Growing vegetable seedlings: A seasonal job that generates extremely high income.

(Baonghean.vn) - In early December, in the rural areas of Do Luong district, in addition to producing green vegetables, people are also actively cultivating vegetable seedlings such as lettuce, chrysanthemum greens, red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, etc., to sell to neighboring districts. The vegetable seedling cultivation business earns an average of 140 million VND per hectare per month.

Ms. Tran Thi Binh from Hamlet 7, Trung Son, is harvesting a new variety of vegetables to sell.

Currently, typical vegetable seedling nurseries in Do Luong district are located in the communes of Trung Son, Dong Son, Trang Son, Yen Son, Van Son, and Hoa Son, covering nearly 100 hectares.

The family of Ms. Tran Thi Binh in Hamlet 7, Trung Son Commune, is a prime example. They have been cultivating vegetable seedlings for sale for over 10 years. Typically, after harvesting the summer-autumn green squash crop, they switch to growing vegetable seedlings for the winter crop, such as green lettuce, purple lettuce, kale, red cabbage, tomatoes, eggplant, kohlrabi, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Every morning, she harvests vegetable seedlings, ties them into small bundles or sells them in plastic bags for 5,000-10,000 VND per bag to local people, earning 200,000-300,000 VND per day.

The purple cabbage variety is a new type that is quite attractive to buyers.

Ms. Binh said: “The vegetable seedling nursery is divided into rows 80-100 cm wide. The soil for sowing vegetables must be finely tilled, loose, porous, and well-aerated. Because the nursery soil is regularly rotated with successive crops, additional topsoil must be spread on the surface of the rows before planting to ensure the plants have enough nutrients to grow.”

Households build frames covered with plastic sheeting or netting to regulate the temperature and light for seedlings at different times, and to protect them from rain, floods, and wind.

Sowing seeds requires a great deal of labor. Just sowing one row of seeds alone takes a full day's work for one person. Other care tasks such as watering, weeding, tilling, fertilizing, and monitoring for pests and diseases must be carried out regularly and meticulously.

Lettuce and leafy greens are placed in individual plastic bags before being taken to be sold.

Not only Mrs. Binh's family, but in recent years, many families in Hamlet 7, Trung Son Commune have been busy with planting, cultivating, and selling various types of vegetable seedlings to serve the planting of vegetables during the Tet holiday.

Currently, the hamlet has over 70 households growing saplings for sale, not only within the district but also in other districts such as Anh Son, Tan Ky, Thanh Chuong, and Con Cuong.

According to households specializing in growing seedlings for sale in Trung Son, Dong Son, Van Son, etc., each plot of land can yield an income of 7 million VND in just one month. After selling all the seedlings, the households prepare the land again on the same area to continue planting.

Besides growing seedlings for sale, each year the farmers also grow other crops such as green squash, loofah, cucumbers, or sticky corn, yielding an income of over 200 million VND per hectare annually. While growing seedlings provides a high income, it is seasonal, only being done for a few months each year.

To ensure the sustainable development of vegetable farming and seedling cultivation models, many localities in Do Luong have focused on implementing effective policies and mechanisms to encourage and support capital for production, provide technical guidance, and assign women's associations to establish joint ventures and partnerships in the production of clean vegetables for the market.

Ngoc Phuong