Detailed Explanation of Houttuynia cordata Planting Costs and Cultivation Techniques
Houttuynia cordata was once one of the wild grasses commonly seen everywhere in rural areas, but now people have begun to pay attention to health and wellness, which has made Houttuynia cordata very precious, and some people have even started to cultivate it specifically. So what is the planting cost of Houttuynia cordata? What cultivation techniques are there?
I. What is the planting cost of Houttuynia cordata?
Seedlings 300 jin for 900 yuan (3 yuan/jin); farmers only pay 300 yuan when purchasing seedlings (1 yuan/jin); fertilizer compound fertilizer (three-element) 3 bags and herbicide totaling 220 yuan; plowing and turning the soil 120 yuan/mu; planting labor for 2 workers 180 yuan; manual weeding by 2 workers 180 yuan; harvesting by 5 workers 450 yuan; total input cost per mu is 1450 yuan, with net income of 5050 yuan. In addition, budgeting for 3 workers for transport and miscellaneous labor, the net income per mu can reach more than 5000 yuan.
II. Cultivation Techniques
1. Site selection and land preparation
Houttuynia cordata likes moisture and avoids drought. Besides using marginal land or wasteland, it is more suitable to choose dry land or paddy fields with convenient irrigation and drainage for planting. Before land preparation, first plow and harrow, apply organic fertilizer as base fertilizer; before planting, apply 1500-2500 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer plus an appropriate amount of plant ash (per mu) into the planting furrows as base fertilizer, and mix thoroughly with the soil, then cover with 3 cm of crushed soil. After it decomposes (to avoid root rot), turn and level it once more, and form low beds 1.3-1.5 m wide, then dig planting furrows 15 cm wide and 20 cm deep horizontally, with furrow spacing of about 25 cm.
2. Seedling planting
Houttuynia cordata mainly uses underground stems for asexual reproduction. Houttuynia cordata has two types, white-stemmed and red-stemmed; red-stemmed Houttuynia cordata has a stronger fragrance. Generally, in winter, dig up its thick underground stems as seedlings, bury them under loose soil to overwinter, and after they sprout in the following spring, dig them up and cut them into small sections (each section has 2-3 nodes), then plant them.
3. Planting management
For winter planting, plant in January and harvest in April; you may also first harvest the aboveground stems and leaves, apply additional fertilizer, and harvest the aboveground stems and leaves a second time, then harvest the roots as a spring-planted crop. Plant around “Qingming” in spring. Place one seedling every 6-8 cm, then cover with 6-7 cm of crushed soil, and water as appropriate. After planting, pay attention to maintaining moisture and preventing drought. When the base fertilizer is sufficient, generally there is no need to apply additional fertilizer. If necessary, a light application of manure water may be given once during the vigorous growth period to promote increased yield and harvest. The key to daily management is to keep the soil moist and never let it suffer drought; otherwise, there will be many fibrous roots and poor quality. Pay attention to weeding in the early stage; after the rows close, weeding is not needed. Apply dilute human manure urine once when the seedlings are 5 cm tall and once before the rows close. In addition, when flower buds first appear, it is advisable to remove them early and combine this with one pinching to inhibit excessive vegetative growth. Houttuynia cordata has very few pests and diseases; root rot is occasionally seen and can be controlled by spraying with thiophanate-methyl solution. When the plant height is above 10 cm, earth up in time so that the underground stems grow long, white, and tender.