Question
I am thinking about using med. size rivver cobble to fill and around my drainage ditches. The ditch alwasys fills with fair amount of water and weeds get high. The water stays there fors days after a good rain, any thoughts? nwtHtHYwoul

Answer
Hi Roy.

So very sorry for the delay in getting back with you. My mother has become very ill and I was not near a computer to check my volunteer account with allexperts.com.

Without taking soil samples and permeability testing, I cannot provide you with a definitive recommendation on your drainage ditch; however, I would recommend that you do use a permeable weed barrier cloth like that of the commercial grade Dewitt Weed Barrier on both sides of the drainage ditch. I believe that you can order directly from them online, or they could be able to give you a distributor near you where you can purchase it. Their website is:

http://dewittcompany.com/rockloth.html

They can provide specification for installation with your rock aggregate and I am confident you will be very happy with the results. Every client that we have taken this approach with has been very happy in how this solution has solved their drainage or slope erosion issues where we have installed 'hardscapes'

Please do not look for shortcuts in the installation. Laying the cloth properly and anchoring firmly as so prevent any slipping is very important.

Installation note: You can line the entire drainage ditch with this, including the bed if you want, since water will seep through it without any difficulty. You might consider adding some plants for interest sake that are water lovers. Depending on your planting zone, there are several varieties that love wet conditions and will thrive in your hardscape if plantings are done correctly.

I would enjoy seeing a photo of your completed word when you are done if you have the opportunity. You can e-mail it to [email protected].