Story under the durian tree

Anh Tho with the joy of the new durian crop.

During the harvest season, the stories under the durian trees are also very interesting. They are stories about the unique scents in the garden. Not to mention the characteristic smell of ripe durian, during the flowering season, from the humorous perspective of the farmer when walking under the trees full of flowers and buds, it smells like... Chanel perfume. However, not everyone can stand these "royal" scents.

Or when you go with the farmers, you will be instructed on how to “probe” durian for the right ripeness with a small knife handle. Or you will be “taught” the technique of counting fruits and branches appropriately; how to distinguish Ri6 and Thai durian by looking at the leaves…

Follow Nguyen Van Tho, 41 years old, walking in the durian garden ready for harvest in Hamlet 4, Bau Don Commune. Under the canopy of the fruit-laden trees of the garden that is more than ten years old, the heat and stuffiness seem to be reduced a bit.

Looking up at the fruit-laden branches above, Mr. Tho said that this year, due to the hot weather, the durian fruit set was not as good as last year. After counting for a while, he said that each durian tree bore from a few dozen to more than 100 fruits. In Mr. Tho's garden, there used to be a durian tree that bore 300 fruits.

Although it is still more than 10 days until harvest, Mr. Tho's garden has begun to smell the scent of ripe durian. He picks up the early ripe fruits that have fallen under the tree, separates each layer of the shell with a small knife, and offers guests the golden durian segments to taste right in the garden. The fragrant, sweet, and fatty taste is the characteristic quality of Bau Don durian.

Picking another durian that was so ripe that a small corner had been bitten off by a squirrel, Mr. Tho shook his head and said: "This is no longer possible to sell." Then he used a small, sharp knife to peel off each piece of the hard, fresh, green, thorny shell and invited the guest to eat a piece of durian that was just ripe. The durian at this age only had a faint aroma but was crunchy, sweet, and fatty, completely different from the smooth, sweet aroma of ripe durian. He said: "Durian at this age is also very delicious and unique, but not everyone has tried it."

Mr. Tho's garden durian is waiting to be harvested.

Under the trees, Mr. Tho enthusiastically shared about the time he spent growing durian trees. More than 7 years ago, he had no interest in growing this tree. But when his family's 6 hectares of durian garden began to bear fruit, he had to come back to take care of it. "At first, everyone was confused and had difficulties. The first one or two years, it was not effective, but in the third year, after accumulating some experience, he did better," said Mr. Tho.

In the early days, Mr. Tho studied hard through trips to the West, visiting farmers' gardens around the area, participating in technical training, and joining cooperatives. Over time, he also mastered the techniques of care, fertilization, and fruit making for beautiful, round durian. Although he has only been in the profession for 6 years, Mr. Tho confidently shares the techniques with those in need, and he also takes on garden care for hire. "Bau Don land is blessed by nature with a particularly delicious durian flavor compared to other regions. The product is also certified by the province as a 4-star OCOP," said Mr. Tho.

The more he is attached to the durian tree, the more passionate he becomes, so Mr. Tho is always actively learning. For him, the joy is going to the garden, taking care of the durian tree with his own hands, watching the tree blossom, bear fruit, and when the harvest season comes, having a good harvest with a good price is very happy. However, according to him, taking care of the durian garden is also a lot of work, having to worry about everything about taking care of the tree, preventing pests and diseases to have beautiful round durian fruit.

The garden is small, with only over 70 trees, so Mr. Tho is the main caretaker, only hiring people during harvest time. Every day from 5am, Mr. Tho goes to the garden to water, fertilize, spray pesticides, and take care of the fruit. Sometimes he stays in the garden until 8-9pm before returning home. Mr. Tho said: "I especially like the bustling atmosphere during the durian harvest season, people picking fruit, people transporting it, making the whole garden bustling." In addition to gardening at home, Mr. Tho also buys and sells durian, which helps him earn extra income. It can be said that over the past 6 years, durian has given Mr. Tho sweet fruit seasons, he bought more land to start a new garden and has become more and more passionate.

Currently, Mr. Tho is building a hut in the garden as a place to rest and relax for himself and his friends; for him, the durian garden is not only a workplace but also a place to gather and meet close friends.

With many years of experience growing durian, Mr. Tho said he has come up with many ways to prepare dishes from this fruit. His favorite dish is durian stew. To cook, you have to choose fruits that are just ripe. The ribs or pig tail are marinated with pureed ripe durian to absorb the aroma, cooked until soft and then the durian pulp is added.

He also created durian coffee. Durian and coffee juice are blended until smooth and served with ice cubes, very appealing.

Vi Xuan

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