@cwhitt, allow me to explain. The main ingredient in the Terra Preta is the charcoal. The charcoal absorbs nutrients in the soil, and whenever water hits the charcoal, it lets some of those nutrients out, fertilizing the plants.
The charcoal is a porous material, according to my research, one of the problems with Terra Preta and putting charcoal in the soil right away is it takes longer to absorb the nutrients in the soil, thus longer to let the nutrients out, and fertilize the plants. An easy way to overcome this is to take the charcoal, and let it sit in a compost tea, or fertilizer water for 2 to 4 weeks. The charcoal will absorb the nutrients, and it will store the nutrients. When you water the soil, and water hits the charcoal, it will let some of those nutrients out, thus fertilizing the plant.
So, what I would do is I would take the charcoal, let it soak in a compost tea or fertilizer water, then, when it absorbs a lot of nutrients, which the time can vary, you take out the charcoal, then you add it to the compost pile.
That's what I would do.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me.
Jared
