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#soil

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Engineering and Landscaping Advice

I want to replace an old planter made from pressure-treated landscaping timbers, and positioned against the concrete foundation of my home, with a mortarless concrete block retaining wall. The soil in the neighborhood has high clay content and shifts around, which is evident from fractures and waves in the concrete block retaining walls that others have installed as do-it-yourself projects. On the other hand, I have seen commercial retaining walls along streets and in shopping centers that seem to remain in good condition. Now, I’m too old for this project and intend to hire someone to do it for me. My questions:

1. Are the solid and stable retaining walls I see at commercial locations that way because they have concrete foundations and/or soil that has been adequately compressed with a plate compactor? If so, can I expect to obtain such a result at home without spending a fortune?

2. How do I find a reputable person to build a retaining wall? What kind of credentials should they have? What questions should I ask them?

#Engineering #Landscaping #DoItYourself
#RetainingWall #Geology #Soil

🧵 1/ My first school room in #nature was a loose rock in a dry stone wall: cronenburg.net/naturematchcuts

For many years I missed some species of that #soilLife until I built a box for making photos. Home to #woodlice and their roommates to show people the adventures happening in #compost and being able to photograph better. At irregular intervals, I'll take you on a tour, as for all things nature without #CW.*

What's the best way to boost organic matter in soil, aka lock up carbon to counter #climatechange?

Plus soil fertility and resilience to drought!

*mulch (not stone or gravel)
* don't till
*cover crops
* leave lawn clippings and leaves
* replace lawn with clover
* replace annuals with perennials
*compost everything
*let wetlands be wetlands

What am I missing? Please add your ideas!

Forest #trees and #microbes choreograph their hunt for a balanced diet under elevated CO2 birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/for

"In conditions mimicking a future atmosphere, 180-year-old #EnglishOaks traded-off do it yourself ways to access nutrients with outsourcing to #soil microbes... a 63% increase in the release of a cocktail of small organic molecules early in spring and autumn, which prime soil microbes to release nutrients... a 17% increase in the amount of symbiotic root-associated #fungi in autumn"

Something truly #precious on our planet: fertile #soil made from solid mature cow dung #manure, resting in the railings beneath willow trees and a towering cyclopean wall. Nettles, dandelions, sorrel, and Lincolnshire spinach thrive in this rich, nurturing earth.
Last year, we spread a few tractor loads of aged manure from the road above. The location seems perfect for composting situated in the semi-shade under the trees, which shed their leaves in autumn, providing natural protection to the compost throughout the winter and food for the earthworms in spring.

#Sustainability #HealthySoil #compost #blacksoil #greenplanet

Did someone bury a tiny lemon?

Nope, this is an earthworm cocoon!

After mating, both earthworms will produce a cocoon like this (they're hermaphrodites), containing a fertilised egg. Inside, a baby earthworm will grow, before hatching out the end like a tiny pink noodle. Inside the cocoons, wormlings are protected from drought, flooding and low oxygen conditions, and will hatch when conditions are good again!

An excellent resource from #EcoMaine!

#FoodWaste and #Composting

"Did you know that almost a third of what we throw away is leftover or spoiled food? If Maine is to achieve a 50% recycling rate, we need to recover our food waste, too – it’s worth the weight!

"ecomaine added food waste recycling to our sustainable waste management solutions in order to help Maine reach its recycling goal. We continue to build food waste recycling capacity in southern Maine, serving as a central collection point for grocery stores, institutions, and participating cities and towns.

"Collected food waste is transported to #ExeterME’s #AgriEnergy [#AgricycleEnergy] to be de-packaged and anaerobically digested to produce sustainable power, organic farm #fertilizer, and cow bedding for the #Maine family dairy farm #StonyvaleFarm. Any packaging removed from the food waste is delivered back to ecomaine to be burned for energy—keeping all of it out of our #landfills!

"By making #composting, anaerobic digestion, and food waste recycling so easy, we encourage our communities to dispose of their waste responsibly.

"For more on compost that’s 'Worth The Weight,' check out our informational pamphlet!

#BackyardComposting

"Backyard composting is one of the easiest ways to keep organic material out of the trash. It also has some other great advantages:

- It doesn’t weigh your trash down as much.
- It doesn’t get into ecomaine‘s waste-to-energy plant, making our combustion more damp and less efficient.
- It’s easy – and “grass-cycling” (leaving clippings on the lawn) is better for your grass!
- It saves Maine’s towns money on collection and hauling.
- And it saves YOU money on trash bags!

"There are no trucks or driving involved – no carbon emissions! You just walk it out to your bin, and that’s it.

"In the end, composting produces rich #soil for flower and vegetable #gardens – without paying for it (again) at the store.

Drop Off Locations

"If you’re looking for a compost drop-off location, instead of putting it in your backyard, here are a few… If you know of one that’s not here, let us know! (Some facilities may be for residents only; we advise calling ahead if you’re not sure.)

