These days, along Provincial Road 1, through Quang Tam Commune (Tuy Duc District, Dak Nong Province), many stalls selling beef melon (also known as cat melon) have appeared.
According to locals, this melon variety was previously grown by the Mong people on high mountains in the northern mountainous region. When they moved to Dak Nong, many people brought seeds to plant.
Taking advantage of uncultivated land to grow melons, many households in the border district of Dak Nong have high incomes.
Since the end of March, when the first rains appeared, the family of Ms. Dao Thi Hien (Mong ethnic group, Quang Tam commune) has planted melons.
Beef melon stalls are sold by people along Provincial Road 1, through Tuy Duc district (Photo: Dang Duong).
According to Ms. Hien, cow melon is related to cucumber (also known as cucumber) but the fruit size is much larger, ranging from 0.5-1.5kg/fruit, with some fruits weighing more than 2kg. Also because of its large size, the melon does not climb the trellis but grows on the ground, so locals often call it cow melon.
"Growing cow melon is very easy. When it rains, we start planting and only fertilize once during the growing period. Because we don't have to build a trellis, the investment cost is also very low. When the plants bear fruit, we just clean the grass to help the plants grow well and facilitate harvesting," said Ms. Hien.
Cucumber is a type of melon related to cucumber (Photo: Dang Duong).
Similarly, when the rainy season begins, Ms. Lau Thi Sia's family (Mong ethnic group) also clears the empty spaces in the coffee garden to grow melons.
Being an easy-to-grow plant that does not require fertilization or watering, in recent years, cow melon has been the main source of income for Ms. Sia's family during the rainy season.
Ms. Sia shared that to have delicious, sweet and eye-catching green melons, the rainy season is the most suitable time for planting. In particular, the rainy season in Dak Nong lasts about 4 months, the soil is well-drained so the melons grow quickly and have a longer harvest than in the northern provinces.
The size of the cow melon is large, ranging from 0.5-1.5kg/fruit, with some fruits weighing more than 2kg (Photo: Dang Duong).
"When the melons start to give harvest, there will be fruit for sale every day. These melons should be eaten when they are young, when the outer skin is dark green. If the skin turns white or light yellow, the fruit is ripe, the seeds inside are hard and the melon has a slightly sour taste," said Ms. Sia.
Since the end of May, Ms. Sia and many Mong ethnic households in Quang Tam commune have brought melons to sell along Provincial Road 1. On average, Ms. Sia's stall sells about a quintal of beef melons each day, bringing in an income of 1.5-2 million VND.
"Freshly harvested melons are sold for 20,000 VND/kg, and melons left overnight are sold for 10,000 VND/kg. During the main season, when we harvest a large amount of melons, we also sell them to some traders to take to other places for consumption," Ms. Sia added.
During the rainy months, cow melon brings high income to people in the border district of Dak Nong province (Photo: Dang Duong).
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien in Nghia Trung Ward (Gia Nghia City) said that at first, when she saw people selling this fruit, she ordered it out of curiosity. After enjoying it, her whole family liked this very special fruit, which is cool and has few seeds.
"At first I thought this was a cucumber injected with growth stimulants, that's why it was so big. Then I found out this is a Mong variety of cucumber, no pesticides are used, so I felt very secure using it," said Ms. Hien.
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