CH 3

Several fields were spread out before my eyes. They weren’t to the point that they could be called barren, but it seemed that the crops didn’t thrive either.

(Four… or five fields, huh. However, soil maintenance is hard work, and it’s impossible to sustain all of them at once. We have no choice but to truncate all but two large fields here.)

There were two areas that were close to the river, and the nutrients for the soil there didn’t wash away due to rainfall. The best crops were most likely growing from those areas. That was why we (the village) barely avoided a situation where the meager harvest became a full-fledged famine. As far as I can see, it was roughly 1ha (100 meters per side, equalling about 10,000 square meters in total). It was more than large enough to cultivate sweet potatoes and pumpkins.

(The sweet corn will be placed in the field closest to the river, followed by the tomato; and for the pumpkins, they will be planted in the first field as well. For the last field, we’ll plant the sweet potato there, with the sugarcane in the corner. For that reason, we need to dig up the soil.)

“ Ahem… We will only use those two fields over there. We won’t cultivate anything in the other fields this year.” [Shizuko]

“Uh, there won’t be enough crops…” [Villager]

“There is no problem. Soil maintenance is quite a demanding task. It is not realistic to do everything at once. More importantly, it’s necessary to focus our manpower to secure the useable fields as soon as possible. So first of all, let’s start with the soil that needs to be dug up.” [Shizuko]

The villagers looked and gossiped with each other, but in the end, the villagers believed that they had no choice but to follow her order, and went to the assigned field while shouldering their farming tools.

( The results will appear, at the soonest, in two months.)

The land was barren, but it wasn’t to the extent where it could be called a wasteland. However, the soil was weakened to the point where crops that are strong in many environments, excepting crops like sweet potatoes or pumpkins, wouldn’t produce a good harvest. If we were in the modern era, we could buy compost and mulch, and use them for soil maintenance, but unfortunately; there was no choice like that in the Sengoku Era. So, we had to make it ourselves.

(They have rice straw, rice husks, rice bran; and cow manure isn’t a problem… I want horse manure if possible… Ah, that’s right!)

“Please wait a moment!” [Shizuko]

Shizuko who stumbled on a good idea, shouted to the second, third, and fourth groups, and began to run somewhere else.

Ten minutes later, Shizuko came back while grinning. Though all the group thought it was strange, it was too stupid to throw a retort to, and they let it pass.

“Well then, the third group will be in charge of making the compost. Please do your best with this important job!” [Shizuko]

“Compost…?” [Third Group]

Upon hearing an unfamiliar word, the third group inquired with strange faces.

“In short, this is like a fertilizer that comes from completely decomposed organic matter by microorganisms. There was a time when this was treated as the same as organic fertilizers, but they are completely different” [Shizuko]

“Instead of going to such lengths, why don’t we just scatter the dung directly?” [Villagers]

“No, no. When the dung is in a state of fermentation, it produces gas. That’s a hindrance to the growth of the roots, and in turn, it also attracts pests. Hasn’t there been a time when the roots would rot and the pests were springing up excessively?” [Shizuko]

“That is… well…” [Villagers]

“Compost is created from completely decomposed organic matter; hence, gas and pests won’t spring up. The supply of humus (a part of the soil) and the condition of the soil will improve, due to the supplies in the microorganisms. The pests will also be suppressed, and the soil will be more stable because of the increase in buffer capacity. To achieve that, making compost is a must. It takes at least half a year to properly make it, but even so, it is still necessary and there is a need to do it.” [Shizuko]

Explaining up to that point, Shizuko noticed that the villager’s faces were like a wrinkled rag. (As expected, that explanation was too hard, huh.) Shizuko finally realized too late, that she had failed in her explanation.

(Ah, knowledge of microorganisms, pets, and other such things are rather dubious. It’s unknown if that knowledge is in this era or not. However, if there is no compost, it will influence next year’s harvest yield… Somehow or other; I need to push the fact that compost needs to be made!)

“Uhm-” [Villager]

“Somehow, I don’t understand it, but; it seems that using our usual methods won’t work… I’ll follow your opinion.” [Villager]

When I tried to explain to them by words, the villagers were unexpectedly persuaded by it. No, I don’t think that they fully understood it, but because they decided to try it; I decided not to think about it too deeply. The proof for this was, they seemed that they didn’t understand the necessity of compost. Their reaction had more of the feeling of “Since I was told that I needed it.”

(Well, that is fine.)

The explanation for the second and fourth groups was easy. At any rate, their task was just to collect wood. Of course, it wouldn’t end with only collecting wood. Rather, their real job would come after that.