[I've found that transfer stations are usually residents only...]

#BridgtonME Transfer Station
118 Sandy Creek Rd, Bridgton, ME, USA

#BrownfieldME Transfer Station
Pequawket Trail, Brownfield, ME, USA

#CapeElizabethME Recycling Center
10 Cooper Dr, Cape Elizabeth, ME, USA

#EliotME Recycling Center
468 Dow Highway, Eliot, ME, USA

#FalmouthME Community Park
Winn Rd, Falmouth, ME, USA

#FalmouthME Transfer Station
100 Woods Rd, Falmouth, ME, USA

#FalmouthME Village Park
22 Hat Trick Drive, Falmouth, ME

#FreeportME Recycling Center
100 Landfill Road, Freeport, ME, USA

#NorthYarmouthME Town Hall / #SamRistichNatureTrail, North Yarmouth, ME, USA

#PortlandME: #BoydStreet #CommunityGarden
2 Boyd Street, Portland, ME

Portland: #BrentwoodFarms Community Garden
Brentwood Street, Portland, ME

Portland: #Libbytown Community Garden
175 Douglass Street, Portland, ME

Portland: #NorthStreetCommunityGarden
195 North Street, Portland, ME

Portland: Parkside/King Middle School
In the back of the school near the Fitzpatrick Stadium parking lot
92 Deering Avenue, Portland, ME

Portland: #PaysonPark Community Garden
Dropoff located on Front Street.
Front Street, Portland, Maine

Portland: #ReicheSchool
Dropoff is on the Clark Street side.
166 Brackett Street, Portland, ME

Portland: #Riverton Community Garden
45 Verrill Street, Portland, Maine

#SacoME Dept. of Public Works
15 Phillips Spring Road, Saco, ME

Saco Parks & Rec
75 Franklin St, Saco, ME, USA

#ScarboroughME Public Works Facility
20 Washington Avenue, Scarborough, ME, USA

#SouthPortlandME City Hall
25 Cottage Rd, South Portland, ME, USA

South Portland Code Enforcement Office
496 Ocean Street, South Portland, ME

South Portland Golf Course Maint. Building
221 Westbrook Street, South Portland, ME, USA

South Portland High School
637 Highland Avenue, South Portland, ME, USA

South Portland Transfer Station
929 Highland Ave, South Portland, ME, USA

South Portland: Redback Community Center
95 Macarthur Circle West, South Portland, ME

#StandishME Transfer Station
150 Moody Rd, Standish, ME, USA

#SurryME: #ChickadeeCompost
Jill's Lane, Surry, Maine www.chickadeecompost.com

#VinalhavenME Transfer Station
178 Round the Island Rd, Vinalhaven, ME, USA

#YarmouthME Transfer Station
659 East Main Street, Yarmouth, ME, USA

Curbside Collection

And if you’re really not into the backyard thing, there are some companies who will pick it up for you!

- #WeCompostIt! (Greater Portland)
- #GarbageToGarden (Greater Portland)
- #ScrapDogs (Greater #CamdenME-#RockportME)
- #MrFoxComposting (Southern Maine & #NH)
- #ProjectEarth (Lincoln County)
- #ChickadeeCompost (All of #BlueHillME Peninsula, #DeerIsleME, #EllsworthME)
- #OneEarth Composting (#HampdenME)
- #AgriCycle Energy (Collection from businesses & organizations for anaerobic digestion – all over!)

Other Compost Resources:

Maine Department of Environmental Protection
207-592-0455

University of Maine Cooperative Extension
207-581-3188

Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine – Food Recovery
207-581-3195

Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association [#MOGFA]
207-568-4142

#WormMainea
207-831-3752

#MainelyWorm Bins

#UncleJimsWormFarm
1-800-373-0555

Source (with links):
ecomaine.org/food-waste-and-co

#SolarpunkSunday #Composting #WormBins #ReducingWaste
#Landfills #Maine #WasteToEnergy

ecomaineFood Waste & Composting at our Facility - ecomaineInformation about composting and digestion of food and organic waste in ecomaine communities.

Handbook of Microplastic Pollution in the Environment: Microplastic Pollution in the Soil by Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, 2025

In this timely handbook, one of a series of three, leading contributors from around the world offer practical insight into the challenges and opportunities for using various technologies to tackle microplastic pollution and improve microplastic management in agricultural soil.

@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#environment
#pollution
#soil
#microplastics

Via #LosAngelesCounty Public Health:

Properties located downwind of, and just outside, the #EatonFire are prioritized for free #soil testing under this program.

Soil samples from properties located within the burn scar, downwind of, and just outside, the Eaton Fire area can be submitted for testing even though they may not fall within the squares on the map.

publichealth.lacounty.gov/medi

publichealth.lacounty.govLA County Department of Public Health