Chapter 55: Burning Straw
But this is all in the past, if nothing else, for a long time in the future, these eight acres of land can continue to produce high-quality cherry tomatoes, Lu Ci's previous efforts have not been in vain, it is time to enjoy the harvest.
Their ruby cherry tomatoes have a long plant lifespan, and the number of picks can be as many as 20 times, plus the effect of the electromagnetic force of the clouds, this number will definitely go up. However, due to the impact of hailstorms, it remains to be seen how long the plants of this batch of cherry tomatoes will live and how many times they can be picked.
Moving the baskets to the truck one by one, Sister-in-law Luo paid 27,000 yuan to Yunli in person, and then signed the purchase agreement, and the transaction was completed. After sending off Lao Luo and his wife, Xiaolushan and the others went to do their own things.
In the next two weeks, 20 acres of potato fields and 50 acres of corn fields were harvested one after another, and Xiaolushan entered the busiest time.
First of all, there are 20 acres of potato land, 10 acres of white-skinned potatoes and 10 acres of purple-hearted potatoes, and a total yield of more than 70,000 catties of 10 acres of white-skinned potatoes, and the yield of more than 7,000 catties per mu, and the rate of excellent products is as high as seventy, which is quite excellent.
The yield of purple heart potatoes is not bad, a total of about 50,000 catties, the rate of excellent products is close to sixty percent, it is a miracle, you must know that although this variety is rare, but the yield and excellent product rate are low This practical problem, many growers are blocked out, Yunli can make this achievement, it is indeed worth being proud of.
After several batches of planting experiments, Yunli has roughly figured out the growth characteristics of potatoes as a crop, and collected various aspects of the impact on its growth in the electromagnetic environment. With the improvement and enhancement of the wood magnetic array, the improvement of land fertilizer, and the appropriate environmental adjustment, Yunli can expect that the next batch of potatoes, whether it is yield or excellent product rate, will continue to increase, no worse than that in professional farms.
As for the fifty acres of corn, the average yield per mu is only two thousand, which is ordinary, but this is the achievement achieved in the barren land, which is enough to make Yunli satisfied.
This kind of yellow-fleshed sweet corn is a variety cultivated by Feng Yisong Company after improvement, characterized by tall plants, drought and wind resistance, sweet and crisp corn taste, whether it is boiled and eaten, or used to make vegetable soup, it is very suitable.
Another characteristic of this improved variety is that a maximum of four to five corn cobs can grow on a plant, and how much can be grown, depending on the planting environment, especially the fertility of the land.
Ordinary corn can only grow one or two corn cobs on a pole, and Yunli's batch of corn generally grows one or two on a pole, which can reach a yield of 2,000 catties per mu, mainly because he planted the plants very intensively and had the backing of fertilizer made of ryegrass, so he didn't have to worry about the amount of fertilizer, so he dared to do so.
It is planted intensively, not only for the sake of yield, but more importantly, Yunli needs this large amount of corn stalks to improve the fertility of the land in Xiaolushan. This straw is a good thing, when Lao Luo came to harvest corn, he specially asked Yun Li if the fifty acres of corn straw were sold, if he wanted to sell it, he had a market, but Yun Li politely refused.
The purchase price of corn is one dollar per catty, which is the price in many areas, and it has always been very stable, so there is nothing to worry about. The 50 acres of corn land were divided into several batches, and it took two weeks before the harvest was completed, and a total of 100,000 catties of corn were produced, which brought Yunli an income of 100,000 yuan, plus the income of 160,000 yuan from the 20 acres of potato land, excluding the purchase of seedlings and labor costs, this harvest brought him a full 200,000 yuan, not counting the eight acres of cherry tomatoes.
After the harvest is completed, the busy work is far from over, the corn stalks should take advantage of the good weather, all the harvest in the field, and so on after the scorching sun is dried, and then all burned, the grass ash produced after burning is an excellent natural fertilizer, which can greatly improve soil fertility after being integrated into the soil.
In recent years, many regions have begun to strictly prohibit this kind of straw burning, because the burning process produces a lot of inhalable particles, which leads to air pollution. However, in the southwest region, most farmlands still use this method to dispose of crop straw, for example, in Shanglu Village, the straw left over after the harvest on the terraces has to be burned in the end.
It's not that people don't want to deal with this matter in a more environmentally friendly way, but the cost of processing is too high, and it takes time and effort to turn these raw materials into fertilizer through industrial means, and it is not widely used here, so this is also a last resort.
When burning the straw, Yunli deliberately asked Xu Lin and them to burn it in batches, so as not to cause too much smoke at one time, and to choose when the wind blows towards Banlu Mountain, they will burn it, so as to reduce the impact on the surrounding farmers as much as possible. According to his calculations, after two or three more efforts, the fertility of the land here will be significantly improved, and then through the influence of Guò's special fertilizer and wood magnetic array, it will be enough to turn the soil quality of Xiaolushan from barren to fertile.
