Promise of a good Tet flower crop

Farmers actively take care of Tet flowers, hoping to have a "beautiful Tet".

At this time, flower farmers in the province are focusing on taking care of flowers for the 2024 Giap Thin Tet holiday. According to records, this year the weather is favorable, the price of raw materials has not fluctuated much, the flowers are growing well, and flower growers hope for a bumper Tet flower crop.

To ensure the flowers bloom on time for Tet, many farmers said that they planted the seeds at the right time from the beginning of the season, took good care of the plants from tilling the soil, fertilizing, pruning leaves, watering, and combined them with some solutions to help the plants grow faster. The most popular flower varieties for Tet are still marigolds, chrysanthemums, and cockscombs...

Besides, there are also types such as: sunflowers, dahlias, roses, lilies, and other types of underground and ornamental flowers.

In the area along National Highway 57 through Thanh Duc Commune (Long Ho), this year, there are about 5 households growing flowers with an output of about 20,000 pots. This is also one of the places where Tet flowers are grown in large quantities in the province. These days, farmers are busy taking care of them.

Growing about 5,000 pots of various Tet flowers, Mr. Nguyen Huu Tri (Thanh Duc commune, Long Ho district) said: "I grow about 3 hectares, at this time I focus on taking care of the flowers, preparing to pick young chrysanthemum buds, leaving the female buds to bloom beautifully. For bougainvillea, I pinch the tips on the full moon of November to make it bloom in time for Tet. Besides, I also prepare to pot marigolds."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly (Thanh Duc commune, Long Ho district) also said: “I mainly grow chrysanthemums of all kinds. The growing period of chrysanthemums is usually 4-5 months. Therefore, I planted the seeds in mid-September.

At this time, when the chrysanthemum has grown for half of its cycle, I start pruning the buds, keeping only the main buds to focus nutrients on growing the flowers. During this stage, I also need to pay special attention to pests and diseases to proactively spray to prevent them.

In many localities, from growing seasonal flowers to increase income at the end of the year, gradually in many communes, many flower growing areas have been formed to serve the holidays and Tet. In some places, farmers have even linked together to form production cooperatives with the number of products in each area ranging from a few thousand to tens of thousands.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Deputy Head of the Hieu Hoa A Ornamental Flower Growing Group (Hieu Nhon Commune, Vung Liem District) said: "This year, the flower growing group planted about 3,000 pots of raspberry chrysanthemums, 8,000 pots of Taiwanese chrysanthemums, 25,000 chrysanthemums planted in the ground, 30,000 marigolds planted in the ground and about 15,000 pots of marigolds. The weather is favorable, without erratic rain and wind. I am also excited to invest in the flower garden, hoping for a good price for the flower crop, so that I can have a more prosperous Tet."

In addition to growing finished flowers, this year, some places also grow many flower seedlings to serve the people's need to grow flowers for Tet. This also helps farmers have a continuous source of income instead of just around Tet like every year.

Growing seedlings to sell, Mr. Truong Van Tham (Hoa Thanh commune, Tam Binh district) shared: "This year, besides growing flowers to sell for Tet, I also grow about 10,000 seedlings to sell, mainly varieties such as: marigolds, sunflowers, red chrysanthemums, tiger chrysanthemums... Selling seedlings also brings in a little income. I hope the weather from now until Tet will be favorable, so the flowers can sell for a good price."

To meet the Tet flower market, many flower farmers hire additional workers to keep up with the season.

Favorable weather conditions, along with farmers' long-term experience in growing flowers and focusing on applying scientific and technical advances in planting and care, and improving market access methods, have resulted in the quality and economic value of each flower crop being increasingly improved, contributing to improving people's lives.

Thereby, promising a good Tet flower crop this year, farmers provide the market with quality products, contributing to adding color to the first days of the new year.

Article and photos: NGUYEN KHANG

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