Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 386: Transforming Xishan

As the south slopes facing the sun, the steeper the slope, the greater the amount of solar radiation received, and the different effects on tea trees. The slopes of Xishan are all different. So there are two options: planting directly on the slopes or building terraces for planting.

Hualei considered for a long time whether to plant tea trees directly on the slope or on terraces. If tea trees are planted on terraces, the undulating terrain of the terraces after construction is conducive to maintaining water and soil, reducing soil erosion, and protecting soil fertility, which is very suitable for barren mountains.

Moreover, reasonable terrace planting can maintain appropriate spacing between tea trees and row spacing, which is beneficial to photosynthesis and ventilation of tea trees and improves the quality of tea. Moreover, terrace planting is not only conducive to the growth of tea, but also adds unique landscape value to the tea garden, which helps to popularize the sale of tea.

However, terraced field planting also has many disadvantages. Without reasonable protective measures, water and soil may still be lost, which is very unfavorable to the growth of tea trees on the upper layers of the slope.

Moreover, it is located in the mountainous area, and it is relatively difficult to control tea tree pests and diseases. Once pests and diseases occur, they may have a great impact on the quality of tea. The management is also very difficult, requiring more maintenance work, and the early construction is also a very laborious task.

If sloped land is used for planting, the slopes generally have a mild climate and abundant rainfall, which is conducive to the growth of tea trees, especially the tea trees on the top layer. The quality of the tea produced will generally be better.

Moreover, the hillside terrain is conducive to direct drainage, avoiding waterlogging and reducing the occurrence of tea tree diseases and insect pests. It is very suitable for continuous heavy rains like this year.

In addition, the tea trees on the hillside are more likely to get sufficient light, which is conducive to their growth.

However, the disadvantages of planting directly on slopes are also obvious. The most important is that the soil fertility of slopes is not as good as that of flat terraces, and more fertilization and soil improvement are needed, which is a very unfavorable factor for the barren Xishan.

If the hillside terrain is complex, it will be difficult to manage large-scale tea tree plantings.

Hualei weighed the pros and cons, thought about it again and again, and went to see the various slopes of Xishan Mountain in person. He found that

The southern and eastern slopes are relatively gentle, while the northern and western slopes are significantly steeper, so Hualei decided to plant tea trees directly on the southern and eastern slopes using the slope planting method, while the northern and western slopes will be terraced and planted using the terraced method.

After considering the planting method of tea seeds, the next thing to consider is tea seedlings. There are many ways to propagate tea trees, including cuttings, seed propagation, layering, division and grafting.

I don't have the conditions for layering and grafting at home, so I can only try a few other methods.

When Hualei decided to plant tea trees, she first went to find Zhou Ziren's uncle, Mr. Yu. Mr. Yu's family planted tea trees and sold tea leaves. He had several tea gardens, producing both black and green tea.

So Hualei suggested that she wanted to buy some green tea tree cuttings and tea tree divisions from him. Of course, these were definitely not enough to plant all over Xishan, so Hualei also bought some tea tree seeds to prepare for seedling transplanting.

Boss Yu had been cooperating with Hualei for a long time in the wool sweater business, so he readily agreed to Hualei's request and promised to provide Hualei with cuttings and divisions based on the actual situation of his own tea garden.

Because the area of ​​barren mountain was large, Boss Yu was worried that his own cuttings and divisions would not be enough for planting, so he gave Hualei several packets of tea tree seeds in advance.

After the tea seedlings were planted, Hualei began to tidy up the slope of the west mountain. Because terrace construction is very troublesome, Hualei plans to start from the north slope first, starting with the difficult part and then the easy part, which will improve work efficiency.

Hualei read a lot of books and read the methods of building terraces. Then, she started to build terraces based on the terrain of her own west mountain.

Because the north slope is steeper, Hualei used a certain method to calculate the width of each terrace, and then made appropriate adjustments according to the different landforms. The principle is to follow the terrain for large bends and straighten small bends.

When adjusting the number, try to keep it small, and then adjust it uphill to make the distance as consistent as possible. Finally, plan the width of the terrace to be four to six meters, and the minimum should not be less than two meters, depending on the slope and area of ​​the mountain.

The length of the steps is about 40 to 60 meters, and the height is generally about one meter, which is convenient for management. After the rough data is determined, the next step is the specific construction.

However, there are many ways to build terraces, such as horizontal terraces, slope terraces, reverse slope terraces, slope terraces, etc. The advantages and disadvantages of each construction method and the crops suitable for planting are also different, so what kind of terraces to build, Hualei was once again in trouble.

Because the tea trees of Boss Yu's family were all planted on flat land, there was no reference value for Hualei at all. And there were no examples of terraced fields built in other places in Shangjing City for Hualei to refer to.

There was no other way, Hualei could only stay in the study room to look up information. Combining the situation on her own barren mountain, she compared the advantages and disadvantages of various construction methods and tried to find a terrace construction method suitable for tea trees. After staying up for several nights, Hualei finally decided to build horizontal terraces on the north slope and reverse slope terraces on the west slope.

Horizontal terraces refer to the conversion of sloping land into horizontal stepped fields, with level terrace surfaces and smooth ridges. This type of terrace has strong water storage and soil conservation capabilities, can control soil erosion, is convenient for irrigation and intensive farming, and is suitable for growing tea trees.

In the tea garden, horizontal terraces can provide stable irrigation conditions, which is conducive to the growth of tea trees and the improvement of tea quality. There are still some problems with irrigation water on the barren hills, so making horizontal terraces can alleviate this irrigation problem.

The reverse slope terrace refers to the terrace with high outside and low inside. It is suitable for hillsides with severe drought and soil erosion but relatively flat slope.

Reverse slope terraces can improve site conditions, store water and conserve soil, and are suitable for planting crops that need to maintain water and soil in tea gardens. In tea gardens, reverse slope terraces can reduce soil erosion, protect the roots of tea trees, and increase the yield and quality of tea.

After deciding on the method of building the terraces, Hualei asked the pioneers to start building. When building the terraces, first clear the foundation according to certain requirements and dig away the surface soil, with a width of about one to two feet.

Then we used the stones we had sorted out to build the steps, because there were enough stones sorted out on the mountain. Hualei used the materials nearby, so he used earth and stone steps. Put the stones in the position of the steps.