Chapter 329 Preparing for Spring Ploughing
It took me half a day to move all the tomatoes and peppers in the basement to the ground. I filled the clay pots with soil, transplanted the vegetable and fruit plants with intact root systems into the pots, and then brought them into the house to place them there.
The floor heating in the house is still burning, and the temperature inside remains at around 15 or 16 degrees, which is very suitable for plant growth.
Originally there were only a dozen strawberry seedlings, which were then propagated using runners. I thought that the weather was cold and the strawberry roots might not grow very healthily.
But after they dug out the seedlings grown from runners, they unexpectedly discovered that the root systems were very strong, and did not look like seedlings grown from runners at all.
Zhao Yeqing held up a thickest strawberry seedling and shook it proudly in front of Mu Xi's eyes: "Look at my skills. Although I didn't take good care of the tomatoes this winter, look at my strawberries. My planting skills are already good enough to make money."
Strawberries grown with organic fertilizers are better than those grown with chemical fertilizers. Not only do they not burn the seedlings, but the plants also grow stronger and the fruits are sweeter.
If these need to be moved to open fields for planting, the base fertilizer must also be laid well.
Speaking of fertilizer, Zhao Yeqing thought of the manure that had not been moved out of the breeding basement. After the weather turned cold and snowed, the manure could no longer be piled in the open air. Not only would it not be able to decompose, it would also be frozen hard.
When it first started snowing, the two of them cleaned out the manure from the basement of the livestock farm and moved it to the barn on the ground.
Later, I found that it still didn't work, so I built a large wooden compost box under the exhaust fan of the breeding basement. The manure that was cleaned out every time was piled in it. The temperature in the basement was relatively high, so the manure could continue to decompose after being covered with plastic cloth and sealed.
Of course, later when the temperature was minus 60 or 70 degrees Celsius, the manure could not be decomposed, so the two of them could only move the undecomposed manure outdoors and freeze it.
This way it won't stink and won't get bugs.
Now that the temperature is gradually rising, I don’t know whether the thawed manure can still be used, or whether it will grow insects and mold.
To be on the safe side, the two men finally poured two sacks of frozen manure down the gentle slope.
The amount of manure in the basement is barely enough for the first round of base fertilizer spread after plowing the grain and vegetable fields.
I'm afraid that subsequent top dressing will not be able to keep up, unless the amount of food for livestock is increased and restored to the previous level.
But in this case, there will definitely not be enough feed at home. Even if you are willing to spend time cutting grass in the woods after the spring, there may not be grass growing in the woods.
After this extreme cold and polar night, it may not be possible to rely on nature in the short term, so we still have to find a way to solve the problem ourselves.
Mu Xi moved all the strawberries to the corner and was teaching the dogs not to bite them. When he heard Zhao Yeqing was worried about this, he reminded him:
"Did you forget that before we built the new toilet, most of the fertilizer in the old toilet's septic tank had to be used up?"
Zhao Yeqing's cleanliness obsession is such that he would never look back after going to the toilet, and he had long forgotten the existence of the septic tank.
After being reminded by Mu Xi, she suddenly realized it, and then immediately said: "Then the job of topdressing will be left to you."
"Okay, not only top dressing, but also base fertilizer and so on will be given to me. You don't have to do anything with it."
Zhao Yeqing didn't find the animal feces disgusting, especially the sheep pen, which was cleaned up without any burden at all. Usually when the two of them cleaned together, Zhao Yeqing was responsible for the sheep pen, while the cowshed, pigpen, chicken coop and stable were left to Mu Xi.
Cleaning the toilet is naturally Mu Xi's job.
Mu Xi had no objection to this arrangement, but every time he came out of the toilet, even if he had washed his hands, Zhao Yeqing would make him take a shower before entering the house.
Mu Xi, who had just finished taking a shower and then remembered to clean the toilet, said helplessly: "I just finished taking a shower, and besides, I was going to clean the toilet, not to roll around in the toilet."
"No, it's diaphragmatic."
I had no choice but to shower again and change clothes before going into the house.
Zhao Yeqing didn't know why she couldn't change her bad habit. The main reason was that the dry toilets in the countryside were really dirty and smelly. Fortunately, she had Mu Xi. If she had to live alone on the meadow and have to clean the toilets and septic tanks, she would rather choose to go out to the woods to solve the problem.
After Zhao Yeqing finished speaking, Mu Xi deliberately frightened her: "Then I encountered a python as thick as an arm..."
......
Mu Xi, who was locked outside the door, obediently went to the basement to bring up the rotted manure.
The barn is now full of animals, so the manure that has been brought up cannot be piled inside. It can only continue to be piled in the original composting area and covered with plastic sheeting to keep it warm.
The snow in the yard has been cleared, so there is no need to worry about the snow melting after a while and the melted snow water wetting the manure.
—
January 23, 3039
The temperature on the meadow finally stabilized above zero degrees, and the snow that had covered the entire meadow for a whole year began to melt.
When the snow is melting, the perceived temperature will be colder than usual. The accumulated snow absorbs heat and melts. After melting, the humidity increases. Even though there is bright sunshine above your head, the air is icy cold.
As if to compensate for such a long night, the sun hangs diligently above our heads every day since dawn.
If it is cloudy when the snow melts, the melted snow water will freeze at night.
However, recently during the day, the sun has been shining on the meadow from morning to night, the temperature of the entire ground has risen, and the knee-deep snow has melted in just five days.
The earthquake that the two were worried about did not happen this year, but after the snow melted, they heard a loud noise, which should be the collapse of a mountain somewhere nearby.
The rumbling sound echoed throughout the valley, making it difficult to tell the direction.
After the beginning of spring, all their energy should be focused on the three-acre land at home, and they will not go to the woods again for a short time. By the time they finish their housework and have time to go to the woods, the soft soil must have been trampled by animals or compacted by the passage of time.
After the snow melts, the grain fields and vegetable fields become moist and soft, and farming work at this time will be more efficient.
The bull and the calf born the year before last have grown up. Both cows can be dragged to the fields to do farming work. The cow that just gave birth is still in the milk-producing period, so let it rest at home first.
To get the two oxen to work together, they needed a second plow.
This thing is not available in tourist areas, and its cultivation is prohibited in tourist areas. Most herdsmen dare to quietly open a small vegetable plot at home and grow some daily vegetables. If you want to get a second plow, you still have to go to the village at the foot of the mountain.
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