kscans

Chapter 166 - Agricultural Guidance by Slip of the Tongue, Or, Love Me to the Bone

Regarding the snow storage of vegetables, Yuri had heard of it in his past life. According to that, vegetables stored buried in the snow, in conditions of 0 degrees Celsius, approximately 100% humidity, and darkness, first try to prevent their own cells from freezing and breaking by increasing the sugar concentration of their bodily fluids. It was known that as a result, the sweetness of snow-stored vegetables increases. And this increase in sugar concentration promotes the absorption of water due to osmotic pressure, keeping the vegetables fresh and juicy. Yuri knew these things as secondhand knowledge from his past life and naturally assumed that the farmers here were already aware of this knowledge, but…

"...Yuri-kun, what is this snow storage?"

"Eh? …Huh?"

It seemed he was mistaken.

Several circumstances were involved in this. First, there was the fact that in this country, very few people lived in heavy snowfall areas. The elves who lived deep in the mountains knew about snow storage, but that knowledge was not transmitted to humans. Second, End Village originally began as a settlement on the northernmost border of the territory at the instigation of the lord, and the settlers were from other villages… in other words, from villages south of the current End Village. Naturally, they had no knowledge of snow storage. Third, the vegetables that were stored in the snow in Yuri’s past life Japan included leafy vegetables such as cabbage and Chinese cabbage, and root vegetables such as daikon radish and carrots. However, in this country, not only daikon radish but even turnips, or Suzuna in the local language, edible varieties were not generally available. The equivalent of cabbage was known, and was cultivated in End Village, but it was common to harvest it before the snowfall and store it salted… in other words, as what is called sauerkraut. Since vegetables were scarce during the winter, they compensated for it with such pickles. As a result, there was no one in End Village who could afford to try the snow storage that Yuri mentioned, and consequently, no one appeared who knew the benefits of snow storage.

"...To think that happened…"

"...To think you did not know…"

The two hung their heads for their respective reasons, but now that winter had passed, there was no point in regretting it.

"...That’s right. Let’s be glad that we were able to learn knowledge to prepare for next winter early on."

"...That is more constructive…"

Old Man Audel, having changed his mindset, began to ask Yuri various agricultural techniques on behalf of the villagers. A seasoned farmer asking a child of ten or so for guidance on cultivation techniques. It was a scene that would normally be unimaginable, but the villagers had already benefited from Yuri’s knowledge. Not only the knowledge of leaching and detoxification, but the effects of nitrogen fixation by Soya Beans and the Alfalfa Mimic, which had taken root as a name, were also beginning to appear. Furthermore, having heard the story of potatoes, their trust in Yuri’s knowledge had become unwavering.

Yuri mobilized all the knowledge he had to answer Old Man Audel’s questions, but when the topic turned to fertilizer…

"Hmm? Bone meal, you say?"

"Yes. …Could it be that you did not know?"

Phosphorus is an essential element for life, but its usefulness and necessity as a fertilizer were recognized relatively late. Also, as an element, it has a large specific gravity, so it tends to move downwards and downwards if left alone, and there is a high possibility of it being washed away by rain. In this world, it is returned to the farmland through fertilizers such as human waste, but since the supply is not large compared to the amount lost, many farmlands suffered from a chronic lack of phosphorus. And at the root of the problem was that the farmers themselves knew nothing about the nutrient phosphorus. Because they did not know, they did not notice the deficiency, and there was no way to take measures.

So Yuri brought up animal bones as an easy-to-understand explanation.

"Well… cows and horses only eat grass, right? But cows and horses both have bones, which means that the source of the bones is absorbed from the soil in the form of grass. So, if you don’t return those bones to the soil…"

"The soil will become poor. And since crops do not have bones, it is difficult to notice the deficiency. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes."

It was a very rough explanation, but the essential part should not be wrong. He had heard that early phosphorus fertilizers were actually made by treating animal bones with sulfuric acid.

"Hmm… we have just been leaving bones lying around… I wonder if it would be good to burn them, crush them, and sprinkle them on the fields?"

"Yes, I think that method will be fine. The immediate effect will be inferior, but if there is bone meal in the soil, I think the nutrients will seep out from it."

"Hmm… I wonder how many animal bones there are in the village… I should probably make arrangements to get them from the butcher…"

"Ah, I have some Gambitgrizzly bones in my magic bag…"

"No, that will not be necessary."

Who would be brave enough to use the bones of a magical beast that could fetch several gold coins as fertilizer?