Nghe An farmers stay up all night to take care of Tet flowers

GrowerTet flowersIn the districts of Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu... this time, people actively take care of the flowers to serve customers in time. In particular, keeping the lights on all night so that the flowers can grow as desired is indispensable. Therefore, when the night falls, the "flower streets" are sparkling with lights. Flower growers take advantage of the light from hundreds of light bulbs to take care of the flowers.

According to flower growers, using light and not letting the plants “sleep” stimulates growth. The flower plants will continuously receive energy from light and photosynthesize, grow taller, and have straight stems. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Phan Huu Nam in block 4, townYen Thanhsaid that this season his family planted 2 hectares of Tet flowers, mainly chrysanthemums (last year the family planted 1.5 hectares of flowers), however, this year due to heavy rain, the flowers had difficulty growing, even the death rate was high, along with pests and fungi appearing on the flower plants a lot. In order for the flowers to grow well and in time, the family reused the lighting system to keep it on all night for more than a month continuously so that the flowers could grow as they wanted.

"The flower area is large, while the labor force is small, and the work during the day is too much, so the family has to take advantage of the night light to take care of it until almost 9 p.m. before stopping. The work at night is mainly spraying pesticides, pulling weeds... Pests are easy to prevent, the biggest worry is that the flower plants are infected with fungus, which is very difficult to handle. Last year, because the price of Tet flowers was high, the family made a good profit. Hopefully this year, the price of flowers will continue to be high, so the family will have a warmer and more exciting Tet," Nam shared.

The lighting system for flower fields is installed at a density of 1.5 - 2m apart, depending on the conditions of each family to choose the types of light bulbs with different capacities and levels of energy saving, but the most popular are still the type of light bulbs with a capacity of 5 - 10W. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Observations show that Yen Thanh people grow a lot of Tet flowers, but not in a concentrated area, but scattered in the communes: Hau Thanh, Van Thanh, Tang Thanh, Son Thanh, Tan Thanh... and Yen Thanh town. Therefore, on this occasion, when coming to the countryside in Yen Thanh, you can occasionally see flower streets lit up with electric lights at night.

In Dien Chau district, especially in Dien Ky, Dien Hong, Dien Dong communes... many flower fields are in the growing period. Mr. An Tuyet and his wife in hamlet 2, Dien Ky commune said that this year their family planted 10 sao of flowers, of which chrysanthemums account for 80%, the rest are other types of flowers with higher value: lilies, gladiolus...

Experienced flower growers in Yen Thanh said that after about 3-5 days of planting, people start using lights to grow the flowers. Photo: Xuan Hoang

To take care of the flower plants as desired, especially the height of the flower plants, the family adjusts the lighting time at night accordingly. After planting the seeds for about 3-5 days, people start to turn on the lights to nourish the flowers. When the plants have grown stably, turn off the lighting.

"If the customer needs tall flower plants, the lighting time will last about 1.5 months, if the customer needs short flower plants, the lighting time will be reduced to 1 month. Therefore, the electricity cost for a flower crop for these 10 sao of flowers has lost millions of dong, not to mention seeds, fertilizers, labor... if the flowers do not have a good price, it will be a loss. However, no one is sure whether the flower growing profession will be successful or not this year, so first of all, we must take good care of the flowers so that they are beautiful and bloom at the right time," Ms. Tuyet shared.

According to people, using light, not letting the plant “sleep” to stimulate growth. The flower plant will continuously receive energy from light and photosynthesize, grow taller, have straight stems, and especially bloom at the right time according to the grower’s intention.

Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district said that every year, people in the district always maintain an area of ​​​​Tet flowers of about 3 hectares, concentrated in the communes of Dien Ky, Dien Hong and Dien Dong. For the flower growing area, people choose areas that are less prone to flooding and these people have a lot of experience in growing Tet flowers, because to plant and harvest on time, it is necessary to apply a scientific care regime.

Normally, people keep the lights on from 6pm the night before until 5am the next morning, continuously for 25-30 days, or even more. Because of the long and continuous lighting time, people have to pay quite high electricity fees… Photo: Xuan Hoang

Yen Thanh district is a locality with a large area of ​​Tet flowers. According to Mr. Le Van Hong - Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the whole district has about 20 hectares of Tet flowers, planted scattered in the communes. In addition to the area of ​​flowers grown outdoors, people also grow flowers in greenhouses and greenhouses.

Flower growing is a seasonal profession. During the Lunar New Year season, people often "eat and sleep" with flowers, hoping for a good harvest and high prices to welcome a warm and prosperous Spring. These days, coming to the flower villages in the rural areas of Yen Thanh, Dien Chau... at night, many people cannot help but be delighted and amazed by the sparkling scene, lit up by thousands of electric lights simultaneously lit on the flower fields./.