carpet.

  • The anchor (taproots): these grow straight down, sometimes 20+ feet, piercing through loose topsoil to anchor into stable bedrock or hardpan below (nut trees, oaks).
  • The net (lateral roots): these spread wide, knitting the surface soil together to prevent it from pulling apart (maples, fruit trees).
  • The mat (fibrous roots): these are dense and shallow, preventing rain from washing the surface dirt away (ground covers, berry bushes).

The Takeaway: Pilings, foundation, carpet: a slope with only one root type is a wall with only one course of bricks.

Phase 2: The “Do Not Plant” List

Goal: Remove the plants that sabotage the slope.

  • Ice plant: often sold as “erosion control,” this succulent is actually heavy with shallow roots, when waterlogged, its weight can cause a slide.
  • Turf grass: it creates a “slip plane.” A steep slope covered in manicured lawn is high risk.
  • Top-heavy non-natives: shallow-rooted pines or fast-growing ornamentals (like eucalyptus) can become top-heavy and topple in wind, ripping up the bank.

The Takeaway: The nursery aisle sells three famous slope saboteurs, and the prettiest erosion-control label in the bunch (ice plant) is the heaviest liar.

Phase 3: The Edible Arsenal (Homesteading for Safety)

Goal: Feed the family while feeding the soil structure.

The heavy anchors (nut trees): walnuts and pecans send down massive taproots, the “piling system” of your hill. They take years to mature, so plant them now for the next generation. Chestnuts are deep-rooted and provide a massive carbohydrate crop.

The fruit layer (native specialists): persimmons are tough, drought-tolerant, and deep-taprooted. Pawpaws love shady, wet slopes and form thickets where roots interlock underground. Mulberries are fast-growing with aggressive roots (keep them away from your foundation and pipes).

The berry web (surface control): cane berries (blackberry, raspberry) form a dense, impenetrable mat, plant thornless varieties on contour lines to catch sediment. Elderberries love wet feet and grow fast with fibrous, tenacious roots.

The Takeaway: The grocery-slope garden is real: nuts for pilings, natives for the mid-layer, berries for the carpet, and the mulberry planted far from the pipes.

Phase 4: Live Staking (The Rapid Response)

Goal: Reinforce a wet slope this season, not this decade.

If you have a slope that looks unstable right now, you can’t wait for a tree to grow. Cut 2 to 3 foot lengths of branches from dormant willow or dogwood, cut the bottom at an angle like a stake, and hammer them directly into the wet bank leaving 4 to 6 inches sticking out. These species contain high natural rooting hormones and will sprout roots from the buried stem and leaves from the top, establishing a root network in months, not years.

The Takeaway: Willow and dogwood stakes are the slope’s fast-acting medicine, cut, angle, hammer, and the bank starts knitting within a season.

Phase 5: Maintenance Pruning (The Wind Sail Effect)

Goal: Keep the asset from becoming a lever.

A large tree on a slope is an asset, but also a lever. If the canopy is too thick, wind catches it and rocks the roots, loosening the soil. “Limb up” your trees, remove the lower branches and thin the canopy to allow wind to pass through rather than pushing against it.

The Takeaway: A thinned canopy lets the gale blow through instead of rocking the anchor loose, so the annual prune is slope maintenance, not gardening vanity.

The Essential Kit Checklist

  • The audit: walk your slope and identify bare dirt or grass-only areas, this is your planting zone.
  • The harvest: cut 10 live stakes from willow or dogwood and hammer them into a wet part of your slope as a test.
  • The purchase: order one deep-rooted food tree (walnut, pecan, or persimmon) to plant this season.
  • The removal: identify invasive, shallow-rooted plants (like ice plant) and plan to replace them.
  • The pruning: thin dense tree canopies on the slope to reduce wind drag.

Scenario Planner (Contingencies)

“I need slope cover this year, not in five years.” The trap: waiting on slow-maturing trees to do a fast job. The fix: the layered answer, live stakes for this season, native grasses and elderberry for the next two, and the nut trees as the long-term piling system planted at the same time.

“My slope is shaded and wet.” The trap: planting sun-lovers that struggle and never root deep. The fix: the pawpaw thicket, pawpaws thrive in shady, wet slopes and interlock their roots in thickets, which is exactly the stabilization job that spot needs.

Next Steps

  1. Cut and hammer ten live stakes this week. Willow or dogwood, angled bottoms, 4 to 6 inches showing. The cheapest slope insurance that exists.
  2. Order one deep-rooted food tree today, because the best time to plant the piling system was five years ago, and the second best is now.
  3. Read Part 4: Structural defenses next, for the places biology is not enough, and the walls that steer a mountain instead of fighting it.

Originally adapted from public USDA and NRCS vegetation guidance (public domain).