Stay up all night to catch worms for the grapes

Mr. Hoang Thanh Minh is an agricultural engineer. Passionate about farming, he and his wife decided to quit their job in the city to return to their hometown and start a business.

Mr. Minh said: “Working outside the industry gives me a lot of interesting experiences and a stable income. However, if I allow my acquired knowledge to be lost, it would be a waste. So I decided to go back to my hometown with him.” I have a desire to join the team. People develop models for organic farming. If it fails, consider it a lesson I can learn from.”

In 2020, Mr. Minh hired a contractor to plant 1 hectare of land in Filter Trach Village, Dong Loi Municipality (Trieu Son, Thanh Hoa). Initially, trees such as grapefruit and guava were planted in his orchard, at an investment cost of hundreds of millions of dongs. However, if only ordinary fruit trees are grown, the income is sufficient only for consumption.

In the same year, after successfully researching and planting this variety, he decided to reduce the guava acreage to plant Ha Den grapes. To realize the idea, he cooperated with Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry and obtained the transfer of science and technology, seedlings from China to Vietnam.

“Initially, no one believed me that I would be successful with this model because the northern climate is too hot in summer, long and rainy in winter and not suitable for vines. Previously, some households had brought grape varieties for planting, but failed. My relatives also hindered me a lot because if I fail, I lose my capital empty-handed,” Mr. Minh shared.

Speaking about choosing vines as the main crop in the orchard, Mr. Minh confided, “When it comes to vines, people often think of Ninh Thuan. I want to prove to everyone that grapes can also be grown in the north and that their quality is in no way inferior to other grape varieties. If successful, people can visit their homeland and enjoy grapes there.”

But “thousands of difficult beginnings”. First, Mr. Minh imported 800 vines of Ha Den and peonies to plant in an area of ​​5 Sao. After planting and fertilization, the vines are underdeveloped due to pests and diseases and are not yet adapted to the climate.

In winter the whole vineyard is like dry wood. Everyone in the village shook their heads in disgust. In the near future, failure threatens, 800 grapes and investment capital threatens to crash. Luckily, heaven isn’t willing to let people down. Because of the cold, the vineyard is green again after so much effort by the couple.

After many years of working with grapevines, Mr. Minh has learned from experience: grapes are very different from other crops. Therefore, in order to grow grapes, farmers must first be committed. Leaving the vineyard unattended for two days can also lead to failure. In particular, his family’s vineyard has to fight pests and diseases almost every day using manual methods to ensure organic production.

No pesticides are used in the Minh family vineyard. So one day he and his wife had to stay up all night to catch worms for the harvest.

“The most difficult thing is dealing with the beetles. This insect is most active at night between 7pm and 11pm. If the amount is not controlled, it will only take one night for the vineyard to be completely devoured. When insecticides are sprayed, plants are weakened. On the other hand, the insects will return to destroy the tree after the pesticide residues are gone. One day the couple caught kilograms of bugs. “When the work was done, it was still early in the morning,” Minh said.

As a substitute for pesticides, Mr. Minh uses alcohol-pickled garlic and chili. This mixture is considered a “pesticide” that is very effective at killing pests.

“To protect the plants, this mixture should be sprayed once or twice a week. The taste of this blend keeps insects away from the vineyard. Note that you only spray when the flowers are not pollinated. “This type of ‘medicine’ can be sprayed on grapes and other crops very effectively,” Mr Minh said.

According to Mr. Minh, the family’s vineyard follows the organic farming procedure, so the fertilizing steps must be safe and clean.

He uses rotting chicken manure, after 3 months of composting he will fertilize the plants. He also uses crushed soybean seeds mixed with organic fertilizers to provide nutrients to the plants. Soybeans are considered a plant-based protein that helps the fruit to be fragrant and sweet.

When the harvest is complete, fertilizer must be applied to provide nutrients to the stem, shoots, and buds of the vine. He also uses bio-organic fertilizers to improve soil fertility. From green grapes to dark brown changes about 45 days. In no case do not spray the plants with chemical drugs during this period.

The vineyard owner added: In the north, the vines don’t like waterlogging, but they need to provide enough moisture for the plants to grow. Every 2 days the grapes must be watered with 4 liters of water/root. Also, 20 grams of organic nutrients need to be added every week, apply twice to provide just enough nutrition for the plants.

In addition, according to Mr. Minh, the tending process needs to align with the growing season of the vine to prune the top so the tree can focus on feeding the trunk. With good care, grapes can last up to 15 years. From the 5th year, the grapes deliver a high yield and high quality. The hardest part is pruning the fruit. From fruit set to the finished product, the fruit must be pruned three times to remove soft clusters and deep fruit. The proportion of cut fruit is approx. 50%/bundle.

When the grapes are ripe, visitors buy them there

The more than 1,000 m² organic vineyard of the Minh family in Dong Loi commune in Trieu Son district (Thanh Hoa province) is developing into an attractive travel destination for tourists from all over the world. Minh is also one of the few people who succeeded in the model of wine growing combined with sightseeing and experiences in Thanh Hoa.

He said this year’s grape harvest is entering the peak harvest season and promises a yield of around 1.5 tons. The wine-growing model combined with sightseeing and experience helps his family earn more than VND 200 million per harvest. Currently, thousands of visitors flock to the winery every day, bringing the family an income of about VND 20 million from ticket and grape sales.

Minh shared that in the near future, the family will transfer techniques and provide seedlings to local people to recreate the model, while aiming to make peony and Ha Den grape products into products. OCOP products.

Minh also wants to share his winemaking experience with local people to increase their income. In the coming period, the vineyard owner will use the remaining leased land to plant 6 hectares of vines to allow tourists from all over the world to visit and learn more about the model.

“The number of visitors to the winery is very large. Currently, products made available to visitors on site are not enough. Where the grapes are ripe, customers buy there. The price of grapes in the garden is VND 150,000/kg,” Minh said.

Currently, his family’s winery employs six regular workers with an income of 4-5 million VND/person/month.