Strawberry picking experience in the garden - a new way of selling in Gia Lai

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Loan (Cham Prong village, Ia Bang commune, Dak Doa district, Gia Lai province) said: In 2019, she started growing strawberries. Initially, she tested planting 2 sao of Japanese Hana strawberries. Through the care process, she realized that this strawberry variety is suitable for the climate, soil and quick to harvest, in the second year, she decided to expand the strawberry growing area to more than 1 hectare.

To increase crop productivity, Ms. Loan actively researches, learns from experience and studies techniques for caring for strawberry gardens. In order to spread to the community and build trust with customers, Ms. Loan takes advantage of social networks such as Facebook, Zalo... to promote the image of her family's organic strawberry garden.

Initially, Ms. Loan only planned to retail the products to local customers and tourists . But when the product was spread on social networks, unexpectedly many people came to visit and experience picking strawberries right in the garden. Thanks to that, Ms. Loan consumed the products very quickly, the strawberries were sold out as soon as they ripened.

"Good news travels fast", when customers come to visit and pick strawberries and share their experiences at the strawberry garden on their personal pages, Ms. Loan's strawberry garden becomes more and more known. Ms. Loan's strawberry garden gradually becomes famous, customers come to her more and more over time. Since then, the eco-tourism model of experiencing being a farmer picking strawberries at Ms. Loan's garden has grown stronger and stronger.

The experience of picking strawberries yourself in the garden brings excitement to customers.

Ms. Loan said that to ensure product quality, in the process of caring for and preventing pests for the strawberry garden, she only uses organic fertilizers and biological products. Accordingly, before planting, she uses manure and organic fertilizers to improve the soil. From planting to harvesting strawberries, she fertilizes with fish nitrogen through a drip irrigation system.

Once a month, she uses garlic essential oil to prevent pests and insects that are harmful to the strawberry garden, especially leaf-eating and fruit-eating insects such as thrips and red spiders. In addition, twice a season, Loan trims the leaves to create ventilation to help the plants avoid fungal diseases. In particular, when the strawberries bear fruit, she makes her own banana juice with biological yeast to fertilize to create natural sweetness for the fruit...

With organic farming, the strawberry garden produces large, sweet, healthy fruits that are popular with customers. In particular, strawberries are harvested from mid-December of the previous year to April of the following year. This is the time when there are many holidays and Tet, so many families and schools organize visits to the strawberry garden to experience, helping her sell the products quickly and sell them at high prices.

It is known that with the selling price of strawberries at the garden fluctuating from 200,000 to 400,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, Ms. Loan has an income of nearly 400 million VND/year. Thanks to that, Ms. Loan's family's economy is increasingly prosperous.

Talking about growing strawberries, Ms. Loan said, it only requires diligence and hard work, it is not difficult or complicated. In particular, the price of strawberries has been stable for many years, so strawberry growers do not fall into the situation of depending on the market like "good harvest, low price" like some other agricultural products.

Preschool students enjoy picking strawberries in the garden. Photo: NH

With nearly 6 years of experience growing strawberries, Ms. Loan not only has solid knowledge and experience but also knows how to apply experience and creativity in production methods to increase income from the strawberry garden. According to Ms. Loan, after many years of growing strawberries, she has learned that: strawberries when planted on new soil often grow very well, with few pests and diseases; but when planted on old soil, the plants are susceptible to pests and diseases, reducing productivity and quality. Therefore, after harvesting each strawberry crop, Ms. Loan intensively plants peanuts to improve the soil for the new strawberry season. Thanks to intensive cultivation, in addition to income from strawberries, she has additional income from peanuts.

In addition, after harvesting strawberries, she leaves some old strawberry plants to create new varieties and buys more tissue-cultured seedlings to multiply in the greenhouse. Thanks to that, she saves a lot of investment costs; at the same time, she has more income from selling strawberry seedlings to customers in the area.

"As the owner of a strawberry garden, I have a stable source of income and job, and also have the opportunity to interact and expand relationships with customers. When women are financially independent and self-sufficient, they will always feel that life is joyful, happy and meaningful," Loan said.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/trai-nghiem-hai-dau-tai-vuon-cach-ban-hang-moi-o-gia-lai-20250511234427887.htm