Pictures of Oufei Compost-making
Taken by Erle Ellis, for research purposes in Xiejia Village, 1994
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| Ingredients for Oufei: Mr. Qin points out canal sediment (black), Chinese milk vetch (green) and rice straw (edge of pit). |
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| Canal sediment harvest: Harvesting sediments from canals. In the past, there was much less sediment, requiring special scoops to remove it from canal bottoms. Now, the canals are full of sediment. |
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| Chinese milk vetch: Astragalus sinicus in full flower, time of harvest. |
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| Adding milk vetch to pit: Xue Huailiang throws freshly harvested Chinese milk vetch into pit. |
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| Preparing milk vetch: Mr. Qin prepares milk vetch for adding canal sediment. |
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| Adding sediment to pit: Mr. Qin adds canal sediment to layer of rice straw in pit. Note that the traditional method uses dryer canal sediment. |
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| Mixing sediment with milk vetch: Mr. Qin mixes canal sediment with Chinese milk vetch in pit. |
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| Finished compost: Oufei compost nearly ready for use. When wheat (background) is harvested, the oufei will be applied. |
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| Weighing & sampling compost: Weighing finished compost prior to addition to experimental plots. Li Ronggang is preparing samples for analysis on the left. |
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