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Farmers plant vegetables, fruits and ornamental flowers for the Tet market |
These days, in pink tangerine gardens in Lai Vung District of the Mekong Delta Province of Dong Thap, gardeners are busy fertilizing trees, pruning tree branches to help trees grow well and produce lots of fruit, and ripen just in time for Tet.
Farmer Luu Van Tin in Long Hau Commune in Lai Vung District said that this year's weather is unusual, with frequent rain and wind, easily causing epidemics. He must hire more workers to fertilize and prune branches according to technique and schedule in the tangerine garden to have high productivity and ensure a supply of goods for the Tet market.
By this time, the family's tangerine garden was growing well and bearing high fruit. This year's output is expected to reach 35 tons or more, Mr. Tin said happily.
Many gardeners growing Cat Chu mangoes in My Xuong Commune of Cao Lanh District are rushed off their feet cutting buds, and applying organic fertilizer so that the mango trees bear fruit in time for the Tet holiday. Many gardeners say that this is an important time when determine the quality and productivity of the mango tree, so they must carefully care for the tree.
The Lunar New Year will come in nearly 3 months, but from the beginning of November until now, many traders have come to the garden to deposit money to buy mangoes, Mr. Thanh, owner of a mango garden in Cao Lanh District, shared.
Meanwhile, in Tan Tru District in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An, from the end of October 2023 until now, farmers have been busy planting seeds of vegetables such as cowpeas, chili, pumpkin, cabbage, okra, and green onions to prepare for this year's Tet market.
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Farmers take care of their vegetables |
According to Tan Tru District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, learning from 2022's experience, the local administration arranges schedules so that farmers sow seeds from mid-October this year in order to harvest in time from mid-December while meeting the supply of commodities to help farmers achieve high economic efficiency.
In Can Giuoc District, from the beginning of November until now, farmers have sown vegetable seeds in an area of about 1,700 hectares to promptly supply the 2024 Lunar New Year market.
Elsewhere in the country, farmers in Phung Hiep District have currently sown nearly 1,000 hectares of watermelon, pear melon and melon in the key crop-growing area of Hau Giang Province.
Unlike many gardeners who grow fruit trees and vegetables, ornamental flower gardeners in Ben Tre Province are worried that the upcoming Tet flower season will not be as expected due to the recent prolonged rainy weather.
Many ornamental flower gardeners in Cho Lach District of Ben Tre Province said they are producing according to orders to avoid the situation of ‘excess goods flooding the market’.
Farmer Bui Van Dong in Tan Thieng Commune in Cho Lach District shared that they have learned from previous years' experience that they produce a lot but could not sell it, so instead of taking care of about 4,000-5,000 pots, the family only planted half of the order this year.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cho Lach District, ornamental flowers such as raspberry daisies, diamond daisies, and daisies have a long growing time, so people are careful to produce following prior orders to minimize risk.
In October, farmers in Tien Giang Province’s villages specializing in growing ornamental flowers such as My Phong, Tan My Chanh, and Trung An sowed nearly 1 million baskets of Tet flowers. However, excessive or prolonged rainfall has led to waterlogged soil, which is detrimental to flowers. Currently, farmers in flower villages are focusing their human resources on planting new flowers to replace the number of dead flowers.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang Province, to supply the Tet flower market, farmers in famous ornamental flower villages in the province such as My Phong, Tan My Chanh, Thanh My, My Luong, Cai Lay and Hau Thanh have planted more than 1,500 pots of ornamental flowers of all kinds.
Mr. Tran Van Tuan, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phung Hiep District, said that in October and the first half of November, farmers in the district planted nearly 350,000 pots of marigolds, chrysanthemums, and yellow apricots.
