Terraced garden on gravel

After nearly a decade of hard work, a veteran in Ha Lai commune (Ha Trung) has transformed a barren hill of reeds and bushes into a lush green farm garden. Notably, the barren hill with gravel and iron ore, which no one dared to accept before, now brings in an income of more than half a billion VND per year.

Terraced garden on gravel The barren gravel hill garden in Ha Lai commune was successfully transformed and planted with trees by veteran Nguyen Nhu Xuan.

About to turn 70, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Xuan in Phu Tho village is still as agile and active as when he was young. Just hanging around the hill garden every day helps him have enough exercise to maintain his flexibility. His lush garden all year round is thanks to the owner's hard-working nature and dynamism and desire to learn to develop modern agriculture. Entering the East gate is a solid concrete road about 1.5m wide, leading visitors to the first floor of the garden with many pots of bougainvillea, peonies and low-growing fruit trees such as guava and custard-apple. The steps and solid ramps continue to lead to the second floor of the garden with hundreds of green-skinned grapefruit, pink-fleshed grapefruit and late-ripening grapefruit trees that are more than ten years old and provide shade all year round. On the higher floors and on the West side of the hill - where there is the most sunlight - he planted more than fifty seedless jackfruit and avocado trees, because these trees are drought-resistant and can withstand steep slopes.

To achieve the results today is the result of a renovation process that made the skin on the hands rough, and the sweat and hardship are countless. According to him, this hill garden of more than 5,200m2 was originally a wild land with a large slope, especially without a source of irrigation water. Because the locality called for bids but no one accepted to renovate, this place was only overgrown with reeds and thorns. In 1992, his family boldly accepted the bid to renovate under the PAM - 4304 Project. In 1996, when the project ended, the land was transferred to land 02 in the production forest. In 2015 and 2016, when they had accumulated enough capital and knowledge, his family was determined to develop the garden in a systematic commercial direction.

“Terrace fields are found in all mountainous regions, but terraced gardens are only found here. However, that is the most feasible way for Mr. Nguyen Nhu Xuan to transform the barren hill behind his house. Only when visiting the production area can we admire his will and determination.”

Ngo Ngoc Canh

(Director of VAC Support Center - Farm, Gardening and Farm Association of Thanh Hoa province)

Observing in the field, the Tinh hill where Mr. Xuan was farming had liver-gray soil, jagged with rocks and iron ore in the soil. As if to test the hardness, he used a crowbar to stab the ground hard, but the stab only caused a few centimeters of erosion under the iron blade. With this hardness, small plants could hardly take root and grow. The rocky soil was barren and infertile, and there was no irrigation water, so in the first years he tried many types of plants, but most of them died, and the ones that survived were stunted and slow to grow.

Yet with his diligent hands, after many years he dug hundreds of deep holes on the rocky hill to mix manure and humus and then planted each tree in each hole. To proactively source irrigation water, he built large concrete tanks on the top of the hill, then used a high-capacity pump to pump from the lake in front of the house for storage. Taking short-term advantage to sustain long-term, he gradually invested in a drip irrigation system from the tanks down to each tree. Not only did he proactively source water, but the soil at the roots was always moist, making the soil soft, the trees could develop their roots normally, and then become more and more lush. When the tree system had grown, he built cages under the tree canopy right on the hill to develop the chicken flock in a semi-wild direction.

“Remembering Uncle Ho’s words “nothing is difficult, only fear of not being persistent”, knowing the difficulties, but as a returning soldier, I was still determined to dig the mountain as Uncle taught. Day by day, I cleared the path and cut down bushes and thorns for many months. But that was just the beginning, because to plant trees, we had to continue to improve. Determining that the sloping land needed to be leveled, I was determined to divide it into areas of uniform height to create flat surfaces, becoming a unique 4-storey terraced garden”.

War veteran Nguyen Nhu Xuan

During his gardening career, he always researched and visited many models to gain experience. Over the years, he has applied the development of organic agricultural production for clean products. All fertilizers are made from chicken manure and decomposed organic matter, limiting the use of chemical fertilizers.

The grapefruit trees on the hillside garden are all laden with hundreds of fruits. Following the concrete paths inside the garden, people often have to bend down to avoid bumping into the fruits hanging down. Also because of organic farming, the grapefruit here is sweet and can be kept for a long time after being picked, so in the main season, traders come to the garden to buy. According to the garden owner's calculations, in recent years the garden has generated a total income of more than 500 million VND, creating additional jobs for 3 to 5 seasonal workers to harvest.

Called a hill garden, this terraced farming area is located close to the village road, providing shade for hundreds of meters, so many people know about it. The trees are planted in rows, growing well all year round, and applying technical advances, so Ha Lai commune has chosen this garden as a model garden according to the criteria of an advanced NTM commune. Every year, many delegations come to visit and learn from the experience. The garden owner is also an active member of the District's Club of Veterans with Good Economic Performance.

Article and photos: Le Dong

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