Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 448 Harvest

Tung trees must be loosened and weeded once from April to June and from July to September every year. Because the root system of tung trees is very developed, the depth of loosening the soil should not be less than half a foot to avoid affecting the absorption of the roots.

The weeds that have been cleared should be placed around the tung oil tree as fertilizer. Top dressing should also be carried out together with tillage and weeding to ensure sufficient nutrients in the soil.

In the next few months, the tung tree will need to be given two additional fertilizers and irrigated in time to ensure its smooth growth and protect its branches.

In the seedling stage of tung oil trees, the plants are relatively small. In order not to waste land resources and to promote the better growth of tung oil seedlings, some crops such as soybeans and sweet potatoes are planted in the middle of the flower buds. However, they are not planted continuously and are kept more than half a foot away from the tung oil trees to avoid affecting the growth of the tung oil seedlings.

After such management, there will be basically no problem with the sapling stage of tung trees. Next, it is the stage of management of tung trees as mature trees.

At this stage, the most critical thing is soil cultivation, which mainly includes summer shoveling and winter digging. Winter digging mainly involves turning the soil in large pieces. The soil of the tung tree should be turned from December to January of the following year, with a depth of about one foot. This can improve soil properties and eliminate pests that pupate in the soil, such as the tung looper.

The purpose of summer shoveling is to remove weeds and loosen the soil. It is carried out from June to August every year, with a depth of half a foot. In addition, tung trees need a lot of nutrients during their growth period.

A variety of suitable fertilizers should be applied regularly according to soil conditions. The method of fertilization also needs attention. It is best to apply it in a ring trench along the crown of the tree.

It also requires timely irrigation and frequent watering. Tung oil trees need sufficient water to grow, especially in the dry season, and need frequent watering to ensure the normal growth of tung oil trees.

This spring, the corn cobs whose buds were stuffed in every corner of the barren mountain finally had a bumper harvest. In every corner, all kinds of mushrooms grew in clusters all over the barren mountain. Under some wolfberry trees and among the medicinal herbs, a cluster of mushrooms would occasionally emerge.

While Hualei was happy, she was also worried that the mushrooms would grow too well and compete with crops and herbs for fertilizer. So after picking the first batch of mushrooms, Hualei promptly added fertilizer to the crops, herbs and corn cobs to ensure the growth of the crops.

Every day, a basket of mushrooms was sent to Old Marquis Pei. He particularly liked to eat these fresh mushrooms, and he would put them in soup and stir-fry meat, and he never got tired of eating them. The rest was sent to the steamed bun shop in Qingyun Lane to be used as fillings for steamed buns and wontons.

Some of it was sent to Baihua Village, where it was used with chili peppers to make various mushroom chili sauces, which were then sent to Mobei and Xijiang. The rest was dried directly and prepared to be used with dried shrimps to make MSG.

However, Hualei also reminded farmers who picked mushrooms to keep some for seed, so as to avoid having no mushrooms to pick in the second half of the year. These mushrooms were picked for two or three months before they slowly disappeared and were ready to grow again in the fall.

The wooden house on the barren mountain was finally almost finished. Hualei took Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu to see it. Because the wood was painted with persimmon paint and tung oil, the color became a little darker. But it would also be more solid and less susceptible to corrosion.

The wooden houses of the workshop and warehouse were all built relatively large, with wooden windows installed and blue bricks paved on the ground. A row of thorny bushes were planted around the workshop to serve as a fence.

At this time, there was only a workshop for making rouge and lipstick, so there were not many people. However, the more than 200 Mobei soldiers who had signed an agreement to help on the barren mountain before the New Year were all here, and many of them had already moved into the wooden houses that Hualei had built for them.

There are usually four beds and four cabinets in the wooden house. If they come with their families, Hualei will give them one or two rooms as their home. The kitchen and toilet are all ready. The staff are also in place.

A few more soldiers were selected and placed at the entrance of the workshop to act as gatekeepers. However, Hualei did not place the soldiers with limited mobility who returned from Mobei last year here, after all, this was a mountain road with ups and downs, which was not suitable for them.

Now, there are more and more soldiers with disabilities in Yuanying Manor, and there is no need to increase manpower for those who raise chickens, ducks and geese, or for the replacement team, so Hualei placed these soldiers in Huaying Manor and arranged these manpower according to the needs of each workshop.

The small courtyard that Hualei was going to live in had also been completed. Hualei had also carefully checked that every room was paved with blue bricks and was clean and tidy, but the furniture and supplies inside still needed to be selected and purchased by Hualei herself.

Uncle Zhao also planted bushes as a wall around the courtyard, and built a bamboo fence in front. Along the fence, he planted a lot of climbing flowers and plants. In the courtyard, a blue brick paved path stretched to the main house.

There are wooden corridors around, the same as the brick house, Hualei likes it very much. In the small courtyard, Fobert specially placed a set of stone tables and stone benches. Uncle Zhao made a swing frame. Hualei found that the honest Uncle Zhao also has a heart full of childlike fun and warmth.

Sitting in the courtyard, on the opposite hillside is the planted peony. However, this is the first year that the peony has not bloomed yet, so it is also green when you look over there.

Behind the house, Uncle Fu also specially used a bamboo pipe to lead water into the yard. A spare small waterwheel from the Yongningfang Flower House was also placed here, which can be used to water the flowers and plants and also as a landscape, which is very elegant.

The more I looked at the flower buds, the happier I became. I thought to myself that I would ask Uncle Zhao to plant a few chrysanthemums under the east fence so that I could experience the leisure and freedom of "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely seeing the southern mountains".

However, should I give this house a nice name? Hua Lei thought about it and decided to give up. On the one hand, it was really difficult to come up with a name.

Besides, this is not a farm stay, so there is no need to promote it to let others know. So I'd better keep a low profile and enjoy it myself.

While the flower buds were secretly rejoicing, problems arose with the tea trees on the West Mountain.

When Hua Lei heard the news from Uncle Fu, she went to Xishan and saw that there were many dense white spots on the surface of the leaves of many tea trees. The leaves turned yellow and shriveled. In the seriously ill tea trees, the entire tea leaves were grayish white.

He immediately went to consult Zhou Ziren's uncle, Boss Yu, who said that the tea tree had red spider disease and asked him to make some onion and garlic preparations.