Why is courtyard cultivation of Gastrodia elata so profitable?

Opening remarks: The artificial cultivation of Gastrodia elata follows special rules, and the level of technical skill directly affects the yield of Gastrodia elata. Comrade Zhang Youyun of the Heze City Yunzhou Gastrodia elata Research Institute began studying Gastrodia elata cultivation techniques in 1992 under Mr. Xu Jintang, the father of Chinese Gastrodia elata and a researcher at the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Over ten years, he has worked out in practice a complete set of effective Gastrodia elata cultivation techniques and accumulated rich practical experience. To enable more Gastrodia elata enthusiasts to learn and master Gastrodia elata cultivation techniques, this newspaper is opening from today the "Gastrodia elata Cultivation Techniques Lecture" column, systematically introducing Zhang Youyun's research results.

Whether in the city or the countryside, there are many projects that can be undertaken in courtyard economy development, and among them planting Gastrodia elata is one of the most suitable projects. It has the following advantages:

One: Gastrodia elata is a degenerated orchid plant. It has no roots and no chlorophyll. It grows and reproduces by digesting Armillaria mellea, and Armillaria mellea is cultivated using discarded broadleaf tree logs, so the resources are extremely abundant.

Two: After the tree logs are cultivated into fungus logs, they can be planted directly indoors, inside and outside walls, in cellars, basements, air-raid shelters, open sheds, and other places; they can be planted in soil pits, wooden boxes, plastic boxes, plastic bags, brick pools, and so on. The method is simple and flexible, the area can be large or small, and it does not compete with crops for land.

Three: Plant in winter or early spring each year, and afterward only the moisture in the bed needs to be maintained. In the winter or spring of the following year, harvest and plant at the same time, and it does not compete with crops for farming season.

Four: Because Gastrodia elata only absorbs nutrients from the fungus logs and does not need any fertilizer, planting Gastrodia elata does not compete with crops for fertilizer. Moreover, the fungus logs can be used continuously for 2 to 3 years.

Five: One full laborer investing a total of 30 labor workdays a year can plant 100 sq m of Gastrodia elata, with annual income reaching more than 10000 yuan. It is a good sideline with low input and high income.

Six: As long as there is spawn, it can be cultivated into fungus logs; as long as there are fungus logs, Gastrodia elata is very easy to plant, and the technique is extremely simple.

Seven: After introducing several beds of Gastrodia elata and succeeding in trial planting, it can expand more than tenfold each year. Each spring, only a small amount of spawn needs to be purchased to cultivate fungus logs. There is no need to buy Gastrodia elata seed again. For the expanded area, only about 1 yuan per sq m is invested each year in spawn money. It is a good sideline with one-time investment and many years of benefit.

In summary, planting Gastrodia elata in the courtyard does not compete with crops for land, fertilizer, or farming season. The technique is simple, management is convenient, the forms are diverse, it can be done on a large or small scale, labor intensity is low, resources are abundant, it requires one-time investment, and it brings many years of benefit. It is a very good courtyard economy development project and a path to wealth for the broad masses of farmers and urban @#@168@#@ workers.