To start a 12 foot roof extension to shade the South side of my house I cut off the roof overhang which stretched out over my oldest garden bed. The dirt there is just about perfect for growing. I planned to dig out the soil and move it to a new raised bed across the yard, but got ahead of myself in the demolition.

The removal of the soffit boards opened two feet of eaves ten inches thick and twenty feet wide and that space was packed with twenty year old blown in cellulose insulation (shredded newspapers). I have no idea whatsoever who made the insulation fill. Aside from some expected "contamination" from old-style inks, I can't get consistent info on what might be in the shreds. Borax/boric acid and other fire retardants, for sure, but fungicides? Termiticides? Chlorides? It's getting tromped into what used to be some very clean soil.