Growing vegetables in the air brings in a profit of 3 billion VND/ha/year
Not grown on soil, nor using recirculating hydroponics, but the vegetable garden suspended in the air grows rapidly, ready to harvest after only 25 days of planting.
In addition to the hydroponic vegetable growing method, Langbiang Farm (Da Lat) has recently applied aeroponic technology to produce commercial vegetables. The garden is nearly 500 m2 wide, with many varieties grown in coconut fiber pellets contained in small plastic baskets, then "planted" into each round hole on the surface of the bed made of synthetic material, similar to a table top, about 1.2 m wide, about 1 m above the ground. Below is an empty trough containing air to absorb nutrients and spray mist to nourish the plants.
To have this unique aeroponic vegetable garden, Mr. Tran Huy Duong and his wife had to travel to Europe, Japan... to visit and study the techniques, then asked for technical support from Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Thach, who has been diligently researching aeroponic technology in Vietnam's conditions for many years, and the Institute of Agricultural Biology (Hanoi University of Agriculture 1).
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| Mr. Tran Huy Duong next to the hydroponic vegetable garden. |
Depending on the growth process of the plant, the farm sets up a nutrient mist spraying mode in the air to nourish the appropriate root system. Each mist spray is spaced 5 - 15 minutes apart continuously in a 24-hour cycle.
Seedlings are placed in aeroponic beds, after a week the roots develop into clusters below the trough, thanks to which the plants absorb enough water and nutrients to grow well, with uniform quality. Aeroponic vegetables do not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers at all. To kill insects, the owner attaches yellow sticky traps.
Mr. Duong further explained: “Aeroponic vegetables are grown in a well-ventilated environment, the roots absorb nutrients easily so they grow faster than those grown in the ground”. In fact, aeroponic vegetables grow 1.5 times faster, yield twice as much as those grown in normal soil and save 45% of water compared to hydroponics.
On average, each crop of aeroponic vegetables from planting to harvest only takes 25 - 30 days. The finished vegetables are packaged with coconut fiber pellets so they stay fresh for a long time. The average selling price is stable at 25,000 VND/kg. Although the initial investment capital is quite high, each hectare of aeroponic vegetables yields about 400 tons/year, with a total revenue of about 10 billion VND, after deducting expenses, the profit is 3 billion VND/ha/year.
