Laurel Valley Soils

High-quality compost products since 1979

How Black Gold Helped Mercedes Benz Stadium Achieve Platinum

bio-retention soil

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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

Scott Jenkins is the General Manager of the newly-designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Falcons.  Scott had a vision to be #1, and was determined to make that happen when the facility opened in August of 2017.  And Scott got his wish, although maybe not in the way you might expect, as the Falcons fell to the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Division win that year.

But in the green building world, the Falcons’ home field is on the record books.  Mercedes Benz Stadium is the 1st professional sports stadium to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, which is a Super Bowl-esque sized win for Jenkins and his team of architects, planners, builders and installers.

One of the reasons MB Stadium was able to achieve this prestigious status was its incorporation of compost as part of its landscape and stormwater design plans.  150 tractor trailer loads of compost-enriched engineered soil was amended into native soil on site and  installed in bioswales and other water retention areas to capture, retain and manage high volumes of water runoff from large areas of impervious surfaces.

Many municipal ordinances and best practices require the addition of organic matter to existing soil whenever installation of plant material takes place.  A target of 5% organic matter in soil provides increases in the following:

  • Water retention
  • Nutrient retention
  • Microbial activity
  • Sustainability
  • Physical, chemical and biological properties

In addition, project material costs can be reduced by up to 2/3 when 2″ of compost is applied vs bringing in 6″ of topsoil, while also lowering the project’s carbon footprint.

Want to learn more?  Check out the video below for more information:

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We know how time sensitive stabilization can be when approaching the end of a project.  It is critically important to get your seed down and achieve germination before the November cut off.  Once a site is stabilized, converting the silt catch basins into functioning bioretention basins is the last key deliverable for dedication.

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Having an experienced soil partner that understands the needs of your project is the key to achieving fast and successful slope stabilization and basin conversions.  Laurel Valley is a unique soil producer, as not only do we have a state of the art manufacturing facility, we have an experienced team who understands the chemistry and science of soils so we can make the quality compost and engineered soils that your projects require.

We have been in business since long before “bioretention Soil” was even a product; making compost for more than forty years and blending soil products for nearly twenty.  Specializing in PennDOT, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and Philadelphia Water Department specifications is just some of what we do.

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We take the science of soil seriously and we work closely with landscape architects, soil engineers, universities and soil testing laboratories.  Soil specifications and the soil submittal process have become very complicated.  Our in-depth understanding of soil blending and soil specifications allow us to provide accurate and competitive pricing up front.  Don’t allow yourself to get to the end of the project only to find out that you have budgeted for the wrong soil blend or have your soil submittal rejected.

You can have confidence in knowing that we provide the whole package from inventorying the highest quality ingredients with large volume production capacity to providing guidance through the bid process and delivering testing and submittals.  Consider Laurel Valley not only your go to manufacture but your trusted advisor.  Your success is our success.

Laurel Valley Soils Dirt Shed

Project Location:  Christiana Fashion Center, Christiana, DE

Bioretention Basin:  3225 cu yds DENREC B-14 Bio-Soil:  60% Sand, 10% STA Compost, 30% Mulch

Christiana Fashion Center

As part of a new outdoor retail shopping center, a stormwater management plan adhering to local BMP’s was developed.  Several bioretention basins were strategically placed throughout the property to capture stormwater runoff from the buildings and paved areas.

Christiana Fashion Center After

Project:  Aerzen USA, LEED-Certified Facility, Coatesville, PA

Rain Gardens:  200 cu yds of Rain Garden Soil:  50% sand, 25% compost, 25% native soil

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Aerzen USA’s recent headquarters expansion was designed with environmental responsibility in mind.  The goal of this project was to double the office space, and add 30% more manufacturing area while including as many green building practices as possible.  In addition to the rain gardens, Aerzen incorporated solar panels, geothermal heating and cooling, and a garden which produces 250 lbs of vegetables per year that are donated to local food banks.

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Project Location:  Applecross, Downingtown, PA

Bioretention Basin:  800 cu yds of Bioretention Soil:  40% sand, 30% compost, 30% native soil

A Bioretention Basin was installed to manage stormwater runoff within this golf course and housing community.

