Welcome to Yardwork, a summer yard and garden miniseries from Outside/In. We’re sharing three stories about our relationships with the land around us: the front yard, the backyard, and down the block. This is part two.

Sometimes, when Maureen McMurray is digging in her backyard garden, she encounters something she didn’t expect: a lump of coal. She’s planted vegetables in the same soil for a few years now. But as she prepared for an upcoming growing season, she wondered: is her homegrown produce poisoning her family?

The answer is nicer than you might think.

Featuring Maureen McMurray, Nate Bernitz, and Ganga Hettiarachchi. 

SUPPORT

Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. 

Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.

Follow Outside/In on Instagram + Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook

LINKS

Find your state’s cooperative extension and soil testing service in this directory.

Cornell Small Farms Program offers a guide to soil contamination, including ranges of safe levels, with the caveat that toxicity depends on factors like soil texture, pH, and organic matter. 

The EPA’s primer to lead in soil.

More information on managing the health risks of lead in New Hampshire soils from the UNH Cooperative Extension. 

This open source paper goes even deeper on issues of urban gardening, soil contamination, and public awareness.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Justine Paradis

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Additional editing help from Nate Hegyi, Felix Poon, Rebecca Lavoie and Jessica Hunt. 

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Title art and photo: Justine Paradis

Special thanks to Tom Lemien, Anna Paltseva, and Jim Garvin.

Music by Walt Adams, Nul Tiel Records, Alexandra Woodward, Martin Gauffin, Blue Dot Sessions, and Arthur Benson.

Outside/In theme by Breakmaster Cylinder

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio