Chapter 286: Compost

The hill not far from the zoo's office building is covered with a lush green forest.

At the foot of the mountain, a bluestone road surrounded by purple morning glory and yellow chrysanthemums zigzags and disappears in the mountain, surrounded by green woods and shrubs. A brown-yellow log-style building stands on the mountainside, giving people a feeling of being far away from the crowds. .

The fragrant breeze is blowing, spreading the fragrance of flowers, the sun is warm and comfortable, and everything seems so peaceful and beautiful.

In the side yard of the small villa, Fang Ye stood by a large wooden box with a length of one square meter, picked up a sack next to it, and poured the dead branches and fallen leaves into it.

Now he is doing composting work!

Simply put, it is to decompose organic matter into fertile humus, which is rich in organic matter, nutrients and microorganisms.

Composting is not an overnight effort. Now it is a bit too late to prepare for farming and pile up again. He intends to wait for the compost to ripen in spring after he finishes composting.

Although there is spiritual soil, the quantity of spiritual soil is too small to use all spiritual soil.

Moreover, in his plan, a field animal exhibition area will be built behind the zoo. Now the process of farming is also a process of learning and thinking, and personally understand what changes will be made in the process of farming, so that the design of the field exhibition area will be more convenient in the future.

The farming that Fang Ye intends to carry out is not a conventional planting method, but a healthier and environmentally friendly agricultural method, which can be called organic farming, ecological farming, and simple farming!

Do not use chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and plastic mulch.

If the conventional planting method is to feed crops, organic agriculture is to feed the soil.

The soil also has a very complex ecological environment, which provides a good living environment for various beneficial organisms in the soil, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes, and these organisms will establish a mutually beneficial relationship with plants.

Microorganisms can not only provide nutrients to plants, but also improve the ability of plants to prevent diseases and pests.

Good soil can also attract beneficial insects such as earthworms and arthropods to settle in the vegetable garden, and the organic matter they digest and decompose is used as nutrients to supply microorganisms as food.

Earthworms and arthropods are food sources for birds to ingest protein, which can attract them to the vegetable garden. Although birds may eat a small part of the crop, they can also eat pests. Generally speaking, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. !

When focusing on feeding the soil in the vegetable garden instead of the plants, over time the accumulation will build a complete ecosystem to help the plants grow healthily and become more nutritious.

The soil planted in this way is more permeable, can save water, and the plants are tougher when the weather is dry.

No pesticides or insecticides are used, and the vegetables grown are safe and healthy, and they can be eaten directly without washing them.

There are actually many details in the implementation process, such as covering the soil with straw, fallen leaves, and newspapers, which not only has a moisturizing effect and reduces the frequency of watering, but also reduces the growth of weeds. After the straw and newspaper rot, it can be affected by microorganisms in the soil. use.

Different crops are used to rotate the land, and different crops have different root lengths and different nutrients. Crop rotation can be beneficial to the permeability of the soil and the reuse of nutrients, so that the land has opportunities for cultivation and nourishment.

In addition, crops such as tomatoes and potatoes are very sensitive to pathogens. If they have been planted on a piece of ground, they are prone to disease. Rotation of crops can reduce the possibility of pathogens.

After Fang Ye poured the branches and fallen leaves into the large wooden box, he poured in a bag of kitchen waste, some egg shells, chopped banana peels, and coffee grounds, all of which were obtained from the canteen.

The blue carp moved a small bench and sat not far away, holding a variegated tabby cat in his arms.

The cat was lying in her arms, her tail swept back and forth gently on her smooth arms, squinting her eyes with comfort, and making a "snoring" sound.

It was the one Fang Ye had fed at the dormitory before.

Usually in the zoo, whereabouts are uncertain, but today I ran to the cottage again.

The blue carp teased the cat and couldn't help asking: "President, or let's adopt it!"

Fang Ye smiled and said, "Sure, give the house a little anger. But if you want to adopt it, you have to cut it off."

Vaccines have already been caught and beaten once, otherwise they can't be allowed to run around, stray cats are at risk of spreading cat plague.

The stray cats that can be seen in the zoo are basically neutered after breeding. Fang Ye also saw that there were no other stray cats in the zoo, so he left his eggs without cutting them, otherwise it would be troublesome to have more stray cats.

Although cats are cute, they not only catch mice, but also catch birds and dig out bird nests.

Hunting is not purely for the sake of filling the stomach. If you are full, you will have more strength to grab and play.

A small number of stray cats are acceptable, but more of them will definitely affect the number of birds in the zoo.

The tabby cat in the blue carp's arms suddenly felt a chill in her lower body for some reason, subconsciously clamped the egg, and raised her head vigilantly.

After Fang Ye threw the kitchen waste into the big wooden box, he turned it over with a wooden stick and poured in some shredded and useless waste papers. He picked up another sack and poured a pile of animal excrement into it. You can get a pile of these things in the zoo.

The blue carp asked curiously: "The principal, can paper be composted?"

"Of course you can! Clothes can be used for composting, just torn to pieces. It's a bit like a witch's cauldron, and all kinds of weird things can be thrown in."

Although the stool exudes a tangy smell, it does not affect Fang Ye's interest.

While stirring, I talked: "Compost requires green and brown raw materials. Green raw materials such as plant stems provide nitrogen and high humidity. Brown materials such as leaves provide carbon, but not much water.

This method of putting a little bit of all raw materials is the best If only one or two raw materials are used, the compost may lack a certain kind of nutrition, and the diversified raw materials can ensure that the micronutrients are more abundant. Achieve natural balance.

The feces I use are ring-tailed lemurs and macaques, which are pulled down by eating fruits and vegetables. They must be nutritious.

Including the size of the compost bin is also very particular. If the side length is too small or too narrow, the temperature generated during the composting process cannot be guaranteed. The temperature generated by the large compost pile is beneficial to the microbial activity inside, thereby speeding up the decomposition process of organic matter. "

"How long does it take to pile up?"

"For half a year, this method of composting is slower, but it is very convenient."

After pouring the materials in, Fang Ye covered it with a layer of cardboard to reduce the infiltration of rainwater on rainy days and prevent the compost from getting too wet.

Then he took off his shoes, climbed onto the compost bin, stepped on it, and compacted it.