Nghe An farmers pioneer in growing organic strawberries on saline soil

For generations, people in Quynh Di ward, Hoang Mai town have only grown tobacco because this land is salty, making it difficult to grow other vegetables, and if grown, the yield and efficiency are not high. During a visit to a friend's strawberry garden, seeing that the income from this plant was quite high, Mr. Quyen's family decided to destroy the tobacco plant and boldly buy strawberry seeds to try planting.

When he first started growing, Mr. Quyen encountered many difficulties with capital, seedlings, and especially strawberry care techniques. Therefore, he spent a lot of time researching and learning how to grow strawberries on the Internet and visiting effective models. After trying many varieties, he decided to choose the Hana strawberry variety originating from Japan (called "tochiotome"). This variety is commonly grown in Moc Chau - Son La, and the gardener transported the seedlings to the site.

In order for strawberries to grow well, be free from pests and diseases, achieve high productivity, quality, and beautiful appearance, Mr. Quyen said, the first thing is to treat the soil. Strawberries are suitable for light, high, and well-drained loam soil. The strawberry growing area must be cleared of plant residues and the field must be cleaned before planting. Plow, dry the soil, and make high beds so that the strawberry plants do not get waterlogged; at the same time, apply lime, phosphate fertilizer, and manure 15-20 days before planting.

In addition, you must spread nylon on the bed surface, covering the outside of the tree base, both to keep moisture and to separate the fruit from the soil to keep it clean and limit pests that damage the fruit.

Strawberries are planted in the main season in September every year, after about 3 months, the plant will be harvested, the harvest period lasts from 3 to 4 months depending on the soil and care. During the harvest period, to ensure the fruit grows evenly, every 5-7 days, old leaves, pests, leaves that cover the lower layer must be pruned and buds, flowers, deformed fruits and pests must be pruned.

To have a strawberry garden with high productivity, high quality, large fruits, and beautiful appearance, his family has spent a lot of effort and dedication. The entire land of more than 1 sao of Mr. Quyen's family is applied to produce strawberries according to VietGAP standards, using completely organic fertilizers. The difference here is that all fertilizers are biological products such as fish protein (fermented fresh fish and then diluted with water to make fertilizer), banana juice and milk eggs, so the fertility in the soil is very high.

Thanks to the right techniques and care, Mr. Quyen's strawberry garden has grown well, with many fruits and good quality. Hana strawberries have a rich sweet taste, very popular with consumers, this sweetness is much more prominent than Korean strawberries or Da Lat strawberries.

Hana strawberries are heavier than other popular strawberry varieties, weighing 35 to 40 fruits per kilogram. After harvesting, he sorts and sells large fruits for 250,000 VND per kilogram, smaller fruits cost an average of 120,000-150,000 VND per kilogram. The first year of the trial crop, the economic efficiency was many times higher than the previous tobacco crop.

After the success of the first crop, this year, Mr. Quyen's family's strawberry garden has entered the harvest season with bunches of ripe red fruit. According to Mr. Quyen, the time from planting until the tree bears fruit is only 100 days, the main cost is the seedlings, the rest of the care is done during the off-season. The main crop will be sold right on Tet holiday, so it is quite popular, not enough to supply the people. If he had more land, he would love to expand this model.

Not only grown for fruit, the strawberry plants are also grown by Mr. Quyen's family for seeds, packed into pots to serve the Tet holiday needs of customers. Each pot of such plants is sold for 35-40,000 VND/pot.

In addition, during Tet, going to the garden, seeing how people take care of the strawberries, and picking ripe strawberries with your own hands is the choice of many customers who love to explore and experience. After harvesting the strawberries, the family will grow melons to increase income on the same area of ​​land.