The subject of the post should have been "Osmocote and Erosion Question". Also, "I swear the mondo has maybe grown 3 inches in diameter in 2 years. That goes for the rest of my flowerbeds too." That was unclear. I didn't mean the rest of my flowers are growing slowly, I just meant do I toss the osmocote out over the flowerbeds the same way that I do over the mondo.

jmoore...after reading your post there are several unknowns, such as location of this ditch, length, etc. However, I had a somewhat similar situation and corrected it with "sod". I placed the sod pieces end to end for the length of the problem area and watered it well. It corrected my problem with erosion. It may well be that you could use the same thing to protect those six inches between the fence and the ditch. You might even let the grass continue on growing to protect the whole ditch. Once it has been well established, I would maintain it as best as I could by using a weed-eater or other mowing/trimming equipment. I would not use chemicals such as Round-up or such, but if needed you can use MSMA which would not kill grasses such as bluegrass or such type grasses. That would allow the roots to continue holding the soil together. Now if the drainage ditch is on someones elses property or adjoins some one else property you may have other concerns or matters to consider. The above is only my toughts and should be taken as such. As for the use of "weed killers", I see many people who live along public roads use just any type of weed killer so that they do not have to mow or maintain the ditches. You will see the ditch filling up with crumbling soil from the treated area and they end up with a bigger problem than they had to start with.

Good luck with it.

"after reading your post there are several unknowns, such as location of this ditch, length, etc."

The ditch is right beside the fence that separates my neighbor and I's yards. The length is only maybe 10 feet long, and the depth is, about a whopping 8 inches deep. It's also about a foot wide. I guess we are talking more about the size of a rill more than a ditch! I will attach a link to a picture in the morning to get a better idea.

Thanks for responding!

Here is a picture of the ditch. Please know that this is the worst part of my yard!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of ditch

I would go with the sod pads if it were me. That would establish growing and help with the erosion. Good luck with your project.

Since nobody said anything so far about osmocote and mondo I'll throw in a couple thoughts for what they're worth. I grow mondo in shady dry areas where nothing much wants to grow, and find it does well with leaf mold and other organic mulch type stuff for fertilizer. I used to use Osmocote for flower beds and containers, but I heard several places that it is heat-sensitive and when the temperature gets up to normal Louisiana summertime, the coating dissolves and releases the fertilizer all at once. If you spread it with a light hand, like you say, feeding chickens, that probably won't hurt anything but not have the long-time effect you want. If you use it heavily, or in a container, it could burn the roots. Louis Miller recommends Nursery Special and something I couldn't find so I've forgotten the name, and that's what I use. It has a different kind of coating. Actually, I prefer a good mulch of leaves and grass clippings and hay and straw and whatever else I can find, and if I get it done it does an excellent job of feeding as well as holding moisture and improving soil structure.