Betel village "presented to the king" is bustling on the full moon day of the 7th lunar month

Betel growers in Van Son village, Dinh Ban commune, Thach Ha district (Ha Tinh) are entering the harvest stage to serve the market on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

Mr. Pham Cong Nho often harvests betel leaves early in the morning.

On an area of ​​over 500 square ^meters , Mr. Pham Cong Nho's family (Van Son village) grows over 360 betel trees. Mr. Nho said: "These days, the betel village is bustling with people coming and going. My family's betel garden almost every day has an income of 1 - 1.5 million VND/day. To meet the quantity of goods during the peak season of the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, we plan to harvest and take care of the trees so that they grow leaves regularly."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lieu harvests betel leaves to sell to traders.

Not outside the bustling atmosphere of Van Son village on this occasion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lieu has just finished watering nearly 400 betel trees of her family. Ms. Lieu said: "The betel crop on the 15th of July is most bustling from the 11th to the 15th (lunar calendar). As soon as the betel is harvested, 4-5 people come to buy it right at the garden. I pick quite quickly, more than 1,000 leaves/day, but still cannot meet the demand of customers, so I have to mobilize 1-2 more people to pick it in time. I am focusing on taking care of it to serve customers during the peak of the 15th of July".

While meticulously taking care of the betel trellis, Mr. Pham Cong Thi (Van Son village) shared: “To ensure quality products, we regularly trim off small leaves and damaged leaves, leaving only 3-5 leaves on each branch. Betel plants are suitable for organic fertilizers and microbial fertilizers, and do not spray chemicals. The betel garden is always fenced tightly to prevent livestock and poultry from causing damage. When picking leaves, people do not use knives or scissors but use their fingernails to cut into the leaf stalks, keeping the stalks about 2-3 cm long."

Betel trees are suitable for organic fertilizers and biological fertilizers, not chemical sprays.

According to local people, Van Son village is located close to the mountain, warm in winter, cool in summer, moderate sunshine, so it is suitable for betel plants to grow. What is special is that the plants only grow well when using betel varieties from Van Son village and planting here. If they are propagated from other regions or brought to Van Son village to plant, it will not be effective, the plants will be stunted and die.

"Growing betel requires little investment but brings stable income all year round. Betel is usually sold in sheets (about 50 betel leaves) for 3,000 - 5,000 VND/sheet on weekdays, and on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the price can increase to 6,000 - 7,000 VND/sheet. On average, on peak days, each household sells 100 - 200 betel leaves," said Mr. Pham Cong Thang (Van Son village).

On this occasion, it is not difficult to see small traders coming to the betel village to learn about importing goods. Ms. Nguyen Mai Anh - a betel and areca nut trader at Ha Tinh City Market shared: "Betel leaves in Van Son village, Dinh Ban commune are famous for their delicious taste with thick, large leaves, fragrant smell and characteristic spicy taste, so customers love them very much. I have to call and discuss, place orders with the garden owner early and go there every day to choose and buy each betel leaf."

Each betel leaf sheet has about 50 leaves and is sold for 3,000 - 5,000 VND/sheet on normal days, and on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the price can increase to 6,000 - 7,000 VND/sheet.

Up to now, the whole Dinh Ban commune has about 100 households growing betel trees "for the king", concentrated in Van Son village (mostly descendants of Pham Cong family) with 46 households, the average area of ​​each household is 100 - 400 ^m2 , some households grow on a large scale of over 1,000 ^m2 .

In 2016, the Pham Cong family's betel growing profession was awarded the Golden List of Vietnamese Traditional Craft Families by the Vietnam Craft Village Association. In 2021, Ha Tinh province recognized the traditional betel growing profession of this village.

The demand for betel and areca nuts becomes more vibrant when entering the seventh lunar month.

Mr. Pham Cong Tung - Vice Chairman of Dinh Ban Commune People's Committee informed: "The betel growing craft village in Van Son village is hundreds of years old, the local people's economy depends a lot on this plant. Currently, households are picking the crop early and focusing on taking care of it to have the highest economic efficiency on the full moon of July".

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/nong-nghiep/lang-trau-tien-vua-tat-bat-dip-ram-thang-7/252903.htm