Yu Shen, who had finished his work, came to see Zhou Nan, and heard Zhou Nan talk about the method of managing the fields, which could be effective in one year and harvest in two years, and seemed to believe it like these farmers.

Looking at the puzzled eyes of Yu Shen and the others, Zhou Nan no longer concealed it, and said: "The field is salty, and it is not a single method that can work, let alone a day's work." Only when the law is in place can the results be seen day by day. You must have also seen that in this salty and wet wasteland, not a single grass grows, but there are also goldenrod and artemisia salina growing, do you know the reason? ”

"The little ones don't know." The farmers shook their heads and said.

"All things in the world have the principle of mutual restraint, golden cauliflower and artemisia salina can grow on the salty wetland, and they can naturally restrain the saltiness and wetness in the field." Plants such as alfalfa and artemisia salina can grow in saline-alkali land, of course, because these plants can adapt to the environment of saline-alkali land, that is, they can absorb all kinds of salt in saline-alkali land. This is what Zhou Nan suddenly remembered when he heard the village chief talk about the wild vegetables he ate on weekdays. In later generations, the treatment of saline-alkali land is not a solution that can be solved by one method alone. Even if future generations can produce various fertilizers, the treatment of saline-alkali land still depends more on the change of the ecosystem. Growing salt-tolerant plants such as alfalfa and artemisia salina in saline-alkali land is one of the best methods.

Moreover, planting these salt-tolerant plants has the advantage of not only treating saline-alkali land, but also serving as pasture for sheep. Because these plants contain crude protein, crude fiber, high nutritional value, alfalfa is known as the "king of pasture", all kinds of livestock love to eat, and the yield is high, used to raise pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, feed out of the poultry meat is tender, the meat is delicious. This is also the reason why the village chief said that the sheep here are delicious.

To control saline-alkali land, in addition to planting these salt-tolerant plants that absorb the salt of the field, a large amount of organic fertilizer is also needed to fertilize the field. There were also no ready-made fertilizers in this era, only manure. And manure is exactly what is most needed in saline-alkali land. Saline-alkali land is not a lack of mineral nutrients, but the mineral nutrients in saline-alkali land cannot be well absorbed by plants due to land compaction and other reasons, resulting in the appearance that the field is barren and cannot be cultivated. If the organic fertilizer content of the field is increased, the fertilizer retention capacity of the field is improved, and the alkalinity of the soil is alleviated, the improvement of saline-alkali land can be promoted. This is also the reason why Zhou Nan attaches importance to the method of fertilizing the fields that the Yizhou farmer said.

In this way, a simple virtuous circle can be formed on saline-alkali land: planting alfalfa and salt-wormwood seeds in saline-alkali land can not only absorb all kinds of salt in the field, but also use the grown alfalfa and salt-wormwood seeds to feed sheep; The concentration of sheep manure in the ground can further improve the alkalinity of the land. These saline-alkali lands are not suitable for growing crops now, but it is suitable to grow these alfalfa and salt-wormwood seeds. The sheep fed in this way are also a harvest.

This is only the first step in the treatment of saline land. The second step is to start planting rice on the basis of the previous one, and use rice to reduce the evaporation of water in the field, so as to control the re-accumulation and formation of salt in the field. At the same time, geese, fish and crabs can be stocked in paddy fields to form a more detailed ecological cycle.

There is a reason why you choose to feed geese, fish, crabs. First of all, the excrement of all three can be used as organic fertilizer to improve the soil - of course, the feces of a goose or a fish will not do anything, but it can't hold much! It's like a fish tank, if you don't change the water, it will soon become dirty. That's why Zhou Nan asked Yu Shen to get a thousand sheep, 5,000 fish fry, and 5,000 river crabs. In dozens of acres of paddy fields, these are enough to form a certain environmental impact.

In addition to the fact that manure can fertilize the fields, all three have their own uses. Geese eat pests such as barnyard grass and red nematodes in paddy fields to make rice grow better. Fish eat aquatic weeds and insects in paddy fields; In the paddy field, the crab can loosen the soil, promote the decomposition of organic fertilizer, and clean the paddy field environment.

These geese, fish, and crabs are also an income. Therefore, Zhou Nan just dared to say that he could achieve initial results in the first year. In this way, after a year of management, rice can be cultivated. This is the experience of later generations in the management of saline-alkali land. That's why Zhou Nan is so confident.

If this kind of governance is successful, then when it is promoted in the future, it can be divided into regions, paddy fields, and dry fields. If it is dry land, you can plant alfalfa and salt artemisia seeds, and feed sheep at the same time. If it is a paddy field, you can drain the water first, then plant alfalfa and salt artemisia seeds, and when the salt in the field is less, then bring in river water, plant rice, and feed geese, fish, and crabs at the same time, forming a virtuous circle.

The most important thing is that this method not only does not cost materials, but also increases the income of the people in the process of governance. And the technology is simple, and almost everyone can do it.

Zhou Nan said his complete set of methods for combining planting and breeding, and at the same time used the Five Elements Theory to give himself a rigid method as a theoretical support, as his own theory of governing the field. These farmers seemed to understand it, but Yu Shen understood it as soon as he heard it, and he admired the five-body throwing to the ground.

Although these six farmers did not understand these theories of mutual reciprocity and mutual restraint, they were very happy: they did not understand the truth of the horses, but when it came to raising sheep, feeding geese, and feeding fish, they were most familiar with them, and they also understood best that sheep manure and goose manure can fertilize the fields, and also understood the benefits of geese, fish, and crabs to the rice fields, but they never thought that they could be combined in this way, and even planted rice belts to feed fish and geese and sheep.

However, these six farmers also calculated in their hearts that even if they did not grow rice, they would rely on raising sheep, geese, and fish to sell them in the future, and they would not get less money than farming. Some farmers even thought about simply not planting rice, just feeding these sheep and geese, and making a lot of money per acre of land.

Come to think of it, they are here to govern the fields, and the method of governing the fields of the horses sounds much more reliable than the methods of the other three groups. The six people were about to say goodbye to Zhou Nan happily and go to the field in the east of the village to trim the field, so as to make a square field and plant pasture, but Zhou Nan poured cold water and said: "That's roughly the case, as for how to fertilize, how to raise fish according to the salty nature of the field, and feed the geese, you have to rely on yourself." ”

"Don't worry, when it comes to these jobs, the little ones will take care of themselves." Several people hurriedly assured Zhou Nan, and then they went to the fields east of the village together.

"Go and let the boatman bring the big boat here, and today we will go down the river and take a look at the sea." Zhou Nan said to Xiao Jiu who was following him.

Hearing Zhou Nan say that he wanted to go to the beach along the river, Yu Shen hurriedly said: "Mr. take me there, I can explain to Mr. along the way." Back then, I took a cargo ship from here to the Southern Dynasty. ”

"It's okay, if you want to control the river, you must always see the whole picture of the river." Zhou Nan nodded and said, "Look how this canal will prosper again in the future!" ”

(End of chapter)