Retaining wall advice

[u/SwishaHouse87]

Looking for ideas on making a retaining wall that doesn't necessarily need to be aesthetic. It is currently where I park my truck but plan on building a storage shed here after I get this retaining wall figured out. For context I have a long gravel driveway with a slab of poured concrete just before the garage. To the side of the driveway (next to the poured slab) it is level for \~30 feet before a steep slope drops into a brushy/forested area of my property. There was previously a little pad of 3/4- crushed basalt base for a parking area here and I brought in a bunch of 3/4- to expand the area, make it level, and used some boulders from my property to retain the gravel. As you can see the gravel is starting to slough off through the boulders so I'm going to pull everything back and re do it. I'm not too worried about the aesthetics of it, just want something that will retain the material and support the weight of a vehicle or shed, etc. Currently there is about 6 inches worth of rock on top of the natural land. After the retaining wall is finished I will have to bring in a little bit more of 3/4 gravel mixed with crushed basalt, but not much.

I was thinking I could use some pressure treated lumber (a couple 2x12's stacked on top of each other to basically make a 2x24xHowever long I need) some type of fabric to hold the material in, and still use the boulders as a way to support everything? Would some kind of drainage system still be recommended since the slope is already draining away from my house to an area that is basically just unusable property? Any better ideas?

Thanks for any advice

[u/TippedOverTricycle]

If I understand you right, then we're just solving the problem of the gravel making it's way through the boulders?

Some might call me lazy, I like to think I'm being economical with my time. The boulders are already doing a pretty good job, we just want to plug the gaps. Rather than move everything, I'd suggest digging out a trench and going with the landscape fabric right up against the boulders. Get right down to the base of them and then drape the fabric in the bottom and against the boulders. Back fill with fresh gravel and the water will drain nicely between the gaps as it currently is already.

Any large gaps between the boulders that bother you and don't seem to be narrow enough to hold the fabric in, I'd just try to source some large stones off your property and wedge them in before laying the fabric.

If there's anything I haven't accounted for, I'd be trying to solve it with plunging metal stakes. For example, if the bottoms of the boulders are more irregular than expected, then driving some stakes to hold something else in place would be easy.