Taro

Essential Techniques for the Peasantry

The Book of Fan Shengzhi original: "氾勝之書" (Fan Shengzhi Shu). Fan Shengzhi was a 1st-century BCE agriculturalist whose work is one of the earliest known Chinese farming manuals. states: To plant taro, the cultivation pits should be three feet square and three feet deep. Take bean stalks pronounced qi; five stalks and place them inside the pit. Tread on them firmly with your feet until they reach a thickness of one foot and five inches. Take the moist topsoil from the pit, mix it with manure, and place it back inside the pit. This upper layer should be one foot and two inches thick. Pour water over it and tread on it again to ensure the soil retains its moisture The treading and watering create a compact, moist environment that mimics the swampy conditions taro naturally prefers..

Take five taro seed-tubers and place them in the four corners and the center of the pit. Tread them into the soil. In the event of drought, water them frequently. Once the bean stalks have rotted The rotting organic matter provides high-nitrogen fertilizer and warmth to the developing tubers., the taro produced will all be three feet in length. A single pit can yield a harvest of three shi A traditional unit of volume. In this period, one shi was roughly 20 to 30 liters..

There is also another method for planting taro: one should select fertile, loose soil near a water source. Mix the soil with manure to make it soft and rich. In the third month Roughly April in the Gregorian calendar., when the heavy rains fall, the taro can be planted. As a general rule, plant one seedling every two feet.