Mr. Nguyen Trong Nam with an organic vineyard in the heart of the city

DTO - With the desire to bring consumers clean agricultural products, over the past 2 years, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nam (47 years old) - owner of Phuong Thao organic milk grape garden (Phung Khac Khoan street, My Thuan hamlet, My Tra ward) started a business growing organic grapes. Initially, the model has brought positive results, helping to increase income and develop the family economy .

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nam takes care of Korean milk grapes

From passion for growing clean grapes

Born and raised in the countryside of Ninh Thuan (now Khanh Hoa province), from a young age, Nam was taught by his parents to grow grapes. When he grew up, Nam left his hometown and went to Saigon to work as a garment worker. 6 years ago, Nam and his wife, Nguyen Thi Cam Huong, returned to live in My Thuan hamlet, My Tra ward, to start a business in the garment industry.

Having a deep love for his hometown grapes, he cherished the dream of producing clean grapes to serve consumers. Although living in the heart of the city, Nam's father-in-law's family owns a large plot of land. Taking advantage of this, he came up with the idea of ​​growing organic grapes to supply the market. Nam shared: "I am passionate about growing grapes, and at the same time, I realized that the current consumer trend is very fond of clean products. Therefore, I decided to start a business growing organic grapes, first to increase my family's income, and then to provide safe products to consumers."

Starting his business, Mr. Nam faced many difficulties. While Ninh Thuan is known as the "promised land" of grapes with a hot and dry climate, this place has a lot of rainfall, erratic weather - unfavorable conditions for varieties that cannot withstand this weather. To grow grapes effectively, Mr. Nam carefully researched from the stage of selecting varieties to the grape care process suitable for the weather conditions here. In the stage of selecting varieties, he chose high-quality grape varieties that are popular in the market. From there, he decided to grow Korean milk grapes. This is a grape variety with thin skin, sweet flesh, and can bear fruit after about 1 year of planting.

With an area of ​​1,300m², Mr. Nam planted 140 Korean milk grape trees. For the grapes to grow well, he invested in a greenhouse and a drip irrigation system; during the cultivation process, he only used biological organic fertilizers to completely replace chemical fertilizers. After more than 1 year of hard work, Mr. Nam cut branches and treated the grapes to flower and bear fruit. However, the results were not as expected, the fruit yield was low and the color was not beautiful. Because during the care and treatment process for flowering and fruiting, Mr. Nam did not apply the right techniques and balance the amount of organic nutrients.

Not discouraged by failure, he proactively researched and learned grape growing techniques through social networks, joined grape growing associations and groups to share cultivation techniques, flower and fruiting treatments. Along with that, he experimented with new techniques, used biological products to spray on grapevines to prevent pests; was careful and meticulous in pruning branches, and treated them to flower so that grapes could bear many fruits. When young fruits appeared, he covered each bunch to avoid fruit flies, birds, and rats from biting; and covered the base of the grapes with straw to create moisture for the soil. Thanks to his perseverance in learning and applying new techniques in cultivation, Mr. Nam successfully produced his first grape crop with a fruit yield of over 80%.

Come to the free experiential tourism model

Not only does he produce clean grapes, Mr. Nam also combines them with an agricultural tourism model. Instead of depending on the market and traders to sell grapes, Mr. Nam has opened his vineyard to serve visitors and sell grapes to tourists.

Officially in operation since June 27, 2025, Mr. Nam's Phuong Thao Organic Milk Grape Garden has begun welcoming tourists to visit and experience. To attract tourists, he cleverly takes advantage of the social network Facebook to promote the beautiful image of the garden; free entrance tickets for visitors. Coming to the vineyard, tourists can visit, listen to Mr. Nam talk about the process of growing and caring for grapes using organic methods; take photos next to the plump bunches of grapes, sit and relax and enjoy the fresh air under the shade of the green grape canopies.

In order to diversify the experience for tourists, Mr. Nam's family also serves grape products such as grape wine, grape syrup, soft drinks and snacks. Mr. Dinh Cong Thuan, a resident of Cao Lanh ward, shared: "I saw on Facebook that Mr. Nam's vineyard was very beautiful, so I stopped by to visit. I was really impressed with the bunches of grapes full of fruit, and they were grown using organic methods, so I felt secure using them. Coming here, I can both enjoy the grapes and take beautiful photos. I will come here with my friends to visit and relax on the weekends."

With initial successes, Mr. Nam has now expanded to plant 600 more grape trees with 3 types of grapes: Korean milk, black emperor, and fingernail on an area of ​​4,000 square meters of land in My Ngai ward. Mr. Nam plans to time the cutting and produce ripe fruit right on the occasion of Lunar New Year 2026 to open the garden to welcome tourists. Mr. Nguyen Trong Nam confided: “In the process of growing organic grapes, I encountered many difficulties such as using inappropriate doses of organic fertilizers, grapes often encountered diseases such as anthracnose, powdery mildew, black spots... However, I did not give up, researched and learned from my failures. Up to now, I have successfully produced the first crop of organic grapes. I am very happy to grow clean grapes for consumers. Currently, I open the garden for visitors to visit and sell grapes to visitors at the garden for 250,000 VND/kg. In the coming time, I will invest in completing the infrastructure in the garden, decorating more miniature landscapes to serve visitors with a better experience.”

Although it has only been a success in the beginning, the story of Mr. Nguyen Trong Nam starting an organic grape growing business in the heart of the city has spread and inspired farmers in the province to do clean and safe agriculture. Thereby, gradually providing clean products, ensuring the health of consumers, contributing to building a green, clean and safe agriculture.

MY XUYEN

Source: https://baodongthap.vn/du-lich/anh-nguyen-trong-nam-voi-vuon-nho-huu-co-giua-long-do-thi-132685.aspx