Chapter 177 Greenhouse Planting
The first five crops produced through greenhouse cultivation were cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and sugar beets.
There is no special reason for choosing these five crops, mainly due to suitability considerations.
At present, the development status of these five crops is quite successful, at least in the early stages of plant development, it has met the expectations of several professional life players present.
Looking at the plants bathed in the emerald green light, the night elves had an incredible expression on their faces.
Although natural magic can make seeds germinate, it cannot make wheat simply produce ears of wheat, nor can it make a newly planted tomato plant immediately produce abundant fruits.
In fact, there are only a few types of plants that are really suitable for rapid growth, either grass and dandelions whose seeds can be found everywhere, soft and changeable green vines, or tough wood vines, etc.
These plants all have one characteristic, that is, they have a simple life cycle and relatively distinctive characteristics. They are the optimal solutions obtained by countless natural spell casters through repeated attempts.
They will die quickly after rapid growth, just like the fireballs created by elemental magicians.
But if you want a plant to go through a complete life cycle, such as flowering, pollination, and fruiting, etc., it is not enough to rely on the power of natural spells.
To do this, they have to communicate with the plants and ask the plants if they are willing...
However, the undead in these necropolises seem to have found a way to instead ask the plants for their own opinions.
This is what they call "stuck bug".
For example, they first asked themselves to use natural spells to accelerate the flowering of tomato vines, and then used artificial pollination to promote it to enter the next growth stage, and then continued to use natural spells to accelerate the next life cycle of tomato vines.
This method was something she had never imagined.
Of course, this method of segmented casting to accelerate plant growth is not perfect.
As the tomato vine in the petri dish continues to grow, climbs up the climbing frame, and blooms more and more flowers, finally green fruits grow from the end of the stem.
At first it was like a green grape, condensed under the subtle flowers, and then gradually grew.
However, problems soon arose.
That tomato had not grown long before it changed from green to orange. Although the color became darker and darker, it stopped growing in size, until finally the fruit was ripe and fell on the soil.
The night elf holding the staff stopped casting spells and dispersed the emerald green light condensed on the tip of the staff. He looked at the skeleton soldiers and shook his head, indicating that he had tried his best.
This player did not blame her, he just stared at the overripe tomato and whispered.
Legendary Liver Resistance King: "This is too small."
Legendary Dry Resistance King: "Is it a breed problem?"
“Impossible...I picked these seeds from a big tomato, is there any problem?” [Xie Burou’s thick rice] scratched the back of his head and said in confusion.
Focus on raising pigs in the wild: "It's strange, fertilizers have been spread and water has been poured, but the fruits produced seem to be lacking in fertility."
Senior Beast, who had been silent, suddenly felt something in his heart and came up with an idea.
"Could it be because the root system is underdeveloped?"
Seeing a pair of eyes looking at him, he continued to express his suspicion in an uncertain tone.
"I just wanted to say that under the ripening of natural spells, it seems that the branches, leaves and stems are growing rapidly, and the soil has not seen any movement at all. Could it be that the root system underneath has not grown much, or it has grown but cannot keep up with the growth rate of the surface part..."
He is not an agricultural expert, and is analyzing purely from a rational perspective.
In his view, this root system is like a plant's mouth for eating. If it only grows taller but doesn't grow its appetite, won't it be unable to keep up with its nutrition?
Several skeleton soldiers exchanged glances, and the soul fire shaking in their skulls gradually became brighter.
"Good guy, it's true!"
h "Using natural spells to ripen branches and leaves at the same time? Is this possible?"
Several skeleton soldiers were dumbfounded, scratching their heads and ears, and some even temporarily went offline to look up information.
In fact, this is a problem that almost all natural mages will encounter, that is, plants that accelerate growth tend to grow faster in certain parts, and the final result is that they grow top-heavy.
Only plants that breed "natural spirits" can achieve balanced growth in the true sense by communicating with them, or concentrate more nutrients in the fruit parts.
The night elves in charge of casting spells looked at these undead quietly, wondering how they would solve this problem with their empty heads.
However, what she didn't expect was that these skeleton soldiers gathered together to discuss for a while, and they really came up with some ideas.
"I don't think it's reliable to prune branches and leaves. The stimulation speed of this thing is too slow and can't keep up with the rhythm of spell casting."
"Indeed! If there are too many plants, you can't prune them, unless you arrange a necromancer to micro-manage the skeleton hand."< br/>
"There are only two ideas that seem to be reliable at the moment. One is to use natural spells to accelerate the life cycle of the rooting stage, and the other is to try soilless cultivation. I heard that if the soil is replaced with a culture solution, the same root system will be better at absorbing water."
"Let's try the two together!"
"It's best to do three sets of experiments to compare which method is more reliable and how much benefit can be added when used together."
