Farmers in Nghe An province stay up all night tending to their Tet flowers with electric lights.

GrowerTet flowersIn the districts of Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, and Quynh Luu, people are actively tending to their flowers to ensure they are ready to serve customers. One crucial step is keeping the plants illuminated with lights throughout the night to promote healthy growth. Therefore, when night falls, the "flower streets" light up beautifully. Flower growers utilize the light from hundreds of bulbs to care for their flowers.

According to flower growers, using light and not letting the plants "sleep" stimulates growth. The plants will continuously receive energy from light and photosynthesize, becoming taller and straighter. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Phan Huu Nam lives in Block 4, town.Yen ThanhHe said that this year his family planted 2 acres of flowers for Tet (Lunar New Year), mainly chrysanthemums (last year they planted 1.5 acres). However, this year, due to heavy rain, the flowers are having difficulty growing, with a high mortality rate, and many pests and fungi have appeared on the plants. To ensure the flowers grow well and on time, the family reused the electric lighting system to illuminate the plants all night for more than a month continuously so that the flowers could develop as desired.

"With a large area of ​​flowers and limited manpower, we can't manage everything during the day, so we have to utilize electric lights at night to care for them until nearly 9 PM. Nighttime work mainly involves spraying pesticides and weeding... Pest control is easy, but the biggest concern is fungal infections, which are very difficult to treat. Last year, because Tet flowers fetched good prices, the family made a considerable profit. We hope that this year the flowers will continue to fetch good prices so that we can have a warmer and more joyful Tet," Mr. Nam shared.

The lighting system for the flower fields is installed with a spacing of 1.5 - 2m, depending on the conditions of each family to choose different types of light bulbs with varying wattages and energy efficiency levels, but the most common are 5-10W bulbs. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Observations show that people in Yen Thanh grow a lot of flowers for Tet (Lunar New Year), but not in concentrated areas. Instead, they are scattered across the communes of Hau Thanh, Van Thanh, Tang Thanh, Son Thanh, Tan Thanh, and Yen Thanh town. Therefore, during this time, visiting the rural areas of Yen Thanh, one occasionally encounters streets illuminated by lights at night.

In Dien Chau district, especially in the communes of Dien Ky, Dien Hong, Dien Dong, etc., many flower fields are in their growing season. An Tuyet and his wife, from Hamlet 2, Dien Ky commune, said that this year their family planted 10 sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of flowers, with chrysanthemums accounting for 80%, and the rest being other higher-value flowers such as lilies and gladioli.

Experienced flower growers in Yen Thanh say that after planting the seedlings, people start using artificial lighting to cultivate the flowers after about 3-5 days. (Photo: Xuan Hoang)

To care for the flowering plants as desired, especially their height, the family adjusts the lighting schedule at night accordingly. About 3-5 days after planting, they begin using lights to nurture the flowers. Once the plants have grown steadily, they turn off the lights.

"If customers need tall flowering plants, the artificial lighting period lasts about 1.5 months; if they need short plants, the lighting period is reduced to 1 month. Therefore, the electricity cost for one crop of flowers on these 10 acres of land amounts to millions of dong, not including seeds, fertilizers, labor... if the flowers don't fetch a good price, we'll lose money. However, no one can be sure whether they'll make a profit or a loss this year in the Tet flower farming business, so for now, we have to take good care of the plants to ensure they are beautiful and bloom at the right time," Ms. Tuyet shared.

According to locals, using light and not letting the plants "sleep" stimulates growth. The flowering plants will continuously receive energy from light and photosynthesize, becoming taller, straighter, and especially blooming at the time the grower intends.

According to Mr. Le The Hieu, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Dien Chau district, every year people in the district maintain an area of ​​about 3 hectares for Tet flowers, concentrated in the communes of Dien Ky, Dien Hong, and Dien Dong. Farmers choose areas that are less prone to flooding, and they have extensive experience in growing Tet flowers, as applying scientific care methods is necessary to ensure timely planting and harvesting.

Typically, people turn on their lights from 6 PM the previous day until 5 AM the following morning, continuously for 25-30 days, or even longer. Due to the long and continuous lighting time, people have to pay quite high electricity bills… Photo: Xuan Hoang

Yen Thanh district has a considerable area dedicated to growing Tet flowers. According to Mr. Le Van Hong, Head of the District's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the entire district has approximately 20 hectares of Tet flowers, scattered across various communes. In addition to flowers grown outdoors, farmers also cultivate them in greenhouses and polytunnels.

Flower farming is a seasonal occupation. During the Lunar New Year season, people often "eat, sleep, and breathe" flowers, hoping for a bountiful harvest and high prices to welcome a prosperous and fulfilling spring. These days, visiting flower villages in rural areas of Yen Thanh and Dien Chau at night, many people are delighted and amazed by the dazzling scene illuminated by thousands of electric lights simultaneously lighting up the flower fields.