Traveling through the famine, I stockpiled supplies like crazy

Chapter 316 Compost 2

"Let's not cook tonight. Let's just eat the food in the space." Xu Han changed the subject.

I've been a little tired these days and don't feel like moving at all. So I'm going to be lazy today and not cook.

"Okay, how's your composting going today? Is it done?" Grandpa Zhao asked with particular interest.

"We haven't started yet. Today we collected a lot of pine needles, dead branches and leaves. In the afternoon, we also pulled out some weeds in the orchard. These will also be used to make compost tomorrow."

"Okay, how many days will it take?"

"It will almost be done tomorrow. Now all the materials are ready. I will use a guillotine to chop them into small pieces tomorrow and then mix them together according to the proportions."

Xu Han thought for a moment and then asked, "By the way, are there any used old oilcloths in your home?"

"Yes, it's in the backyard."

"Take it over there tomorrow and use it to cover the manure pile. This way, the temperature inside the manure pile can be raised, allowing it to ferment and decompose better later."

"Okay, I'll go find it and put it in the front yard so I don't forget it tomorrow morning."

"The switch blades are also ready. Take them together when the time comes." Xu Han reminded.

"I understand. I'll do it right away. Don't forget it later." After saying that, Lu Chuan stood up and walked towards the backyard.

Grandpa Zhao was also very interested in composting, so he said, "Tomorrow I will go and see how the compost you mentioned is made."

"Okay, we'll prepare the materials tomorrow morning, and you can go over there after you wake up from your nap in the afternoon."

"Okay, I'll take them with me then."

While the two were chatting, Xu Han was not idle either. She took out the food from the space and arranged it so that they could eat as soon as Lu Chuan came back after finishing it.

After everyone finished dinner, they stayed in the main room for a while, chatting and playing with the two children.

Not until the children gradually felt sleepy did everyone get up and go back to their rooms to rest.

The next morning, after Xu Han and Lu Chuan finished their breakfast, they took their tools and went out.

Before leaving, Xu Han also stopped by the firewood shed and took with her the wood and bamboo sawdust that she had seen from making furniture.

Rice bran and wheat bran can also be used, so take them all away.

The sawdust had been kept in the woodshed and had not been thrown away. Xu Han had originally intended to use it as padding for the corn, and it would also prevent the donkey shed from getting wet.

When raising chickens, you can also put some in the shed. In the past few years, I haven’t raised chickens, so I used some of it for corn. There are still three or four bags left.

Xu Han thought that this could also be used when making compost, so she took it all with her.

After the two left the house, they first went to the orchard and put the grass they had pulled out yesterday into the space.

The weeds will have become wilted after a night, so they will be better for composting.

"How do we deal with these weeds?" Lu Chuan asked.

Xu Han took out the guillotine and said to Lu Chuan, "We use the guillotine to chop up all the pine needles and weeds. This will reduce the fermentation time."

After listening to this, Lu Chuan started to act, "What shape do you want it to be? Is it okay to break it into pieces like this?"

"About two or three inches will do. The smaller the better."

After Xu Han finished speaking, he also came over to help, and the two of them worked together very quickly.

At noon, Xu Han and Lu Chuan did not go home for lunch, but ate here directly.

Although this place was not far from home, the two did not go back because there were still a lot of weeds that had not been chopped.

After lunch, I found a cool place, took a short rest, and then continued working.

By the time Grandpa Zhao brought the two children here, Lu Chuan and Xu Han had already chopped all the weeds.

From a distance, I heard Grandpa Zhao say, "Hahaha, you guys are pretty fast. I thought you didn't go home for lunch, so you must have a lot left to do."

"At noon, I saw that there was still a lot that had not been chopped up, so I didn't go back." Lu Chuan explained.

"You came at the perfect time, and we are just getting started."

"Today I want to see how this compost is made." After saying this, Grandpa Zhao took the child to play with great interest, but his eyes kept looking over here.

Xu Han was seen directing Lu Chuan to spread the feces on the ground into a thick layer.

Then add an appropriate amount of pine needles on top, then a layer of manure, then a layer of dead branches and leaves, then continue to add manure, and finally pour weed clippings and wood chips on top.

Xu Han added some rice bran, wheat bran and a little bit of quicklime powder into it.

After finishing everything, he used a ladle to pour some water on the dung pile.

"Okay, now just mix these things evenly."

"Is that it? There's still a lot of manure here that's not being used?" Lu Chuan said as he looked at the half-used manure.

“No, let’s try to see if we can make the pile successfully. If we succeed, the fertilizer will be enough for growing crops.

The remaining fertilizer can be piled up again next time, so that it can be used as fertilizer for crops when needed."

The key point is that Xu Han is not sure of success, and he dare not use it all at once. It is better to leave some for the crops in the field.

If the composting is not successful, all the manure will be gone.

However, this traditional composting method is really simple. As long as you control the temperature and turn the pile in time, failure is rare.

Xu Han remembered that in her previous life, almost everyone of her grandparents’ generation knew how to compost.

Every household uses different materials when making compost.

Moreover, there used to be manure piles outside the yards of every household.

When Xu Han was a child, there was a very large manure pit outside the yard.

In daily life, some fruits and vegetables that are left over or spoiled are thrown into the manure pit.

The residue and waste water in the kitchen are also poured directly into the manure pile.

There is no need to make compost specifically. Just pile them together over time and the compost will ferment naturally over time.

When it’s time to plant crops, you can just dig it out and use it.

When Xu Han was young, he often saw his parents pulling manure into the fields.

Before planting crops, just spread manure on the ground, then turn the soil over and plant the crops.

However, the current dung pile only contains animal feces, and Lu Chuan and Xu Han did not intentionally add anything else into it.

The main reason is that Xu Han didn't think about this. Now that the natural disaster is over and he wants to farm well, he realizes that there is not enough manure.