"Shouldn't we set up a control group?"
One of the skeleton soldiers looked at the small, hard tomato that fell into the soil next to him.
"Isn't this already there?"
The other skeleton soldier smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"That's right."
The night elf standing nearby secretly marveled that she had never seen an undead that looked so much like a living person.
After realizing this, she couldn't help but look forward to these skeleton soldiers solving this problem.
She coughed slightly and said in a serious tone.
"If you need anything, just ask me. As long as it's something I can do, I will do my best to assist you."
Senior Beast smiled and said, "Don't worry! We won't be polite when we need your help."
As soon as he finished speaking, [Xie Burou's Houmi], who had just returned from checking the information, raised his hand.
"Will the amount of light and carbon dioxide concentration also have to keep up? I remember that the main influence of the root system is only the absorption of water and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Sugar still needs to rely on photosynthesis to fix carbon."
Several skeleton soldiers discussed it for a long time, and finally decided to arrange thirty-two sets of experiments for each crop, controlling different variables and combinations of variables, in order to find the optimal growth environment for different crops.
This is a game world after all. Various crops have slight differences, and real-life experience may not be applicable.
The night elves standing nearby watched the exchange between the skeleton soldiers with their mouths open.
If she was just surprised before, now she was extremely shocked.
Although Translator Crystal translated almost every word they said, she couldn't find a few who could understand it.
At this time, the skeleton soldier who had spoken to her before looked at her again and spoke.
"By the way, how do you solve the problem of too small berries that are ripened by magic?"
Hich has finished exchanging real-life experiences, [Senior Beast] would like to seek the opinions of the locals again.
After suppressing his shocked expression, the night elf thought for a moment and then spoke.
"We generally don't encounter this problem. Usually we only use catalytic growth spells on berry bushes or fruit trees that have grown to a certain age and have already produced fruit..."
[Legendary Liver Resistance King] touched his chin and said.
"The various organs of this type of plant are generally relatively mature, and it is indeed unlikely to encounter this kind of problem."
【Legendary Resistant King】 complained.
"Simply put, the older ones can withstand the torment."
[Senior Beast] did not stop and continued to ask.
"How many years is a certain age? 1 year? 5 years? Or 10 years?"
If it takes too long, they cannot afford to wait.
The night elf shook his head and answered truthfully.
"Not necessarily, this is not directly related to time, it mainly depends on whether it has given birth to the spirit of nature."
Hearing another unheard term, [Senior Beast] was stunned and said.
"What is the spirit of nature?"
The night elf lady explained.
"You can understand it as a soul. As the growth rings of the plants growing near the Mother Tree of Life grow, there is a certain possibility of giving birth to souls every spring."
The surrounding players had incredible expressions on their faces after hearing this sentence.
"Soul?"
"Plants actually have souls?!"
"Is it so magical?"
Is it magical?
The expression on the face of the night elf is a little subtle.
She felt that what was happening in front of her was even more magical.
In addition, she also discovered through listening to discussions among the undead that life can be divided into many different stages.
Before that, although she had a vague feeling that plants, like elves, had juvenile, adult and old stages, she did not conduct classified research on the different stages of different plants like them.
In fact, this is normal.
After all, the world has not formed a trend of scientific thinking, and production activities in most areas are dominated by empiricism.
The tribe of night elves is no exception.
In addition, their nature also determines that they are more likely to become artists than scholars.
Rather than wondering why the apple fell from the tree, they would rather spend time wondering what the plant was thinking.
After some discussion, the professional life players present redesigned the experiment.
【Senior Beast】first summoned the Crypt Spider construction team through the acolytes, and dug more branch caves based on the original greenhouse cave.
The height of these caves is just slightly lower than the main cave. They are like ditches running out along the sides of the main cave.
The top of each branch hole is equipped with crystals engraved with luminous Hades, and these crystals are connected to the Hades circuit of the entire greenhouse cave.
They then increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the cave by burning coal, and used the principle that carbon dioxide is heavier than air to allow carbon dioxide to enter the branch cave.
By controlling the input of magic, the type of petri dish, and the amount of coal used, they could simply control several variables in the experiment.
Although precise control is impossible, there is probably no problem in controlling it.
After doing all these things, they put the remade petri dishes into the branch holes and commissioned the night elf mage to sing the magic that catalyzes growth.
As the night elf recited the incantation, a faint green light was released from the tip of the staff, and the moisturizing substances were silently integrated into the petri dishes.
Some of these petri dishes are soil mixed with fertilizer, and some are nutrient solutions prepared according to online tutorials.
To everyone's surprise, as time went by, they could clearly observe that under the influence of the magic of "catalytic growth", the root growth rate of tomato vines grown without soil was significantly faster than that grown with soil!
