allonlinenovel Chapter 224 Spring Farming Plan
Chapter 224 Spring Farming Plan
Wen Wuyan pointed at the planting plan she had written on the paper and said, "Not only do few people grow corn here, but how can you grow soybeans in your corn fields?"
Gu Qingqing found out from the original owner's memory why people in this era would rather grow sorghum than corn.
Sorghum is resistant to drought, moisture and salinity. Even if you have little land and poor soil at home, you can still grow sorghum if you plant it.
Corn is different. It is said that it does not have high soil requirements and can adapt to all kinds of soil. However, if you want high yields, it is best to have fertile black soil or loess.
The word "fertile" alone is enough to stump farmers in the countryside, as the manure power of humans and animals is always limited.
Moreover, in the original owner's memory, corn had never been planted on a large scale. Sometimes, a few corns were planted on the ridges of the fields for viewing. I don't know where they learned this from.
Due to the special pollination characteristics of corn, it will only grow vigorously and have full grains when planted in large areas. If it is planted in gardens or on ridges for appreciation, it is mostly planted sparsely, which leads to poor pollination. When the corn matures, there will naturally not be many fruits, and most of them are shriveled.
In addition, if the weather is bad, drought and water shortage will lead to slow ear pulling or death of dry ears. Too much rain during the flowering period will also cause the pollen to swell, burst and lose vitality.
She is already trying to find a way to solve the manure problem, but as for whether God will send rain?
She leaves it to her fate!
Therefore, Gu Qingqing did not dwell on Wen Wuyan's entanglement in the intercropping model, but took the second best option and asked, "Can we plant less corn?"
If Qingqing had talked about something else, Wen Wuyan would have agreed without hesitation. However, he was a little hesitant about the income from the farmland in the coming year.
His family now has a total of 15.3 mu of land, including eight mu of dry land and two mu of paddy fields. These ten mu were bought from Shangyang Village last year.
There are also four acres of mountain farmland obtained through the division of the family business. The land is not far in front of their house. Because it was newly reclaimed not long ago, the land is not only virgin, but also not suitable for growing crops that have high soil requirements.
What was left was the one and a half mu of dry land outside the village that was obtained when the family was divided.
Now there are five acres of dry land in Shangyang Village planted with winter wheat, and the rest of the fields are still empty.
Seeing Wen Wuyan not speaking, Gu Qingqing chose to act coquettishly, "Wen Wuyan~"
She wanted to chew corn cobs, drink corn paste, eat corn bread, corn cakes, etc.
She doesn't want to eat sorghum!
Looking at Qingqing's expectant eyes, how could Wen Wuyan really have the heart to refuse?
After thinking for a while, he said, "Since Qingqing wants to try, why don't we plant corn and soybeans on the one and a half mu of land outside the village according to Qingqing's arrangement? We can plant rice on the remaining two mu of paddy land, and plant some sweet potatoes or peanuts after the wheat is harvested. The rest of the dry land can be planted with millet and sorghum. What do you think?"
What opinion could she have? Of course she agreed!
She originally wanted to plant corn on the remaining three acres of dry land next to Shangyang Village, but he disagreed, so she had no choice but to do as he said.
The main thing is that even with the original owner's experience as her memory, she herself is still a half-baked person.
Gu Qingqing was happy, "Okay, let's do as you said. Look at the following."
The next step is the planning of the 25-acre hillside. When she first started making paper, she planned to plant the hillside with bamboo. Yesterday, she thought about it seriously for a long time and found that it was impossible to plant so many bamboos. A total of eight acres would be enough. The rest would depend on whether there was any way to find mulberry trees or go to the mountains to find some dropped seeds of mulberry trees.
Some mulberry trees can be planted on the hillside. The leaves can be used to feed pigs, the bark can be used to make paper, and the trunks can be used as firewood.
The main tree has almost no requirements for its growing environment. As long as it is given a chance to take root, it will grow strong and self-reliant.
Therefore, the mulberry tree has another name, called the tree that cuts off its offspring. To put it simply, it has super strong survival ability and destructive power.
So it is also suitable for planting on the hillside of her home.
She plans to plant some fruit trees on the remaining land. Next, she plans to enclose a piece of land on the mountain to raise a few pigs, and raise chickens, ducks and geese on the land.
Needless to say, as long as the pigs are raised until the end of the year, they will definitely be sold.
The eggs laid by chickens can be eaten at home or sold. If they cannot be sold, they can be made into preserved eggs or salted eggs.
The same principle applies to duck eggs, except that they are made into preserved eggs.
When the chickens and ducks are ready to be slaughtered, she can make them into ready-made foods and sell them.
Regarding this part, because she was confident and wrote it in great detail, Wen Wuyan's eyes lit up when he read it.
"Qingqing, your idea is very good. If we can really raise hundreds of chickens and ducks on the mountain, they will produce a lot of manure. The land on the hillside will be nourished by these manure, and after a year or two, maybe we can even grow some soybean crops." Wen Wuyan looked at the things on the paper and instantly thought of some subsequent changes.
After just a moment, Wen Wuyan frowned slightly and said, "Qingqing, chickens and ducks can be kept in the yard. If they are kept on the hillside, will they run into the mountains and then..."
Before Wen Wuyan finished speaking, Gu Qingqing already understood what he meant.
She crossed her hands and supported her chin, looking at Wen Wuyan with a smile and said word by word, "We still have Dahei, so we can use him as a chicken herding dog. And what about the geese? Do you think we raise them for fun? After they are well-trained, they can also serve as guard dogs. As for the chickens and ducks, we will clip the feathers on their wings when they are young."
Gu Qingqing became excited when she got to this point. Since the paper didn't mention what to do with the cut chicken and duck feathers, she kept talking, "When the time comes, we'll clean up the cut feathers. We can use them to make quilts and clothes instead of cotton. They're not only light but also warm. We don't have to wear heavy clothes like a big stupid bear in winter."
Wen Wuyan was not really fascinated by what Gu Qingqing said, but his eyes were attracted by the confident glow emanating from her.
With a look of admiration, he said, "Okay, let's do as Qingqing says. Do whatever you want, and just tell me if you need me to do anything."
Gu Qingqing didn't even realize that her smile was a little sweet at this moment. She nodded happily and said, "Let me think about it carefully." After that, she started to think seriously.
The room instantly fell silent. After a few breaths, the two said almost in unison:
"but......"
"but......"
The two of them looked at each other, and Wen Wuyan gestured to her, "Qingqing speak first."
Gu Qingqing pondered for a moment before asking uncertainly, "I wonder if raising too many living creatures will attract wild boars or wolves from the mountains, or something else, to use us as a free lunch?"
A male chuckle came from inside the room.
Wen Wuyan's eyes curved slightly, "Qingqing is worrying too much. As long as there is no natural disaster, the animals in the mountains will not come out. They are afraid of being killed by us. Besides, didn't Qingqing kill a wild boar by herself? What's more, if a wild boar really comes to the village, it would rather destroy the crops than catch chickens and ducks."
"Wild boars are omnivorous animals." Gu Qingqing argued fiercely.
Wen Wuyan smiled again, "The farmland is right there. If they really want to come, they can just eat with big mouthfuls. Even if the chickens and ducks have their wings clipped and can't fly, they can still run. Wild boars are not stupid."
"What if it was a wolf? Or a weasel? A weasel is always sure to steal a chicken." Rather than saying that Gu Qingqing was arguing, it would be more accurate to say that she wanted to get a reassuring answer from Wen Wuyan.