Applecross

Project Location:  Wegman’s, Glen Mills, PA

Bioretention Basin:  1518 cu yds Bioretention Soil:  35% STA compost, 20% sand, 45% native soil

Wegman's

Project Location:  Pennsylvania Turnpike, Northbound Shoulder, South of Exit 105

Shoulder Stabilization:  Enriched Topsoil

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Laurel Valley Soils Enriched Topsoil was installed for road shoulder stabilization as part of a new interchange project on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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Have questions?  Want to see how we can help YOU?  Contact us!  Jake@LVSoils.com.  610-268-5555.

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Historically land development projects were designed with the objective of maximizing the built space within both the building footprint and the parking area, with little consideration given to much else. As the built environment has grown over the history of our country we have seen urban flooding events grow in both regularity and destructiveness.

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Now that land planners, engineers and architects have learned the negative repercussions of what too much impervious surface can do during a storm event, much care is being taken to ensure proper ecological storm water management tools are implemented in most new building projects.

Passive storm water capture systems like rain gardens, bio-retention basins, bio-swails and tree pits are all tools that prevent surface run off from leaving a site.  At the same time these features filter and clean the water and infiltrate it back into the natural ground water system.

These biological storm water capturing tools can actually enhance the aesthetics of the landscapes for the buildings and even qualify the builder for LEED Certification Credits.

Stormwater Basin containing custom designed Laurel Valley Soils at Philly’s Central Green at the Navy Yard

Central Green at the Philadelphia Navy Yard

The steady and methodical reinvention and redevelopment of the Philadelphia Naval Yard is at the center of Philadelphia’s burgeoning tech economy.  While the beautiful turn of the century campus provided a great canvas for new buildings and landscapes it also proved to have a host of challenges.

First, the entire landmass is man-made, built from river dredge and mainland soil spoils.   Mix in concern over soil contamination from the years the naval base was in full wartime operations, and the fact that below this less than desirable ground is a high water table containing brackish water, and the challenges of this site would have made many developers take a pass on the project.  But not Liberty Property Trust!  They saw the vision of this site, knew the potential and acted boldly.

In order to ensure a successful and functional landscape for the Central Green public landscape project, Soil Scientist Tim Craul was brought in.  He determined that higher quality functional soils were needed and would have to be imported to the site.  He specified a two-layer soil system containing a course drainage layer located below a finer, slightly more organic surface/planting layer. Together the soil layers work to support plant life, while also maintaining optimum soil moisture and filtering and infiltrating storm water.   Working closely with Tim Craul through a rigorous testing process, we were able to create and manufacture soils that met these criteria.

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Before and After by C. Caramanico and Son at Central Green at the Navy Yard

Our longtime client C. Caramanico and Sons performed the installation.  Over 3,000 yards of Laurel Valley custom soil was spread to create a six acre park-like setting integrated with a state of the art storm water management system.  This area, referred to as a “social space” is used daily by employees of the various Naval Yard businesses.  The landscape is a beautiful sanctuary for people to enjoy, play in, and unwind amongst aesthetically pleasing yet functional bio-swales and rain gardens seemingly hidden right before your eyes. The award winning landscape was designed by James Corner Field Operations, most recognized as being the Project Lead on NYC’s famous High Line, and is a wonderful example of what the future of urban storm water management is all about.

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May 2016 Was the 10th Rainiest May Since 1900.

But it didn’t stop our customers, because no matter how WET it was yesterday, we will deliver DRY topsoil and compost today!

Laurel Valley Soils 15,000 Cu Yd covered Dirt Shed
Laurel Valley Soils Enriched Topsoil is ALWAYS dry!

With 15,000 cu yd of covered topsoil storage and 30,000 sq ft of production capacity for blending custom engineered soils used for bioretention basins, rain gardens, green roofs and general stormwater management, we definitely have you covered!!!  As soon as you are able to get back out on the job site, we have dry soil and compost ready and waiting to be delivered to your location.  No more dealing with wet product, or delaying work while waiting for it to dry out.

