Gardeners are busy preparing for the Tet flower crop.

Mr. Vu Van Nga (Dong Hoa Lu ward) is actively taking care of the flowers to achieve the highest quality for Tet.

These days, when the weather starts to get chilly, walking along Ninh Phuc flower village (Dong Hoa Lu ward), everywhere you can see the busy, urgent atmosphere of people taking care of Tet flowers. On the pots of plants that have grown steadily, people pick grass, others pinch the tops, hoping for a new flower season to come.

As one of the large-scale, famous flower growers in the village, Mr. Vu Van Nga's family is diligently adjusting each chrysanthemum pot and tying each young branch. "The recent storm blew off the roof of more than half of the greenhouse, water flooded nearly 2 sao of land, my family urgently reinforced the greenhouse system, cleared the drainage ditches and treated the soil to plant the last batch of flowers in time to serve the Tet market. Because it was a few days behind schedule, I am actively taking care of it, turning on more lighting to stimulate the flowers to bloom in time for Tet," Mr. Nga said while quickly tying bamboo poles to protect the raspberry chrysanthemum beds from the wind that were in the growing season.

This year, Mr. Nga's family's flower growing area increased to about 4 hectares, mainly growing Korean chrysanthemums with about 35,000 pots. In addition, there are nearly 20,000 other decorative flower pots such as primroses, gerberas, and jade plants... "Korean chrysanthemums are popular with customers because of their long-lasting flowers, even blooms, and rich colors. After a few years of trial planting, I found that this variety has adapted well to Ninh Binh's climate, so in the past two years I have boldly expanded the area," Mr. Nga shared.

According to Mr. Nga, to have beautiful flower pots that bloom in time for Tet, growers must carefully calculate the time of planting. There are areas where Mr. Nga planted from the middle of the sixth lunar month to create large trees with wide canopies, pots reaching a diameter of 1 meter. Some areas have just been planted for 1 month or half a month, and are in the growth and branching stage. In addition, flower growers must regularly monitor and carefully regulate light and temperature so that the flowers bloom at the right time.

Not only expanding the scale, Mr. Nga's family is also one of the pioneers in applying high technology in Tet flower production. His entire garden is installed with an automatic drip irrigation system and sensor-controlled lighting with a total investment of more than 500 million VND.

“Before, every morning we had to hire people to water each flower bed, trim the tops, and light the lights manually. Now we just need to adjust by phone and the system will automatically operate, helping the plants grow evenly, reducing labor while still ensuring technical standards,” Mr. Nga said excitedly.

Thanks to proactive investment, application of techniques and understanding of the growth rules of each type of flower, Mr. Nga's flower garden is always ordered by traders from Hanoi , Hai Phong, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa a month in advance. Each year, the revenue from flower growing brings his family about 2 billion VND, creating seasonal jobs for more than 20 local workers.

*Mr. Vu Van Nga's flower growing model creates jobs for many local workers.*

Mr. Dien Van Nhan, Director of Ninh Phuc Flower Cooperative, said that Ninh Phuc flower village has a total area of about 15 hectares with more than 200 participating households. Up to now, flower growing in Ninh Phuc has gradually taken a dominant position, becoming the main source of income for most local people. Income from flower growing can bring in hundreds of millions of VND per year for households.

In addition to Ninh Phuc flower village, the province also has many famous flower villages, which are grown in concentrated areas such as My Tan flower village, Phu Van flower village, Phu Long flower village, Vi Khe ornamental flower village, Dong Son peach craft village, Gia Lam flower village, Hoi Ninh... In recent years, thanks to the conversion of crop structure and application of new techniques, flower growing in localities has not only helped people increase their income but also contributed to creating landscapes and developing rural ecotourism .

Phu Van High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Phu Van Ward) is one of the pioneers in bringing high-tech orchids to Ha Nam province (old). These days, the company's technical staff are also actively taking care and checking to ensure the orchids are of the highest quality.

Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, an agricultural engineer in charge of technical matters, said that the garden has invested in a greenhouse system with an area of over 3,200 square meters. To serve the Lunar New Year of the Horse, the Company has cultivated more than 70,000 orchids of various kinds; including many precious orchid varieties such as: Mac Bien ground orchid, Thanh Ngoc, Hoang Vu, Tran Mong, Ngoc Yen...

*Staff of Phu Van High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company take care of orchids.*

According to Mr. Minh, in order for orchids to bloom in time for Tet, gardeners must comply with high requirements on technology and techniques, from selecting varieties, temperature, humidity, and nutrition for the plants. Here, flowers are grown in greenhouses equipped with equipment that can monitor and control all modes remotely via smartphone. Thanks to the correct application of techniques, the orchids are growing very well, with high uniformity.

According to gardeners, this year the price of flowers will increase by about 10-15% depending on the type due to the recent floods that have caused many flower villages in the northern provinces, including flower growing areas in Ninh Binh province, to be flooded, causing significant damage.

“This year the weather has been erratic, making it extremely difficult for flower growers. Now we just hope for favorable weather so that the flower beds can bloom in time for Tet, bringing the brilliant colors of spring to every home,” said Mr. Vu Van Nga.

Despite the hardships and worries, the eyes of flower growers still shine with hope. For them, each flower crop is not only a way to make a living, but also a way to beautify life, a joy when contributing to bringing the colors of Tet to every corner of the world.

Article and photos: Minh Hai

Source: https://baoninhbinh.org.vn/cac-nha-vuon-tap-trung-cao-do-cham-soc-vu-hoa-tet-251102105447146.html