Chapter 46 Ridge Tillage
Chapter 46 Ridge Tillage
Shanlin Town is not small in size. Luo Ning inspected for an entire afternoon and only just managed to finish inspecting the wheat fields and vegetable plots in the east.
If he wanted to walk around his territory, it would probably take him two or three days.
When he set out in the afternoon, he was full of expectations, hoping to make a surprising discovery, but when he came back, the opposite was true, and he felt disappointed.
Instead of finding any surprises, he discovered a series of problems, particularly in the cultivation of grain.
Luo Ning took a sip of barley tea and sat down at the desk. He began to recall what he had seen in the wheat field and thought about ways to solve the problem.
"The wheat is growing unevenly, probably because it is too dense. The random sowing method makes the wheat seedlings disorderly, and the distance between the wheat seedlings is too close, which not only affects their light but also affects their growth."
"In addition, this tight situation will prevent farmers from weeding, fertilizing and watering during the growth process, and part of the wheat ears will rot when they mature."
After much thought, the fundamental reason for this situation should be the way of sowing.
A word from a history book popped into Luo Ning's mind - ridge tillage.
Ridge tillage is a farming method that involves dividing the arable land into ridges and furrows and then planting crops on the ridges.
This farming method has many advantages:
For example, planting on ridges higher than the ground, with ditches between two ridges, can ensure the distance between crops, allowing for complete photosynthesis while also preventing the roots and stems from being too densely planted.
The large difference in position between the ridges and ditches is conducive to drainage and waterlogging prevention and also makes it convenient to irrigate along the ditches.
In the afternoon, Luo Ning also asked many locals about the situation and learned that there is still plenty of rain in Shanlin Town. Digging ditches will help with drainage and can greatly reduce the possibility of wheat seedlings being waterlogged and killed.
In addition, there are ditches between the ridges, which gives farmers space to weed and apply fertilizer, unlike now when there is nowhere to step.
Of course, another very important point is that ridge tillage can maintain the fertility of the soil.
This year's ridges are next year's ditches, this year's ditches are next year's ridges. This is a disguised form of fallow.
"This method is worth promoting!"
He took out a quill pen and parchment and began to write the ridge tillage method on the paper while also drawing a simple farming diagram.
As the night deepened, the butler Galen had already lit candles in the study. The candlelight illuminated Roning's serious face, making the maid serving beside him look a little mesmerized.
She heard that the nobles loved to enjoy themselves, either eating and drinking or having fun, and many of the nobles would even call their personal maids to their beds.
But the Baron in front of him was completely different.
At the end of the day, Bella discovered that except for lunch break, the Baron was almost always busy, as if he had endless things to do and endless words to write.
"Master~"
Chahar came in with a glass of milk. When Galen and Bella saw him, they lowered their heads, left the room and stood outside the door.
Although the butler in the castle is not a noble, he has some status, not to mention that Chahar is an old team member of Roning.
Therefore, these new servants in the castle were very respectful to Chahar and obeyed his management.
Chahar also experienced the feeling of being a housekeeper.
However, his respect for Ronin never decreased; it increased greatly.
"It's Chahar."
Luo Ning looked up, then continued writing with his head down.
He has already described the ridge tillage method and is now planning how to apply fertilizer.
Along the way, Roning discovered that whether it was Wushan City, Lake Town, or his own Forest Town, the street scenery was always filled with faeces.
In the afternoon, Roning caught a farmer and asked him. He really wanted to know why farmers in this world didn't know how to use fertilizers.
After a general understanding, he found that the people here had thought about using fertilizers, but they used them in the wrong way.
The man said that when he threw faeces and urine on the ground, not only did it not make the crops grow better, but it actually caused the seedlings to burn.
As a result, they think that faeces are harmful substances and cannot be thrown into farmland, which makes the faeces worthless.
Naturally, no one will manage things that have no value. If the nobles don't care, people will treat them as garbage, which leads to a situation where faeces and urine are everywhere on the streets.
Roning is thinking about how to make good use of these faeces now.
Fortunately, he was born into a farming family in his hometown on Earth. When he was young, he saw many people farming. In high school and college, he studied science and knew about chemistry and microbiology.
If you want to make rational use of human and livestock faeces, you can choose composting, composting, and fermentation.
Promoting this method within the territory can not only solve the problem of fertilizer and keep the land fertile to a certain degree but also solve the problem of a poor political environment.
Farmers know the importance of faeces, so they will not urinate or defecate anywhere.
For Roning, this is a win-win situation.
However, whether it is the Taki farming method or composting, it is impossible to get everyone to use it with just one sentence.
Luo Ning plans to find two people and then set aside two experimental fields for verification.
If these two methods are very effective in the other world, they can be fully promoted during the spring ploughing season next year.
"Master, you have been busy all day; it's time to take a break!"
Chahar put the milk in his hand next to Roning and kindly advised Roning to go to bed early.
"I'm not sleepy yet."
Luo Ning put down the pen in his hand, picked up the cup and took a sip of milk.
The milk in the other world doesn't taste that good and even has a slight fishy smell.
However, not everyone can drink fresh milk, and it is rare.
"How are the arrangements for the other servants in the castle?" Roning asked casually.
"Everything went smoothly!"
The butler, Chahar, was very satisfied with the new servants. At least these people were actively learning what he said and what he taught, and they performed well.
"Please rest assured, sir. It will only take a month at most for the servants in the castle to be on par with those in Wushan Castle."
Luo Ning laughed, "Remember my previous reminder: the sanitation in the castle must be done well. The damp places must be dealt with quickly. I don't want to see rats or bugs in my castle."
"Don't worry. I have reminded you of this repeatedly, and I will inspect each area every day to make sure there are no problems!"
"I'm confident that you will take care of the castle."
Luo Ning smiled and said, "Ask the political officer Wilson to come see me tomorrow morning. I have something for you to do with him."
Chahar was a little surprised. What was it that required him, the castle steward, and the political officer to complete together?
"Understood, sir. I will go and inform Wilson tonight."
"Let Galen go and tell them to find me a larger pottery jar. I'll need it tomorrow morning."
Chahar was confused again. What did the master want him to do? He couldn't figure out the master's thoughts at all. Sometimes, he even doubted that he was really an incompetent housekeeper.
But he also understood that some things did not require so many questions, and he just had to do it according to the master's instructions.
"As you wish!"
Chahar took Galen, left the second floor, and went to work.
Roning continued with his design.
The reason why he asked Chahar to prepare the pottery jar was simple: he wanted to build the most primitive toilet in the castle.
Since you are planning to collect faeces to make fertilizer, you should have the necessary equipment, and a toilet is indispensable.
Luo Ning wanted to design a flush toilet, but it was a time-consuming and laborious task, and he had no mature idea about how to design the pipes.
We can only settle for the second best and build a primitive toilet first, then gradually promote the role of fertilizer so that everyone has basic knowledge, and then promote toilets to optimize the sanitary environment.