After burning the straw, the soil can be turned over immediately to start a new round of planting, and Yunli readjusted the planting plan for these seventy acres of land. The southwesternmost area, close to the cherry tomatoes, is used to grow cherry tomatoes, five acres of land are planted with the original variety of rubies, and the other five acres will be planted with another variety, called Jinzhu, which is named because of its bright yellow color like gold, and its characteristics are similar to rubies, and there is not much difference in taste, but the appearance gives people a more unique feeling.
Potato fields have always been the most stable source of income for Xiaolushan, and now the soil quality has been initially improved, so Yunli has also expanded the planting area to 30 acres, next to cherry tomatoes, and in terms of varieties, it has also made great adjustments.
Ten acres of purple heart potatoes were retained, and white-skinned potatoes were temporarily discarded and replaced by two other varieties, namely Atlantic potatoes and improved small potatoes, each with ten acres of land, and the seedlings were purchased from Feng Yisong's company, among which the price of improved small potatoes was the highest.
Atlantic potato is a variety introduced from the Americas, characterized by a large head and long round uniform, small and shallow bud eyes, mainly distributed at both ends, so that the whole potato skin is smooth and flat, it is very easy to process, the appearance is also very good, it is a very popular variety in the market, and the price is higher than that of white-skinned potatoes.
Contrary to the Atlantic potato, the improved small potato is characterized by being small and round, generally only the size of a ping-pong ball, very uniform, it is a variety modified by the space environment, and it is still in the promotion stage, the planting area is very small, and it is difficult to find it on the market. Yunli also took a lot of effort to get Feng Yisong to set aside ten acres of seedlings for him, which were originally specially supplied to professional farms, and ordinary growers couldn't get them at all.
The yield of improved small potatoes is not high, but the skin is crispy and the meat is tender, raw and sweet and delicious, after cooking or frying, the taste is soft and fragrant, very unique, now the small potatoes produced in China, most of them are exported to foreign countries, only some high-end restaurants or hotels, there is a small amount of supply, and the price is naturally not low.
The remaining thirty acres of land were still planted with yellow-fleshed sweet corn, and the planting density was also increased compared to the original, and there was enough supply of ryegrass fertilizer, coupled with the escort of the wood magnetic array, so that Yunli could boldly make a try.
In order to cope with the more complex planting environment in the future, Yunli introduced two kinds of fertilizer-making grasses, royal bamboo grass and nightshade grass, both of which have their own characteristics and can make up for the lack of ryegrass. In particular, nightshade grass, although it does not grow as well as ryegrass and imperial bamboo grass, can produce purple-black bean-sized fruits, whether it is used as fertilizer or to feed poultry, it is very suitable and can provide Yunli with more choices.
Nowadays, there is not much space left for these pastures in the area of Xiaolu Mountain, so Yunli can only sow them all into the hilly areas bordering Dalu Mountain to the south and let them grow freely. Although this is no longer the area in the contract, this does not involve planting matters, and Yunli consulted Xu Ping and confirmed that there was no problem, so he did this, anyway, this area is empty, it is better to let yourself add some greenery to it.
Over the past year or so, Xiaolu Mountain has undergone earth-shaking changes, which makes people marvel and praise at the same time, but also arouses many suspicions, why this young college student can repeatedly create zào miracles in this barren land, turning Xiaolu Mountain into a cornucopia that everyone envies.
These days, everyone still hasn't been able to peek into the mystery, but this young man does have his own uniqueness and admiration, not to mention anything else, from Xu Lin's mouth, you can also know that he is good at studying, using the most scientific methods to manage farmland, maybe it really fulfills the old saying, knowledge changes fate.
Except for the eight acres of cherry tomatoes, which are harvested every one to two weeks, the other fields are still seedlings, daily irrigation and weeding, regular fertilization, and everyone works together to manage the fields in an orderly manner.
Xu Lin was still in charge of the corn and potato fields, with Xu Bo and Li Bo assisting, and the newly planted ten acres of cherry tomatoes were naturally taken care of by Lu Ci. Although there is more Jinzhu variety, but over the past few days, her understanding of cherry tomato planting is no worse than Yunli, and with Shen Hong's help, it can be said that she is very ripe.
Shen Hong still manages the ten acres of vegetables and fruits, which is very easy for her, even if she often has to help Lu Ci take care of the cherry tomato plants, it doesn't take up much of her time. In addition to coming to Xiaolushan, she usually has some manual work to do at home, because her mother suffers from leg disease and often suffers from pain, so she can only take some manual work to do at home to make a living, and Shen Hong often has to help.
But she is a very hard-working person, and she is also very optimistic, Xiaolushan does not have much to do for her, so she found something to do by herself, and now next to the deep pool of the waterwheel, she built two small square bamboo houses with bamboo, and raised a group of chickens and ducklings, the number is not much, there are thirty or forty each, and it is a new member of Xiaolushan.