The first hydroponic vegetable growing model in Nghe An

Once a shipbuilder in Vung Tau city, with the intention of returning home to be with his family, Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam decided to learn how to grow vegetables using hydroponics to fulfill his dream of getting rich right on the land of Nam Anh - Nam Dan.

A corner of Nguyen Kim Nam's hydroponic vegetable garden. Photo: Thuy Tinh

After 2 years of accumulating experience, in early 2018, returning to his hometown, Mr. Nam invested over 300 million VND to build a 600m2 net house.²and recirculating hydroponic system, specializing in growing leafy vegetables. After 4-5 days of germinating vegetable seeds in foam, the seedlings are planted in cups and placed in a support system.

This support system includes specialized plastic plant growing pipes that are connected together to ensure that the nutrient solution, when pumped in, flows along the entire length of the pipe system to nourish each plant before returning to the tank in a closed loop.

"To have good quality hydroponic vegetables, in addition to choosing good seeds, the growing medium is important, especially the coconut fiber must be processed before being used to grow plants and seeds so that the plants can grow and not carry pathogens; hydroponic vegetables can be harvested in just 23 days" - Mr. Nam said.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Nam introduces hydroponic vegetables he produces at Nghe An Green Fair. Photo: Thuy Tinh

Currently, the facility is supplying the market mainly with popular leafy vegetables such as: mustard greens, spinach, sweet cabbage, water spinach, ... and is testing new high-quality Japanese vegetable varieties such as Chinese cabbage, cucumber...

Currently, gAlthough the price of vegetables grown using hydroponics is higher than that of vegetables produced using traditional methods, they are clean and of guaranteed quality, so they are chosen by stores selling clean products and consumers can buy with peace of mind.

This hydroponic vegetable growing system is designed flexibly and scientifically and can be applied to many models, spaces and scales from households to large production farms, so many people have come here to visit and learn.

Mr. Ho Dinh Thang - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dan district said: "The district has focused on directing communes to form models of vegetables linked to agricultural production, as well as high-tech models. Up to now, there have been many models in the district, including the hydroponic vegetable production model, which has achieved many remarkable results, ensuring clean food products. In the future, the district will direct communes to continue to build safe vegetable models as well as VietGAP vegetable models."

Japanese phoenix-tailed cabbage is being grown experimentally. Photo: Thuy Tinh

Hydroponics can be understood as the technique of growing plants without soil but planting directly in hydroponic solution or substrate that is not soil. The substrate can be sand, rice husk, coconut fiber, peat, etc.

Hydroponic nutrition has been standardized according to international standards, it includes complete and balanced macronutrients (N, P, K), medium nutrients (Ca, Na, Mg, S) and micronutrients (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, Mo, Cl) to optimize the growth and development of plants.

This method makes plants grow safely, simplifies the way of planting and ensures clean products. However, due to the large initial investment, not many households are investing.