To the million dollar garden of Khanh Thanh farmer

In the process of building new rural areas (NTM), in order to help people increase their income, Khanh Thanh commune (Yen Khanh district) has encouraged and created conditions for people to destroy mixed gardens and form green, fertile model gardens.

Coming to Khanh Thanh commune today, everyone will be attracted by the spaciousness and cleanliness, from the asphalt and concrete roads to the houses, both sides of the road are planted with colorful flowers, green fences, especially the rich model gardens with fruit trees one after another.

Some houses grow guava, some grow apples, then jackfruit, longan,... Even fences and ditches are now places to "make money" because people have creatively grown climbing plants such as bitter melon, lac lai, gac, and green squash on them, which are both green and have products to harvest. All create a cool, fresh green landscape, a desirable living space in the countryside.

Visiting Mr. Nguyen Van Son's family in hamlet 18, he was operating a tiller, preparing to plant medicinal herbs. When he saw guests coming, he stopped to make some tea to entertain them.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Son shared: In the past, our people grew rice in this interspersed area but with low efficiency. With the support of the commune, in 2021, I and more than a dozen other households invested in planning and renovating. Accordingly, on an area of 5 sao, I grow apples above and angelica below. In addition, my family also set aside a part of the land to grow vegetables and dug a small pond to both raise fish and get water for irrigation; along the entrance, we built an archway and built a trellis for bitter melon and climbing passionflowers.

Visit the million-dollar gardens of Khanh Thanh farmers — In addition to growing fruit trees and medicinal plants, Mr. Nguyen Van Son, in hamlet 18, Khanh Thanh commune, sets aside part of his land to grow vegetables to have a scattered source of income throughout the year.

According to Mr. Son, after nearly 3 years of renovation, in addition to vegetables that provide daily and weekly income, last year apples began to bear fruit, although they were just planted, the yield must have been up to 300 kg. Angelica dahurica has a steady 400 kg of dried roots per sao of human with a price of 50,000 VND/1 kg of dried roots. In total, after deducting expenses, the family earned about 100 million VND. This year, apple output is expected to double, so the income will be even better.

The first impression when visiting the model garden of Mrs. Pham Thi Luu’s family (Hamlet 5) is that each area is planned in detail, with plants and animals scientifically arranged. In addition to the guava, custard apple, jackfruit and apple trees, Mrs. Luu also raises frogs and uses pond water to irrigate the plants.

Agricultural by-products are also carefully collected and composted into organic fertilizer to replace chemical fertilizers. In particular, the paths in the garden are all concreted, and the automatic irrigation system makes gardening much more leisurely.

"Environmental sanitation is the most important thing, everything must be neat and clean, and the tools must be neatly arranged after finishing. Besides, science and technology are also effective assistants in taking care of and operating the garden more conveniently. Unlike the old days, when you had to get your hands and feet dirty, farming now is no different from experiencing eco-tourism" - Ms. Luu proudly said.

The model has been implemented since 2017. Up to now, Khanh Thanh commune has had about 40 model gardens. In which, people mainly grow fruit trees, combined with green vegetables and medicinal plants; the income value is from 100-300 million VND/garden/year.

Sharing his experience in developing model gardens, Mr. Hoang Minh Thinh, Chairman of Khanh Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: Initially, we reviewed gardens that met the conditions, mobilized people to register to build model gardens, guided families to re-plan their gardens, and selected suitable plants. At the same time, we integrated programs and capital sources to actively support production development.

Thanks to that, many ineffective land areas have been converted into concentrated, specialized, large-scale model gardens. In addition to creating a stable source of income, the model garden model has also made its mark on the ecological picture in residential areas, serving as a place to share experiences, a bridge to transfer science and technology, helping people change their backward production habits.

In the coming time, to create a stable output for garden products, Khanh Thanh commune will enhance the role of cooperatives and cooperative groups in linking and guiding people to develop organic production, ensuring quality and food hygiene and safety, to achieve VietGap and organic certifications.

The commune has also identified a number of local specialties such as guava, apple, angelica, green vegetables, etc. to develop into OCOP products, striving to have at least one product recognized as 4 stars this year. Thereby, gradually finding stable outlets for household garden products in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and kitchens.

Article and photos: Nguyen Luu

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