23. Plant pumpkins
You should know that if you fail to pay rent to the school within a certain period of time, your land will be taken back.
Su Liu nodded vigorously, indicating that he must grow pumpkins.
Pumpkin can be a vegetable or a staple food. It can be eaten in many ways and is very filling.
Gray's dissuasion was ineffective, so he went to get pumpkin seeds for her.
Su Liu was tinkering with the newly acquired land alone.
Pumpkin is easy to grow and is not very demanding on the soil environment. However, if you want to grow delicious and high-yielding pumpkins, it is best to choose fertile sandy loam.
Sandy loam has good air permeability and water permeability, which is conducive to the breathing of pumpkin roots and allows them to absorb more nutrients and water after rapid expansion.
However, after Su Liu checked the soil, she discovered that not only was the soil and water in her new land quite poor, but it was also heavy clay soil that was the least suitable for pumpkins, which was exactly the opposite of the sandy soil by the river.
The so-called heavy clay soil is very sticky and not loose, and has poor aeration, so it is not easy to improve it.
However, I have already chosen the pumpkin, how embarrassing would it be to regret it?
Immediately, Su Liu went to the management office to ask for lime.
The administrator was puzzled. "Why do you need lime if you're just farming?"
Is there something wrong with this new guy's brain?
Su Liu said, "I just want some lime. Where can I get it?"
The administrator said, "I don't have it here anyway, you can only look for it somewhere else."
Su Liu had no choice but to ask somewhere else, but after spending the whole afternoon, he still couldn't find it.
When she returned to the dormitory in the evening, Yan Ziyan came to visit while eating snacks.
"Liuliu, why are you as tired as an old lady in her seventies today?"
Su Liu collapsed on the bed. "I just want some lime. I've been running around everywhere but can't find any."
"What do you want lime for?"
“To improve the soil quality.”
Yan Ziyan was puzzled, but she still helped her find a solution, "Then you can go to the building materials market or a construction site to have a look."
Su Liu also considered it, but after searching, she found that the nearest building materials market to the school was three or four hours' walk away, and that was only for a one-way trip.
The same goes for the construction site. The construction site is very far away, and if she walks there, her injured leg will be completely disabled.
I don't have the money to take the bus.
Yan Ziyan was amused by her poor smile. "Then I'll take you there on the weekend. I have a motorcycle."
Su Liu was extremely moved, "Zi Yan, you are such a great person!"
There was half a day of free time on the weekend. Yan Ziyan dressed up as a female motorcycle rider, rode a very cool heavy-duty interstellar motorcycle, and took Su Liu for a ride in the wind.
After arriving at the construction site, the two men got dozens of kilograms of lime and mixed it into the soil when they returned.
Yan Ziyan was so tired that her back ached. "Will this really improve the soil quality?"
"Of course," Su Liu, fully armed with gloves and a mask, said as he worked, "The soil is too sticky. Adding an appropriate amount of lime can reduce the stickiness of the soil and increase the soil pH, making it more suitable for growing pumpkins."
Yan Ziyan really couldn't understand this operation, but seeing Su Liu busying himself, she inexplicably felt that this would really be effective.
Just adding lime is not enough. This land is too poor and has no nutrients at all. The pumpkins grown here will definitely be low-yielding and taste bad.
Su Liu ran to his land near the river and dug a lot of sandy soil using the imported soil method to expand the soil pores, reduce adhesion, and improve the soil's air permeability and drainage.
After improving the soil, we started sowing seeds, and we were busy as hell.
Soon, the results of the second monthly exam came out, and everyone in the dormitory stood in front of the list to find their ranking.
Su Liu did not control the score this time because she was afraid that if she controlled it too much, she would be out of the top ten.
So as expected, it still ranked first, and was more than 100 points higher than the second place.
Yan Ziyan is in the top 100 this time, which is a good result for her. At least she doesn’t have to sweep the pigpen every day anymore.
Rosa and the others were a little disappointed with their rankings, especially Lan Xianger. She had spent several all-nighters reviewing, but she still didn't make it into the top ten.
Holding her books tightly, Lan Xiang'er said, "Next time, next time I will definitely be in the top ten!"
"That's not bad," Rosa said, putting her arm around her shoulders. "At least we can go to the cafeteria on the third floor. Remember to bring us some delicious food, just like Liuliu did."
After the exam, there was a short period of relaxation. While others were shopping and watching movies, Su Liu was busy planting pumpkins in the fields.
Rosa and Lan Xianger stayed to help Su Liu water and fertilize the plants.
There is also a pit in the pumpkin field, which is also used by Su Liu for composting. It contains not only poultry and livestock manure, but also some rotten plants, which become natural organic fertilizer after fermentation.
The sun was scorching, Lan Xiang'er was sweating profusely, and her glasses were stained.
She squatted by the pit for a while, pinched her nose and asked, "Liuliu, is there really fertilizer in this pit of yours?"
"It's a very traditional fertilizer, made by fermenting feces and plants. But for some reason, this method is not used in Interstellar." Su Liu flipped through the four years of textbooks in the Department of Planting, but had never seen this kind of composting method.
Rosa was digging and loosening the soil. Upon hearing this, she stopped and rested her foot on the hoe to catch her breath.
"There's a rumor back home that in ancient farming culture, animal feces were used for fermentation and irrigation. But honestly, isn't it disgusting to think about eating something that's been watered with feces?"
Su Liu understands the thoughts of contemporary people, but still insists on his own opinions.
"As the saying goes, a good crop depends on its manure. We need to use nutrient solution, and we can't abandon the traditional natural composting method."
In terms of interstellar farming, planting experts have invented thousands of nutrient solutions.
It is indeed rich in nutrients, but most of them cannot change the physical composition of the soil. Long-term use will cause the loss of microorganisms and the soil may become acidic.
Traditional composting also has disadvantages, namely, bacterial growth, which can easily damage plant roots, increase the number of insect eggs in the soil, and produce toxic gases if the fermentation is immature.
In general, for poor people like Su Liu who cannot afford to buy nutrient solution, piled up fermented animal manure is the most suitable natural fertilizer.
Coming out of the field, Su Liu asked, "Zi Yan went to sweep the pigpen again?"
"Yeah, for no reason, she wants to sweep the pigpen without any pay. What's the point?" Rosa was puzzled.
Su Liu didn't say anything.
In the eyes of her roommates, Yan Ziyan went there alone.
But she knew that it was the principal Yan Yi who sent Yan Ziyan over because he was dissatisfied with her test results.
Although it was unfair to Yan Ziyan to think this way, Su Liu thought that she would not lack fertilizer in the short term.
Lan Xiang'er was about to speak when the silver bracelet on her hand jingled.
She pressed the decorative buckle on the bracelet, and a blue screen popped up.
"A message has been sent in the group, asking the top 50 students from the Planting Department to report to the dean's office."
Twenty minutes later, Su Liu and Lan Xiang'er stood in the corridor outside the office.
Fifty people have arrived, and because the office can't accommodate them, many are waiting outside.
The students were all whispering to each other, and Su Liu also asked, "Guess what it is?"
Lan Xiang'er pushed her glasses and said in a voice that no one else could hear, "According to tradition, it's probably a fit test."
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