The rapidly growing vine has not yet bloomed, but the roots soaked in the culture solution have already grown to the size of an adult's palm!
Seeing this incredible scene, the night elf responsible for casting spells couldn't help but feel a little more confident.
The pollination stage will soon come.
The night elves stopped casting spells.
Several skeleton soldiers jumped into the branch hole and spread the prepared pollen on the small flowers blooming on the tomato vines.
After finishing these things, the night elf raised the wand in his hand again, recited a spell and released emerald green light, allowing the tomato vines' life cycle to enter the next stage.
An incredible scene happened!
I saw that in one of the branch holes, the tomato vines covered with supports were growing with abundant fruits!
That is a tomato grown in culture fluid!
The night elf responsible for casting spells widened his eyes and couldn't believe what was happening in front of him.
At first she thought it was ridiculous to grow tomatoes in water, but she didn’t expect these undead people to actually do it!
"Incredible..." she muttered quietly, her eyes filled with disbelief.
The skeletons standing next to her also high-fived each other excitedly.
However, they quickly calmed down and prepared for the next set of experiments without stopping.
Looking at these restless skeletons, the night elves had a confused expression on their faces.
"Isn't this result good enough?"
In her opinion, being able to use a growth-catalyzing spell to turn tomato seeds into mature tomatoes is already amazing.
These newly sprouted crops obviously have neither soul nor developed root systems. Based on their current research results, even their ancestor Gray Wind would probably be amazed.
【Senior Beast】 smiled when he heard this and said without thinking.
"Where are we now? The experiment has just begun! Next we plan to adjust the carbon dioxide concentration to find the most suitable air ratio."
h "Carbon dioxide? Concentration? Air ratio?" The night elf looked at him confused, completely confused.
【Senior Beast】quickly changed his words.
"To put it simply, it is to figure out how much carbon each cave needs to burn! Now growing healthy fruits is no longer a problem, but it is not perfect yet! We need to let the crops we cultivate grow in the best environment, and strive to produce bigger and sweeter fruits and vegetables!"
As long as he can find the best air ratio, he can just copy and paste and create a few more caves near Beifeng Mountain.
Anyway, the cost of digging a hole for a burrowing spider is very low, as long as the mountain is not excavated and collapsed, this is almost a costless business!
At that time, he would dig hundreds of greenhouse caves, all using soilless cultivation and magic crystal lighting technology, and hire a dozen night elf mages to help him ripen his crops.
At that time, let alone the agricultural products market in Beifeng City, even the reverse dumping of Thunder City next door will not be a dream!
Becoming a farm tycoon is just around the corner!
Looking at the skeleton soldier who was grinning from ear to ear, although the night elf had no idea what he was talking about, he was still moved by his perseverance in seeking.
Obviously he is an undead soul, but he still has such a strong passion for exploring the mysteries of life!
What a hot soul this is!
There was a trace of emotion in her eyes, and she said in an unprecedented serious tone.
"Although I don't quite understand the experiment you are doing, I believe you must have your own plan... If you have any needs, just ask me, I will accompany you until the end!"
I didn't expect that farming could be so sensational. [Senior Beast] was moved when he heard this and was about to hold the NPC's little hand.
However, before he stretched out his hand, the [Legendary Naigan King] on the side swallowed his saliva and interjected at an inappropriate time.
"Is it okay to ask for anything?"
The night elf was stunned for a moment. Before he could recover what he meant, he looked at the skeleton soldier next to him and slapped the guy on the head.
"Se Se Se Se, I've known Se Se Se all day long, can you do something serious!"
Legendary Liver Resistance King: "That's right! Don't get involved with us if you want to die!"
Legendary Nasty Gan King: "Gan! Did I say it's Se Se Se? Can't it be for science??"
Hence the thick rice: "Bah! I don't understand you yet!"
"What else can you say..."
The night elf was about to ask, when suddenly he felt his eyes spinning, and his body felt as heavy as lead.
Immediately afterwards, she rolled her eyes and fell to the ground unconscious.
Looking at the NPC who suddenly fainted, the noisy skeleton soldiers around him were startled and immediately ended the quarrel.
"Holy shit! Is this carbon dioxide poisoning!?"
"No, not necessarily, it might be carbon monoxide..."
"Quick! Artificial respiration!"
"What the hell! You Does a skeleton soldier have lungs? Take him out quickly! "
Looking at the group of scurrying skeletons, [Senior Beast] was the first to react, carrying the suddenly fainted NPC on his shoulders, and ran away in the direction outside the cave.
If a night elf dies, all his plans to make Beast Farm bigger and stronger will come to nothing!
But having said that, I didn’t expect that a bronze-level mage would faint due to lack of oxygen...
This game is too real!