As the 2024 Lunar New Year approaches, Phu Long vegetable village (Ham Thuan Bac) is busier, with farmers working hard in the fields from early morning to late at night to tend to their vegetable gardens to supply the market.
Green vegetable beds waiting to sell for Tet.
On December days, over a cup of tea or a glass of wine, the most talked about topic among the locals here is vegetables. In the fields, farmers are busier than ever, focusing on taking care of and harvesting vegetables to sell. On the way to Phu Truong and Phu Cuong neighborhoods, farmers are always present in the fields, working enthusiastically, laughing and talking, making the atmosphere of the last crop of the year more joyful. Everyone shares the same mood, looking forward to a good income from the vegetable beds they have painstakingly cultivated. Groups of farmers are diligently sticking to the fields, some are bending over to harvest in time for traders to transport vegetables to the markets. On the other side of the fields, people are spreading fertilizer and weeding the new vegetable beds to cover the ground with a fresh green color. While busy taking care of more than 3 sao of vegetables for Tet with all kinds of coriander, onions, sweet cabbage, perilla, and Vietnamese mint, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thanh in Phu Cuong quarter said: "At the end of the year, the weather is very favorable, the weather is a bit chilly so the vegetables have the highest yield of the year. Although the price of Tet vegetables is not high, but the labor is still profitable, but the fluctuating price is not reassuring."
Farmers are busy taking care of and harvesting vegetables.
Thanks to the characteristics of sandy soil and water sources at the foot of sand dunes, Phu Long green vegetables are fresh all year round and have been famous for a long time. To compete effectively, local vegetable growers have paid attention to growing safe and organic vegetables. The habitual farming method of spraying pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers when seeing vegetables with pests has been completely eliminated. Thanks to that, Phu Long branded vegetable products are trusted by consumers in and outside the district, and all kinds of green vegetables are also sold in supermarkets in the province. Most farmers have invested in sprinkler irrigation systems instead of pulling irrigation hoses like in previous years to save irrigation water and labor. The whole town currently has about 50 hectares of vegetables supplying wholesale markets in the district and Phan Thiet City.
All vegetable gardens use automatic sprinkler irrigation systems.
The vegetable growing area currently maintains and develops 3 vegetable groups, farmers all aim to grow vegetables in a safe direction to preserve the brand. In particular, Phu Truong Vegetable Group has been certified to meet VietGAP standards with 21 members producing 7 hectares of vegetables for many years. The members of the group still encourage each other to strictly follow the VietGAP vegetable production process from regular diary recording to safety regulations when using pesticides and quarantine time when harvesting. Mr. Tran Vo Huynh Tin - a member of Phu Truong VietGAP vegetable group shared: "This year, in addition to growing vegetables, I grow short-term late-season white cauliflower to sell for Tet, which brings much higher economic efficiency than the main crop". However, according to Mr. Tin, it is very difficult to grow successfully because cauliflower is a crop with many pests and diseases. Mr. Tin maintains safe farming methods, prioritizes the use of biological products, and only uses pesticides in cases of high pest density and ensures absolute quarantine time for each type of pesticide according to the instructions on the label. Thanks to that, he is one of the few farmers who have successfully grown cauliflower for many years. This spring, the cauliflower garden is growing well, promising to bring a good income for his family.
The atmosphere of the last days of the year in vegetable gardens is bustling as if bringing Tet closer. With the new spring knocking on the door, many vegetable farmers are cherishing a "warmer" Tet from their vegetable beds.
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