Fundamentals of Agriculture and Sericulture, Volume 5

If one waits until they wither and become tangled, they will certainly rot.

○ Cui Shi original: "崔寔" (Cui Shi). An official of the Eastern Han dynasty known for writing the Simin Yueling (Monthly Instructions for the Four Classes of People), an early almanac of seasonal farm work. says: On the sixth day of the sixth month, one may plant mallow original: "葵" (kui). Specifically the Chinese Mallow (Malva verticillata), which was the "king of vegetables" in ancient China before the rise of cabbage..

After the Middle Hidden Period original: "中伏" (zhongfu). The second of the three ten-day periods of peak summer heat in the traditional lunar-solar calendar., one can plant winter mallow. In the ninth month, make mallow pickles original: "菹" (ju). A general term for fermented or salted vegetables used for long-term storage. and dried mallow.

Eggplant

Essential Techniques for the Peasantry original: "齊民要術" (Qi Min Yao Shu). A 6th-century agricultural treatise by Jia Sixie, which is the source of this specific entry. The method for planting eggplant: When the eggplant is ripe in the ninth month, harvest them.

Split them open and wash the seeds in water; collect those that sink. Quickly dry them in the sun and wrap them for storage until the second month, then plant them in beds original: "畦" (qi). Level, raised planting areas used for intensive vegetable cultivation.. Prepare the beds and apply water exactly according to the method for mallow. When four or five leaves have appeared,

transplant them along with their root-mud during a rainfall. If there is a drought and it does not rain, water the ground until it is thoroughly soaked. Transplant them at night and cover them with mats during the day so they are not exposed to the sun.

For those planted in the tenth month, use the pit-planting method original: "區種" (quzhong). An intensive farming technique where crops are grown in small, deep pits or trenches to concentrate water and fertilizer. used for melons. Push snow into the pits; then, there is no need for transplanting. For spring planting, do not make beds, but plant directly as if planting...