Apricot leaf picking season
An Nhon Town has about more than 10,000 households growing ornamental apricot trees, this is also the ornamental apricot capital of the Central region. Every year, the amount of apricot trees sold in An Nhon Town reaches more than 100 billion VND.
In the last days of 2023, households growing ornamental apricot trees in An Nhon town worked day and night to bring apricot trees to the Tet market. Along National Highway 1 through An Nhon town, it is not difficult to see people picking apricot leaves so that the trees will bloom in time for Tet.
As scheduled, right after the end of the winter-spring rice crop, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Tu (in Phuoc Thang commune, Tuy Phuoc district, Binh Dinh) and some women in the neighborhood went to the apricot villages in An Nhon town to work. The job of Ms. Tu and her sisters is to pick leaves from ornamental apricot trees to sell for Tet. Although the job sounds simple, the apricot leaf pickers have to stand from morning to afternoon to pick leaves, sometimes even working into the evening. Each day, Ms. Tu receives from 150,000 - 200,000 VND.
Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat (in Quang Ngai ) plucks mai leaves to make them bloom in time for Lunar New Year 2024.
Housewife struggles in the 'race' to earn money for Tet: Exposing herself to the sun, picking mai leaves
Ms. Tu shared: "Picking mai leaves also requires technique, you have to be familiar with it to be able to pick them quickly. Usually, when you first start picking leaves, it will be slower and easier to break branches and flower buds. If you are familiar with it, you will have a little extra income this season."
Not only Ms. Tu, this season many people in An Nhon town and neighboring districts come to the apricot villages to pick leaves for hire. Some people gather in groups, taking on the whole apricot garden to pick leaves. There are groups of up to 20 people picking apricot leaves.
As the owner of a garden with several thousand apricot trees, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tinh (in Thanh Liem apricot village, Nhon An commune, An Nhon town) is almost unable to take care of them himself. Therefore, every season near Tet, he hires people to pick apricot leaves. This year, Mr. Tinh had to hire 6 people to pick the leaves with a salary of 160,000 VND/day for each person.
Because the job of picking mai leaves is closely associated with Tet and is a traditional feature of the capital of ornamental mai in the Central region, many people in Binh Dinh often joke that "seeing mai leaves falling means Tet is near".
White night tomorrow
To bring a bonsai apricot tree to the market, the care is more difficult than people think. Especially at the end of the year, the climate changes erratically. Every year, the weather near Tet is different, so the way to care for apricot trees must also be improvised. That is what gardeners who grow bonsai apricot trees in An Nhon town share.
In Thanh Liem apricot village, one of the largest apricot villages in the capital of ornamental apricot trees, apricot growers have to work all night to take care of the apricot trees.
In recent days, quality apricot pots have been brought to vacant lots near National Highway 1 for sale by local people. This is an annual tradition of the people of An Nhon Town. This has created an extremely bustling atmosphere, making anyone passing by feel that Tet is very near.
In Quang Ngai, Xuan Vinh apricot village, Hanh Duc commune, Nghia Hanh district is considered the "capital" of yellow apricot flowers in this province. In the last days of December, coming to Xuan Vinh ornamental plant craft village, we went to the garden of Mr. Nguyen Tan Dat (68 years old) to visit and learn. Here, Mr. Dat said that he has been playing with and collecting yellow apricot trees for more than 20 years, considering apricot as a part of his life. Currently, in Mr. Dat's garden, there are about 300 apricot trees that he himself takes care of, pruned, and shaped.
"At this time, many apricot growers in Xuan Vinh bonsai village have begun to strip the leaves so that the apricot trees will bloom in time for the 2024 Lunar New Year. Near Tet, apricot flower artists often visit gardens to interact and admire beautiful apricot trees created by artisans. There are many different styles and shapes of apricot trees such as bonsai, umbrella, and fan... depending on the ideas of the artisans," said Mr. Dat.
Hundreds of apricot trees bloom early, Tet prices cool down: Many garden owners are worried
In the apricot garden of Mr. Le Van Minh (52 years old, also in Xuan Vinh apricot village), there are many bonsai apricot trees with many different shapes, which look very beautiful. Mr. Minh said that he started growing apricot trees about 20 years ago. Because he loves apricot trees, he has collected and planted hundreds of apricot trees in his garden. There are some apricot trees that Mr. Minh only collects and does not sell because they contain a lot of his passion.
"Here, there are many people growing apricot and some other ornamental plants. Apricot is divided into many types, including: yellow apricot, white apricot, green apricot, love apricot...; each type of apricot has a different beauty," Mr. Minh added.
According to the Nghia Hanh District Ornamental Plants Association, the district currently has more than 1 million yellow apricot trees of all kinds. From an elegant hobby during Tet, many households have upgraded it to a professional profession, providing a stable livelihood for their families, increasing income and creating more jobs for workers. In particular, the Xuan Vinh ornamental plant craft village has been granted a collective trademark certificate by the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Science and Technology).
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