Dirty dirt?

Hi! I have an area where we pulled down an old, decrepit metal garage the previous owners had. I know for a fact that nothing had been done in that garage for at least 30 years, but the floor is dirt, and I have no knowledge of what went on there 31plus years ago, although suspect they stored coal there and did basic auto and hobby work out there.

I am asking if I can confidentally plant veggies in that plot. In other words, would old spilled motor oil "go through" the roots and make the food bad?

I don't feel like I'm explaining this well, but you get my drift, right? As it is, I've just got some annuals there.

I don't think I would plant food in that dirt - not without getting it tested. The stuff they used 30 years ago is much more toxic than the stuff they use nowadays, and I just wouldn't take a chance. You could also ask places that do industrial cleanup what they think.

Razzie, If they haven't done anything in there for 30 years I doubt that much harmful material could remain, if there was any to begin with.
However to be sure, a test would not hurt.
Also you could add as much organic matter as you can get a hold of, turn it all into the soil and let the composting process purify the soil.
I would let the soil lay fallow for at least a year so that the sun and the rain can do their work,
Keep adding organic matter and you will have a wonderful garden.
Sincerely, Josephine.

I should have mentioned...we removed the first foot of it and used it to grade around the foundation of the house. Thanks for your opinions!!
: )

I would get the soil tested for hydrocarbons and heavy metals like lead before planting anything that is going to be used for food. Those sorts of things would remain in the soil for quite some time if they ever got into it. But there's no reason you can't try planting a flower bed there :-)

Green grass or flowers without a test but if you get a test and find bad things there you may be required to remove it. Spreading it all around your house has just increased the removal cost ten fold.

Chances are because the site was covered by a roof any contaimanates did not go deep if the demolition took place at a dry time but that also means the dirt you moved has the bulk of the contaminates if any.

Without a good professional representive sampling you just are playing with a loaded gun. Ernie

How dangerous can it be if we are not eating anything grown in it? What kind of bad things are we talking about? I mean, this was a basically a lawnmower/car garage.

The main potential contaminants would be hydrocarbons from oils, gasoline, etc. There could also be heavy metals like lead (leaded gasoline). People tend to store many toxic chemicals in their garages - paints, cleaners, herbicides, rodent poisons, antifreeze, windshield washer fluid, etc. So there is always the possibility that something like that had been spilled. Of course there's also the possibility that nothing much got spilled and the soil is fine.

Of course, none of those chemicals are good for the environment if they get into the soil. But the main potential dangers would come from eating plants that accumulate the heavy metals or from eating root crops that actually have some of the soil sticking to them. Children playing also tend to ingest some soil - accidentally or on purpose. So you likely wouldn't want to put a vegetable garden or a children's sandbox/playground on that site without first finding out whether or not the soil is contaminated.

would those bad things dissapate in time? This garage hadn't been used in over 25 years.

Hydrocarbons might break down very slowly over time, once exposed to the elements and to certain plants and bacteria. Heavy metals would not break down. The most they would do is wash deeper into the soil, potentially below the root zone, or be bound so tightly to the soil that plant roots would not be able to extract them.