The chat between the two quickly turned into motivation for action.
The next day, Mo Fei went out to look for Little Hangleton.
He had almost forgotten the description of Gaunt family's old house in the original book, so at this time, he had to spend time investigating.
Fortunately, although that place is a small place, there is still a way to reach it from London.
While Mo Fei was studying the way to get there, Tom made another renovation to the backyard of the orphanage.
After a year of practice under Professor Herbert, he gained a new understanding of soil and magic plant cultivation.
Many magical plants cannot be cultivated in the world of Muggle. The key to this is that many of the elements required for their growth are very poor in Muggle.
It's not that the soil itself is barren, but that the growth of magic plants requires some special nutrients.
For example, Mandrake must have dragon dung fertilizer to grow, and it must be a specially made fertilizer.
You know, when he first came into contact with that kind of thing, Tom almost fainted from the smoke, so he took the thing far away.
Professor Herbert looked at Tom with a smile. She behaved very normally. She even picked up one and put it to her nose and smelled it before nodding with satisfaction, "The fertilizer this time is very well made and can retain enough nutrients..."
Tom was also surprised at the time, but later, after having more contact with it, he discovered that dragon dung is really nothing.
In order to cultivate some special plants, many of the nutrients they need to produce are very disgusting.
For example, unscrew the heads of some special beetles, then turn the body upside down, pour out all the internal organs bit by bit, and then mix them with some rotten plant roots and mash them together... The juice that splashes out is completely synonymous with the fishy smell.
Tom finally understands why, even though he is a diligent little badger, some people cannot accept Herbology at all.
He also wanted to give up several times.
In his opinion, this kind of fertilizer production does not seem to make any sense, and the finished product can be purchased.
That's what he thought, and that's why he asked.
The witch bent down to clear away the weeds growing in the greenhouse while answering Tom's question, "Cultivation of plants sometimes requires a lot of attention..."
"Fertilizers bought from outside have sufficient nutrients and can allow plants to grow normally..."
"But the problem is that due to different environments and different cultivation methods, the preferences of each plant will also change slightly..."
"Take this wormwood plant as an example. How is it described in the textbook?"
Sudden questions were common to Tom, and he answered them without thinking too much.
"Appearance: silver-gray serrated leaves, bitter smell. Living conditions: wasteland, highland, resistant to barrenness, large temperature difference between day and night for better growth. Function: Draught of Living Death, analgesic and detoxification agent; relieves mental anxiety, do not eat too much raw food..."
"A very standard answer, and it is also based on the knowledge in the Herbology and Potions textbooks..."
"But you see, theoretically it lives in wasteland. Wherever there is wasteland in the greenhouse, being resistant to barrenness does not mean that we have to reduce the nutrients of the land..."
"So since the land has changed, in order to get plants with better effects, should we make new changes in nutrients?"
"We need to deliberately increase the supply of some nutrients, reduce some nutrients, and then increase the temperature difference between day and night, so that it can accumulate more effective substances and not grow wildly..."
"This is our value as Herbology ers..."
"Then, professor, how do you know how to control the portion? You must know that the physiological state of each plant is somewhat different. To meet all the requirements, you cannot understand it simply through experience and habit?"
Regarding Tom's question, Professor Herbert said, "This is a secret. Maybe when you are in fifth grade, I will teach you advanced skills in this area, but for now, you should first practice how to make plants get closer to you..."
Although there is no answer, Tom actually got an explanation.
That is, in the hands of these professors, there must be more profound things to learn, not just those that can be learned in the classroom...
Since that knowledge is not available yet, Tom started to learn some more basic things.
This year, the area where he made the most progress was in soil improvement.
In order to cultivate Glimmer Daisy for his experiment, he searched for a lot of information and asked professors for their opinions. Only then did he gain a thorough understanding of the formula for soil preparation.
There are no basic soil requirements, except that a large amount of water and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers need to be added regularly, which is quite satisfactory.
But in addition, there are also the feces of some magical creatures and some special Potions.
Tom If you want to make qualified soil, you need to prepare a Potions, then mix this Potions with a large amount of magical creature feces in a certain proportion, and finally bury it half a meter deep under the ground.
Not only that, the soil must be turned over once a week for a month after it is placed.
Turn the soil 40cm for the first time, turn 30cm for the second time, and so on...
After a month has passed and the soil color turns dark and translucent, cultivation can be carried out.
This kind of soil is used to cultivate Glimmer Daisy, allowing them to grow stronger and better feel the changes in light.
Tom The work done in the backyard is to nourish the soil.
All other materials have been prepared in Hogwarts in advance, so when he returned to the orphanage, he was an experiment.
When Kyle came back, what he saw was Tom lying on the land like an old farmer, constantly turning over the soil.
Beads of sweat rolled down his face, but he didn't notice it at all.
Kyle looked at this look that was a little familiar but also a little nostalgic, and spoke with envy.
"That's great, Tom. You look just like the Herbology geniuses I know. They are all guys who take the land very seriously... Unfortunately, I really don't have any talent here. Although I can work hard and find some work to make a living, it is different..."
Tom also refuted his statement.
"I'm still far behind. Not only compared with the professor, but even compared with the dean, I have the advantage of knowing magic. If the professor knows magic, he will definitely do better..."
Regarding this point, Kyle has no refutation.
"That's right, I once told the professor some of the dean's training methods, and the professor was very interested in studying it for a while? The professor once said that he wanted to come and communicate with the dean... It's a pity..."
As for what was a pity, he never said it.
However, he suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, Tom, next year, I may go to Hogsmeade to open a store. Have you helped me with publicity..."
Tom felt a little guilty, and he looked away, "Of course, I did a big thing wearing the clothes you made? Slytherin Many students are amazed by your craftsmanship..."
After hearing Tom's words, Kyle's performance was also a bit excited...
Who doesn't want to get off to a great start?
However, what Tom said was true. Kyle's clothes really impressed Slytherin's little wizard.