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Our Enriched Topsoil contains our nutrient-rich Premium Compost, which provides the following benefits:

  • Improves soil structure
  • Adds organic nutrients
  • Stabilizes pH
  • Improves disease resistance
  • Supplies beneficial microorganisms, bacteria and fungi
  • Increases soil’s cation exchange capacity, helping the plant to absorb more nutrients from the soil

Want to learn more about ways customers have used Laurel Valley Soils?  Check out our blog post  “Jake and Suzanne Go Site Seeing in Philly“

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“Site” Seeing is not a typo!  Jake and I were attending an event hosted by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council in Philly, and decided to make a day out of it by visiting Laurel Valley Soils “sites” throughout the city!

Compost Cam Suz

Our morning meeting wrapped up with a tour of Central Green, the 5 acre park located in the middle of Philadelphia’s Navy Yard.   This oasis contains lifestyle amenities for the 10,000+ person local work force and includes a fitness station, amphitheater, a hammock grove, bocce courts, ping-pong tables, a huge communal table, and a bioretention basin for stormwater management.  As you can see in the photo below, this is not your Daddy’s bio basin!  We are extremely proud to have provided the soil to help create this masterpiece of function and beauty!

Central Green Bio Basin

After the Central Green festivities were done, Jake and I headed out, with compost cam and gps at the ready, to check out our dirt piles all around the city!

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has hundreds of PHS Vacant Land Site projects, and the photos below showcase five of them, after they have been cleared of debris and received our soil delivery.

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Below is a great photo, as it shows the various stages of Vacant Land Site completion.  In the background, you can see where the debris has been cleared, and a pile of soil that has just been delivered. Then you see a lot where the soil has been spread, and in the foreground is a fenced space that was completed in past seasons.

PHS--moon

Next was Rodin Square, where Laurel Valley Soils custom blended the soil for rooflite, and the mix is being used for tree planting on a roof garden, around a to-be-installed pool!  Soil must be blown up to the roof site, as shown in the photo below.

Rodin combined

Our final stop was at the Pennovations site, where Laurel Valley Soils are being used for several bioretention basins as well as for planting trees.

Pennnovations

Want us to grab the compost cam and visit YOUR installation?  Call us!

Until our next site seeing trip…..

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Like Top Chefs, We Know That Quality Ingredients, Blended Perfectly,

Create MASTERPIECES!

Portrait of a female chef preparing a dish carefully

Compost can be derived from many different types of materials, including yard trimmings, food scraps, leaves, manure, and post-harvest mushroom compost.  In the previous two blogs, we discussed why you should use compost, and why you should use STA Certified Compost.  Here, we are going to explain the benefits of using post-harvest mushroom compost from Laurel Valley Soils.

Many types of compost are made using whatever unused products are available at that time, sort of like when your Mom would make soup from all the leftovers at Thanksgiving.  Creating Laurel Valley Soils Compost is more like baking your Great Grandmother’s famous, award-winning upside-down carrot, macadamia and bourbon cake.  It requires using only the finest ingredients and carefully following the recipe, as there are high expectations on the line!

Because our compost is initially created to grow fresh mushrooms, we follow a strict formula containing only the highest quality, purchased and inspected ingredients including hay, straw, recycled horse bedding, cocoa shells, poultry litter, corn cobs, and gypsum.  After the crop of mushrooms is complete, we take back the post-harvest mushroom compost, let it compost down some more, and then upcycle it as premium compost or repurpose it to create enriched topsoil.

So why should YOU specifically select Laurel Valley Compost? What separates LVS from the crowd?

  • STA Certified: which means it meets the quality and consistency requirements of the US Composting Council
  • PA Certified Organic
  • Stored indoors.
  • Screened and Dry
  • Consistent recipe = consistent reliable performance
  • DNREC and PennDOT Approved
  • Punctual delivery for wholesale clients
  • Widely distributed through garden centers for homeowners

At Laurel Valley Soils, we specialize in providing the exact product you need, including creating custom engineered soil blends.  Whether you are looking for straight compost, compost-enriched topsoil, or blends for bio-retention basins, rain gardens or any other need, we have the skill, expertise and experience to meet all your project requirements.

© 2022 Laurel Valley Soils. A subsidiary of Laurel Valley Farms, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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