Rome Must Perish

"Yes, they are all using the iron plow! Therefore, we must not be too arrogant. We should learn more from them. They have survived and thrived here for hundreds of years, so they naturally have some unique insights, not to mention their thorough understanding of everything here!" Cato said solemnly.

Unlike Volenus, who was once a Roman citizen and viewed the Gauls and Celts as barbarians, in his previous life, he had read about the Gauls and knew that their civilization level was not low, with high standards in agriculture, animal husbandry, iron smelting, and woodworking.

"Leader, you’re right!" Volenus nodded in agreement. "Since the soil is already fertile enough, I think we don’t need to apply more fertilizer. Besides, we don’t have time for composting right now."

"I have a suggestion," Cato said. "I noticed that in the fields around the two villages to the east, there are many piles of wheat straw. I estimate the Segestica people might want to use them as backup for replacing thatch roofs, but that’s quite wasteful. Instead, we could burn this straw, collect the ashes, and mix them into the soil to increase its fertility."

"Using straw ash to fertilize the soil?!" Volenus was surprised because he had never heard of such a method and couldn’t help but be skeptical.

Cato continued, "Not just wheat straw, other weeds, including ash from burned wood, can also be mixed into the soil to enhance fertility. The darker the ash, the better the fertility it provides. Additionally, the bones left after we eat livestock and poultry can be ground into powder and mixed into the soil to add another type of fertility."

"Another type of fertility?" Volenus was even more puzzled.

So Cato vaguely explained to him, "Generally, for crops to grow well, the soil needs at least three things. Planting legumes can add one, mixing plant ash another, and mixing bone meal the last one... it seems you don’t quite believe it."