During this time, people in Peach Blossom Spring were busy tidying up the harvested farmland.
They organized able-bodied men to haul the composted fertilizer from the farm to the fields to help improve the soil.
Currently, in addition to more than 2,000 mu of sweet potatoes and potatoes, there are also more than 100 mu of cotton growing in the land.
I don't know if it's a problem with the cotton seeds, the soil, or some other issue with farm management.
The cotton plants on these 100-plus acres are not growing well; the cotton bolls are constantly falling off in large quantities.
Even if a cotton boll can sit up steadily, it will never grow bigger.
After discovering this problem, Li Lanzhen immediately planted all ten acres of land in the space with cotton.
Plant several times to save enough cotton seeds, so that you can use the cotton seeds planted in the space in the fields of Peach Blossom Spring next year.
Let's see how the cotton harvest goes next year.
Zhang Deshui spends his days wandering around in paddy fields and dry land with his hands behind his back.
Then, every day she would nag at the dinner table like Xianglin's wife.
“I think the temperature here is just right. It’s such a waste to leave so much land empty. Let’s plant another batch of wheat.”
His words were immediately stopped by everyone.
"Let's not do it this way. This is the first time we've grown grain in Peach Blossom Spring."
We haven't fully grasped the relationship between the temperature here and the growth and ripening cycle of crops.
"Let's not waste the grain seeds." Han Shunde stopped him.
Han Dazhong also said, "Yes, let Zhang Songshan's nephew continue to record the temperature and changes in the surrounding vegetation."
When the winter slack season arrives, we'll discuss the planting time and number of crop rotations for next year based on our records.
Looking at the idle paddy fields and dry land, Li Lanzhen felt it was a pity that they had been abandoned.
She suddenly had the idea to scatter a row of sunflower seeds in the space.
Based on the growth time of plants in the space, if planted in this field, they would mature in about 80 days.
Perhaps these seeds are early-maturing sunflower seeds.
So, looking at Zhang Deshui, who always had a gloomy face, and then at everyone else, he spoke up.
"How about we try planting a batch of sunflowers?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Deshui's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Great! Let's plant sunflowers. We can roast them and eat them, or we can press them for oil."
"Sunflowers, I wonder if they'll mature before the snow and temperature drop?" Han Shunde wasn't as radical as Zhang Deshui; he had to be responsible to the village chief. Speaking of which...
Zhang Deshui quickly glared at him.
“I think it’s a good idea. Let’s plant several hundred acres of sunflowers there.”
Li Lanzhen nodded; she still had great faith in the sunflower seeds produced by the space.
"Okay, let's try planting 500 mu first."
Han Dazhong looked at Li Lanzhen with a worried expression.
"Lanzhen, the cotton we planted on these 100-plus mu of land doesn't look good."
I'm afraid we won't be able to harvest much cotton this winter.
When he mentioned it, everyone thought of the more than 100 acres of cotton that looked listless all day.
Zhang Deshui also had a bitter face, "It's just that, strangely enough, this land is neither extremely fertile nor barren."
Why is it that my cotton plants just aren't growing well?
Every morning when I go to check, there are peaches on the ground.
Some peaches were filled with whitish cotton.
It's such a pity that the cotton bolls fell to the ground before they were fully open!
Li Lanzhen thought for a moment, and the land was right next to the river.
"Could there be stones under the soil? That might be hindering the growth of the cotton roots, causing them to not grow well."
“That’s impossible. When we were clearing the land, we used iron plows to deeply till it,” Zhang Deshui explained. “Why don’t we try planting it in a different place next year and see how it grows?”
It was agreed that more than 500 acres of sunflowers would be planted in Peach Blossom Spring.
After dinner that evening, Han Shunde made the arrangements.
The next day, adults and children gathered again on the selected 500-plus acres of land and began planting sunflowers.
Sunflowers are quite easy to grow.
The land had been plowed and dried in the sun; only the field ridges were raised to divide the large fields into smaller plots.
This will facilitate subsequent watering and weeding management.
The soil moisture in this area is very good, so there is no need to irrigate it in advance.
Two people work together. The person in front digs a hole with a farm tool, and the person behind throws in three sunflower seeds and then covers them with a thin layer of soil with their feet.
Three days later, the sunflower seeds were sown in the ground.
When the sunflowers had grown three leaves, the sunflower field was watered for the first time.
The sunflower stalks grew strong, and then the adults and children went into the ground once again.
Begin thinning the seedlings, leaving only one strong sunflower seedling in each hole, and pulling out one or two other sunflower seedlings.
The sunflower seedlings that were pulled up were not wasted; each household took a share and planted them in every corner of their yard.
Each family has a yard, with land in both the front and back yards used for growing vegetables.
Many families grow sweet potatoes in their backyards.
After cutting sweet potato vines from the field, you can take them home and plant them in your own yard, where they will grow vigorously.
Perhaps people are so afraid of going hungry that they always want to grow things that can fill their stomachs.
In Li Lanzhen's front yard, there was a pomegranate tree, and in the corners of the vegetable garden in front, flowers of various colors were planted.
Some of the herbs were medicinal herbs that Han Yanmei collected from the mountains. Because they had beautiful flowers, she planted them in the yard. There were also mosquito-repellent plants.
Some of the flowers were found by Li Lanzhen in the mountains.
The flowers she found were either large or brightly colored.
Li Lanzhen found more than a dozen kinds of orchids in the mountains.
After returning home, I planted all the orchids in ceramic jars.
She had three potted plants on her windowsill in her own room.
In May, the orchids actually bloomed.
Later, Xuan Shen saw this and, seeing that he liked Li Lanzhen, brought him three pots of orchids.
After venturing into the deep mountains once again, Li Lanzhen found more than a dozen kinds of orchids and gave them all to Bai Houpu and the Crown Prince.
As for how they planted them, she didn't care.
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