PWD Stormwater Soil was originally developed by the Philadelphia Water Department as part of a large green infrastructure policy. The PWD Stormwater Soil was designed to mitigate stormwater runoff when used in applications such as rain gardens, bioretention basins and bioswales. The soil is designed to absorb, infiltrate, and filter stormwater runoff into the ground where it can safely recharge groundwater systems and reduce surface flooding. PWD requires blenders to certify their compliance of this mix twice a year. Laurel Valley Soils has been involved with the PWD Green Infrastructure program from inception and has been an approved supplier every year. Many other cities and municipalities have since adopted this well preforming specification. The goal of a bioretention basin is to capture and divert stormwater runoff displaced from impervious surfaces. Well-designed basins also filter out untreated pollutants that otherwise might flow directly into waterways. Many bioretention basins are large in scale and while they can have attractive plantings, these utilitarian designed basins are generally located out of sight, at the low end of a parking lot or downslope from a building or road.
A stormwater management plan is now a requirement with all new construction that creates impervious surfaces. Water must be contained on site or at least slowed down to prevent flooding and pollutant movement. Bioretention basins are part of the building and zoning code and are required for most building projects including renovations and expansions. The understanding and design of these soils is evolving rapidly.
Site work
Aged Mushroom Compost (AMC) is an all-purpose compost for landscapes, gardens, farming, soil reclamation, commercial site work and soil blending. AMC is composted in the same windrows as our Premium Compost. The main difference is that it is not screened and it is not stockpiled in our covered storage structures. This is a great option for large volume budget sensitive projects, as the important nutrient, biological, and organic matter benefits are the same as with our Premium Compost. AMC is made from our standard blend of the highest grade agricultural feedstocks, composted at our state of the art facility and tested regularly to verify and ensure quality and consistency.
Fresh Mushroom Compost (FMC) is the best high quality, low cost, all-purpose organic matter source available in the compost industry. FMC comes fresh from the mushroom growing beds immediately following the mushroom harvest and a steam pasteurization treatment. Unscreened, and without additional processing, this compost is our most economical offering and is also light enough to be efficiently hauled in larger loads on tractor trailers. Also known as Mushroom Soil, Mushroom Mulch, and Mushroom Substrate, FMC is great for mulching gardens, spreading on crop fields, and topdressing lawns. It is also ideal for use in large industrial scale soil remediation projects.
Cyclone Compost is a lightweight topdressing specifically designed to be applied with a mulch blower truck, and is always made fresh on an order by order basis to ensure the best performance. Cyclone Compost is 99% weed seed free, has a fluffy soft fibrous texture that flows smoothly; to avoid bridging and clogging, and makes fast efficient work of topdressing. Blowing Cyclone Compost is great for large commercial applications and sports turf, but it really excels as a solution for hard to reach areas that cannot be serviced by traditional topdressing machines (think erosion control on steep embankments or the little patches of lawn in a residential community interrupted by sidewalks, driveways and flower beds). Cyclone Compost can also be used as a seed tackifier on bare ground or even used as light organic mulch in garden beds. Late season applications will extend the time turf will stay green by providing rootzone insulation and slow release nutrients.
Many projects have unique site conditions and landscape design criteria which can require custom soil solutions. We can create most engineered custom blended soils to fit your project’s design and performance requirements and in the absence of a specification we can offer one of our many off the shelf engineered soil options or collaborate to develop a site specific mix. We can make biosoils, rain garden soils, structural soils, light weight soils, planting soils, rootzone sports turf soils, container/planter soils and more.
For Engineers and Landscape Architects looking ahead to incorporate new specifications for future projects, we can also provide guidance and consultation for creating new custom specifications.
Quality soil is the foundation of every great landscape. Our Enriched Topsoil is the highest quality, best performing all-purpose landscape soil, and we ensure unparalleled consistency from load to load, year in and year out. Enriched Topsoil is a well balanced loam soil with a rich dark brown color, is screened to a half inch, and is stored out of the elements in an expansive covered building. Because of our large scale infrastructure and state of the art equipment, we are able to stockpile inventories so that we can provide our soil year round to meet our customers’ needs, whether that be one truck load for a residential landscape or a thousand truck loads for a highway infrastructure project.
Premium Compost is an STA Certified, high quality all-purpose compost for landscapes, gardens, farming, commercial, reclamation, DOT Projects and soil blending. This high end yet practical compost is our go-to workhorse, thanks to its high organic matter content, broad spectrum of slow release nutrients and beneficial microorganisms. We use Premium Compost as a core ingredient in most of our soil blends and it stands on its own as a great topdressing and in situ soil amendment. Premium Compost is made from a blend of the highest grade agricultural feedstocks, composted at our state of the art facility and tested regularly through the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program to verify and ensure quality and consistency. Applying compost is the best way to build fertile, productive, and healthy soil.
