I don't understand where you might have gotten the impression that crude is somehow a magic potion for soil life. The sites of oil spills aren't suddenly more robustly and profusely lush and fertile. The petroleum cost of agriculture has to do with shipping, operating equipment, and petroleum-derived chemical sprays and fertilizers. They don't spray crude on the soil.
As for Terra Preta, there are more complete places to read about the ongoing discussion, from history to modern practice and the future, of the story of terra preta and biochar, right here on this site. I will just summarise by saying that the people that were responsible for terra preta kept midden heaps, basically big mounds of trash, which for them was largely biomass. In their environment, it would dry out sufficiently to burn, which they did to decrease mass, and probably to eliminate a variety of risks, from smell to pests, and they would spread the char around to make room for more garbage. This built up in the soil over time.
But they had no petroleum-derived materials.
If I wanted to improve the soil on any random piece of degraded land, I would add carbon through chipped or shredded biomass. If they were plentiful, I would have woodchips dumped regularly, or if I could source organic, uncontaminated straw. I would brew
compost extracts and fungal slurries, probably winecap and/or oyster mushrooms, and that would improve my soil fertility, along with seeding it with something so that living roots could improve the soil conditions.
If you want more information about what makes soil healthy and how to do it yourself, our very own Dr. Bryant Redhawk has an
Epic Soil Wiki full of his threads on a variety of soil-building and soil health issues. I encourage you to spend some time reading through whatever looks interesting and pertinent to you. I'm sure you'll catch the bug.
Also, if you'd like the membership to chime in with opinions and suggestions, you could tell us what the conditions are where you are, and who you are, and what you're looking to do. If you're talking about a specific piece of land, you could even post pictures. I know I'd love to see.
But let us know how you proceed, and good luck.
-CK
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
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I thought perhaps biochar soaked with crude, or something... something needs to be done here!
