Double effect from ecological areca garden

A corner of the areca garden of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van's family, Truong Xuan commune (Tho Xuan).

In the hot sun of the early summer days, the garden of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van's family in Thanh Vinh village, Truong Xuan commune, is still cool. Hundreds of large and small areca palms are planted in rows, spreading green shade over a peaceful corner of the village. Right behind the beautiful gate, rows of high and low areca palms still bloom and bear fruit all year round. Being a tree with a tall trunk and no branches, areca palms rarely create shade, and can be planted only 2m apart. When the areca palms grow high, new areca palms can be planted in the lower layers while still ensuring light, so the density of the areca palm garden can be very high and still ensure productivity.

In fact, areca is a familiar crop to many people in Thanh Hoa. Traditional areca only produces two crops a year, mostly grown extensively in a natural way without scientific care, so the yield is not high. From 2014 to 2016, after consulting with a relative working in Hanoi, Ms. Van renovated her mixed garden and planted areca in a scientific and technical way. The areca variety she introduced is Xuan Dinh four-season areca, purchased from the Vietnam Agricultural Academy. Different from local areca varieties, this areca garden flowers all year round, and each year it is harvested in 4 main batches.

Planted at the right density, fertilized with organic fertilizers several times a year, and installed with a modern misting irrigation system, the areca garden bore fruit after only 3-4 years of planting. When the first areca garden had unexpected results, Ms. Van continued to raise capital to buy another pond from her neighbor next door, and filled the land to plant a second garden. The third areca garden continued to take shape in recent years when she renovated her parents' garden right next to her house. Under the areca trees, she planted some low-lying plants such as grapefruit, Malabar spinach, herbs, etc. to earn more income. At the same time, she placed 50 beehives to collect honey and separate the beehives to sell for breeding.

The three gardens are connected into a comprehensive production area with a total area of ​​2,000 square meters. In the garden, each path is concreted or paved with anti-slip ceramic tiles, divided into production plots with moisture and fertile nutrients according to scientific processes. To grow large areca nuts, the garden owner born in 1963 also buys high-quality fish fertilizer to fertilize the trees.

According to Ms. Van, areca nuts are purchased directly by traders at the garden and have never been unsold. In recent years, areca nuts have been sold for an average of 70,000 VND/kg, with bunches of areca nuts nearly ten kilograms. Many trees yield more than 1 million VND per year. In 2024, the highest price was 100,000 VND/kg, but there was still not enough supply. The family has an income of nearly 200 million VND after deducting expenses. If counting the bees and other crops, the garden generates a profit of about 270 million VND per year. This early 2025 areca crop continues to bear fruit, ready for harvest.

In the middle of the garden, there is also an octagonal pavilion, a fish pond, a horse saddle bridge... creating a poetic living space, becoming a place for retired cadres and local organizations to gather. Mrs. Van is a retired commune cadre, and together with her husband, a soldier who returned to the locality, the two of them are fully responsible for the production stages, without having to hire labor. Once they have mastered the techniques of planting and caring for areca trees, everything is easy for them.

More than 500 areca trees, of which 300 have produced fruit, have created a year-round green ecological garden. The success of the garden has been summarized by the Tho Xuan District Gardening and Farming Association, and introduced to many other households in the district to learn and implement similar models.

Article and photos: Linh Truong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/hieu-qua-kep-tu-vuon-cau-sinh-thai-249571.htm