In Hau Giang, a small rural area in the hamlet of Phu Hung, Dong Phu Municipality, Chau Thanh District, ornamental apricot cultivation has been established and developed over the past 40 years. Every year, from Tet to spring, the ornamental apricot village of Phu Hung supplies the market with about 15,000 pots of yellow apricots, which are consumed in provinces and cities across the country.

Although this year is over 70 years old, Ms. Dang Ngoc Van is still diligently tending to the back garden of her house. Every day Mrs Van pulls the water line to water the apricot garden twice, after watering we pull the weeds and cover the roots to keep the steam out. According to Ms. Van, gardening is not a passion, requires diligence, but does not consume too much strength, so the elderly and women can still do good work.

“Apricot is a plant that flowers evenly and beautifully only when all the old leaves are removed. At this time, flower sprouts burst from the shell to stimulate green buds. Flowers bloom about 1 week after opening the shell. The best time for picking leaves is from December 10th to December 15th of the lunar calendar. In addition to stripping leaves, I also fertilize cows, straw and use water hyacinth (water hyacinth) to cover the bottom of apricots to limit water loss. This work requires meticulous distribution of the right amount of fertilizer,” shared Van.

Although the weather is quite unfavorable thanks to more than 40 years of apricot-growing experience, during the last Tet holiday, Ms. Van took care of the lush green apricot orchard, the trees bloomed, so traders paid high prices.

“Each year during Tet I sell about 200 pots of apricots and earn about VND 300 million, enough to live well all year round so my kids don’t have to worry too much about me. Doing this job is very exciting, Tet means having money, but it doesn’t take much effort,” Van said excitedly.

According to Mr. Le Van Ky (70 years old), farmers in this place used to mainly engage in farming, which did not bring high economic efficiency. In the 1980’s, Mr. Ky traveled to Dong Thap, Ben Tre… to learn how to grow yellow apricots and then returned to practice with the half-trusting, half-distrusting neighbors. When Ky successfully planted, the whole neighborhood followed suit.

In 2013, the Phu Hung Mai Vang cooperative was officially established with 75 members covering an area of ​​about 17 ha. The members of the cooperative got quite rich from troubles, have enough to eat, money to build a nice house, buy a car. Apricot cultivation has provided jobs for hundreds of local workers. Elderly people and women in the village can also grow apricots themselves, and traders come to Tet to shop at home.

Talking about the secret of handling the apricot blossom on the occasion of Tet, Mr. Ky shared: Before peeling off the apricot leaves about 1 month, growers should only water about 4 days/time (early morning watering or after 17:00 watering). ). After stripping the leaves, the number of watering times must be increased to 2 days/time. Around December 22, growers began watering twice a day. In the evening, about 40 degrees warm water is poured until the apricot blossoms begin to bloom, then no more warm water is used.

Mr Ky also noted that after Tet, homeowners will need to prune long branches, remove buds and flowers. If you cut off 1/3 of the apricot branches, keep watching. If you see the plant sprout and thrive, the grower does not need to add any fertilizer to the tree. If pests are detected, farmers should buy sprays in a timely manner.

More than 40 constructions, until now, Mr. Ky has owned a 1-hectare apricot orchard worth billion dongs. Every year on the occasion of Tet, traders from neighboring provinces such as Can Tho, Vinh Long, Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Ho Chi Minh City… are eager to buy ornamental apricots. Mr. Ky not only successfully builds a family economy, but also is a passionate person and has suggestions for the development of the cooperative.

“As the chairman of the board of Phu Hung Mai Vang Cooperative, I have been encouraging the members of the cooperative to learn, study and post products on social media in the past period to spread the image to many places. and has attracted a large number of customers to buy. Also, I suggested to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chau Thanh District to organize training courses on apricot cultivation techniques for farmers in the cooperative. has successfully applied and done business, so here most households are quite rich in apricot trees,” informed Mr. Ky.