Blending of Planes: I am leisurely farming

In Stardew Valley, a small world surrounded by mountains, the pace of spring is always slower than that of the outside world.

Early in the morning, Sean walked out of the hot spring in the secret base refreshed and began to sort out the pile of gifts he had received yesterday that could fill a small cart.

These gifts are varied, most of which are small practical items, such as clay pots, kitchen knives, etc. Sean classified them one by one and placed them properly in the kitchen.

There are also some homemade food specialties, such as sweet osmanthus cake, which Sean carefully stores in an old-fashioned refrigerator.

And those small ornaments, such as the exquisite paintings given by Leah and the wind chimes handmade by the little girl, were carefully hung by Sean on the walls of the living room and on the window frames next to the wooden table in the bedroom.

As for the medal symbolizing the honor of the Pelican Town hero, since there is no suitable display cabinet yet, Sean had to keep it in a drawer in the room.

In addition, Sean carefully placed some succulents in the corners of the bedroom and living room, adding a touch of vitality and greenery to this small home.

Of course, Sean put the four-leaf clover necklace and the piece of paper into the space and carried them with him.

After finishing the work, Sean stood on the edge of the field, looked out at the mountains, and began to seriously think about this year's planting plan.

Seed selection is the first and most important step in agriculture.

Due to the remote location of Stardew Valley and the rugged mountain roads, transportation issues make the cultivation of most green vegetables and fruits impractical;

The low level of mechanization has limited the large-scale cultivation of cereal crops.

As for sweet potato crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, Sean had no choice but to exclude them because he had not prepared suitable tubers for breeding and germination in advance.

After much deliberation, carrots and pumpkins became Sean's final choices.

Carrots have thick skin and can be stored for several months under suitable storage conditions. They are also more resistant to shock and extrusion during transportation; pumpkins also have these advantages.

Moreover, the growing period of carrots is 3-4 months. If they are planted in March, the harvest period will coincide with the planting period of pumpkins in July-August.

Such a planting plan not only ensures full utilization of the land, but also ensures a continuous supply of crops. For Sean, this is undoubtedly the most suitable solution at the moment.

In addition, there is another important reason for choosing pumpkin: Sean plans to participate in the autumn agricultural exhibition held by the local farmers' association in Valencia, where Stardew Valley is located.

At that exhibition, the most important evaluation item is the competition for the Pumpkin King. The pumpkin with the heaviest weight, the best appearance and the sweetest taste will be awarded the title of Pumpkin King.

As he is full of confidence in his special fertilizer "Jinkela", Sean hopes to use this opportunity to get more exposure and recognition for his agricultural products.

According to the original plan, Sean was going to use six acres of the ten acres to grow cash crops, and the remaining four acres to grow staple foods such as wheat and rice for self-sufficiency.

In addition, he also plans to open up an additional vegetable garden of about two acres in front of the house to grow some green vegetables and condiments such as ginger, onion, garlic and chili to meet daily needs.

After these fields are planted, Sean also plans to plant some easy-to-manage forage grasses as well as canola and soybeans that can be planted at different times for oil production.

Of course, these plans are still just on paper. Everything needs to wait until the carrots are planted and then be implemented step by step based on actual conditions.

The most urgent task now is carrot breeding. Although the temperature has risen recently, reaching 5 degrees Celsius, it is still far below the ideal 15 degrees Celsius for spring planting.

Despite this, Sean decided to proceed with carrot breeding in advance, which was a helpless choice made after careful consideration.

After visiting and exploring for some time, Sean understood that the geographical location and climatic conditions of Stardew Valley meant that the arrival of spring was always later than in the outside world.

By the time spring plowing has begun outside, the land in Stardew Valley may not have completely thawed, and the temperature may not have reached the most suitable temperature for planting.

This results in the agricultural products of Stardew Valley entering the foreign market very late after they mature.

By then, agricultural products of the same type will have already dominated the market, and the agricultural products of Stardew Valley, whose quality has deteriorated after a long transportation process, will have no competitiveness at all.

This is also one of the main reasons why buyers are pushing down prices.

Secondly, the carrots and pumpkins Sean chose are crops with a long growing period. If breeding work is carried out in the spring farming season, the harvest period of the crops may be delayed until autumn or even later.

This meant that Sean would not be able to exhibit the pumpkins he grew at the agricultural show that year.

Therefore, early breeding is imperative!

In order to breed in advance, the first task is to create a place that can maintain a suitable temperature for the seeds to germinate and grow.

By the time the seedlings are ready for transplanting, the outside temperature has almost reached the requirements for planting the seedlings.

