What is the best way to hold up sloping backyard for terraced garden?

This should get you started-you got this! https://www.doityourself.com/stry/gardenterraces

Shelly I have a house that is built into a hill. I had a hill where the house ended and the yard began. I had the railroad ties for many years but then we went with the blocks which are available at any home improvement store. This has been over 20 years ago and I never have been sorry. They haven't shifted a bit in all this time and not to mention it is over a 10 foot wall. It is costly depending how how high you plan on going but well worth it!

Drill holes every 3 to 4 feet and add some 4 to 6 ft rebar. Then add plants this should help keep the soil intact.

Our landscaper used giant rocks. That wouldn’t be DIY though!

Those railroad ties were not put in properly to begin with. They should have had a rod driven down into the ground thru a hole drilled into the ties to hold them in place. You need to check with your local building code to see how high you can go with retaining wall blocks without having to put reinforcement behind to keep them from falling over. These blocks run a little over a dollar a piece but they are a long term solution to your problem. I did a nine foot fence three blocks high In front of another section that is four blocks tall and it has worked perfectly for me. You could also do a step process that has two levels to create some visual interest. Had a drainage specialist come in and put a french drain in so that now I have no standing water and the neighbor's garage in front of me doesn't flood anymore. Good luck

Another thing you could try is putting some iron fence post about 3 or four feet behind the ties and then putting large screw eyes into the ties and run some steel cable from the eyes to the post that you have driven into the ground (may have to move some rock to cover the cable after) or you could slip it over the rebar that you replace and that will give the ties some stability at a minimal cost. All the supplies can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's and would probably be the cheapest fix. This will work if the ties are not rotten and would have to put two to three cables per tie. Also, the ties should be staggered (joints) to give more stability, not just staked one on top of the other. As to drilling holes in the ties, you just need to gradually make the hole bigger and use a wood bit with at least a 1/2 inch drill. It can be done just requires a little muscle.

Hello,

In my opinion you could use it to your advantage by creating an accent wall. I would plant an accent tree and use led lights to light at night. I have seen it done numerous times. You could use Jasmine vine along the wall because it prefers indirect sun. Be careful with your plants because you are in zone 7a with low temp of 0F. If you want to learn more about what shrubs do well in your area just drive around the neighborhood and check out what does well.

Good luck

We live in Arizona... so wood does not hold up well here... we used landscape blocks around our mobile home (where the area was built up for a "ground set" )... we dig a shallow trench and use decomposed granite rather than sand... the blocks are easy to set and have the "hood" on the back so they don't get pushed forward... you can set the first row on a concrete footer if you wish... but make sure the first row is set level.. side to side, with each other, and front to back.. (my husband does the carrying and I do the leveling and setting)