However, in a remote place like Stardew Valley, owning a greenhouse is obviously a luxury.

Sean had to rely on his own wisdom and hands to create a similar environment. He decided to use local methods to build a temporary enclosed earth house to achieve a greenhouse-like effect.

Fortunately, his special ability to control water and soil made building a house relatively easy.

Sean chose a flat open space near the field and started building.

The first step is to dig the foundation, and then use straw mixed with clay to shape four thick earth walls.

These earth walls not only have good thermal insulation properties but can also withstand occasional cold winds and frost in spring.

He then built a sturdy roof on top of the earthen walls, using the previously cut bamboo as a supporting structure. The roof was then covered with layers of branches and hay, and finally covered with a thick layer of mud to form a solid shelter.

This roof design can effectively prevent rainwater from penetrating and keep the indoor temperature stable.

Inside the greenhouse, Sean carefully built a semi-enclosed fireplace with clay for heating. He designed two heat transfer mud channels around the house on the surface of the mud wall and connected to the furnace.

These channels allow the heat generated by the burning firewood to be evenly distributed to every corner of the greenhouse, ensuring that the temperature in the entire greenhouse can be maintained at around 15°C, which is suitable for crop growth.

By constantly adding firewood, Sean managed to keep the room temperature within the ideal range.

This made things difficult for Sean, as he had to keep an eye on the fireplace at all times to prevent the fire from going out and causing the temperature to drop.

Fortunately, there are hot springs to relieve fatigue, so I can barely hold on.

However, Sean knows very well that suitable temperature is only one condition for crop growth, and humidity control is equally important.

Long-term burning of fire would make the air dry, so he chiseled a few small holes on the wall of the greenhouse and used water pipes made of bamboo joints to connect to the water supply tower made of mud outside the house. Inside was a water tank for storing water to continuously supply water.

Sean sprinkles water from time to time by precisely controlling the water flow in the trough. These water droplets spread in the air, forming a fine mist that increases the humidity in the air without making the greenhouse too humid.

In a whole day and a half, the simple breeding greenhouse hut was built from scratch.

In the afternoon, after spending 300G to buy relevant seeds and a small amount of relevant fertilizers, Sean returned to the cabin and officially started the breeding work.

To be on the safe side, Sean prepared a basin of 40C warm water. However, due to the urgency of time and the fact that there was no relevant data on special fertilizers to be used as seed fertilizers.

Sean took out the seed fertilizer he had specially bought from Pierre's house, mixed it with water at a ratio of 1:10, and then soaked the seeds in the solution.

This process allows the seeds to absorb water and swell, softening the seed coat, thereby increasing the germination rate and emergence rate of the seeds.

At the same time, seeds that are fully soaked will sink, while some seeds that are born with incomplete endosperm will float up, which can effectively screen out defective seeds.

After soaking for a full 12 hours, Sean took out the seeds.

Sean carefully wrapped the seeds in wet paper towels, placed them on shelves in the greenhouse, and sprayed them with water regularly to keep them moist.

All you need to do now is wait for the seeds to germinate under suitable temperature and humidity conditions.

To ensure a stable environment in the greenhouse, Sean regularly adds firewood to the fireplace and sprinkles water from the sink to maintain appropriate humidity.

While waiting, Sean was not idle.

He took out the bamboo seedling boxes he had made from the warehouse. These seedling boxes were woven from bamboo, had good air permeability and were easy to carry. Sean neatly placed the seedling boxes on the layers of shelves built with soil in the greenhouse, ready for the next sowing work.

A good soil environment is essential for the germination and growth of seeds. Then, Sean began to make the cultivation soil.

Sean took out the soil that he had collected when he was clearing the canal from a dry corner in the backyard.

After a period of time of mixing and fermenting with rotten leaves, kitchen waste and sand, the soil has become nutrient-rich, breathable and water-permeable cultivation soil.

This kind of soil can not only provide sufficient nutrients for the seeds, but also ensure that the seeds have enough oxygen and water during the growth process.

After making the breeding soil, Sean filled it evenly into the seedling box. At the same time, in order to ensure sufficient nutrients, Sean took a corresponding amount of special fertilizer "Jin Ke La" based on his experience in cultivating weeds in the past few days and sprinkled it in the breeding box.

Three days later, the carrot seeds began to reveal their radicles one after another. Sean was delighted, as his hard work for many days finally paid off.

Sean carefully placed the seeds into the seedling box and gently covered them with a layer of soil.

Then he controlled the water flow to gently spray a layer of water on each growing box to keep the soil moist.

After that, everything will be left to time. Sean added more firewood to the fireplace and waited for the day when the seeds would break through the soil.