Cut down 4,000 m2 of guava trees that are providing stable income to grow grapes

Leading us to visit the vineyard ready for harvest, Mr. Hoang Thanh Minh in Loc Trach village, Dong Loi commune, Trieu Son district, Thanh Hoa province said, I came to grapevines by chance, because before, my wife and I both studied agriculture at Hong Duc University, but after graduating, both of us worked in fields other than our major.

"In 2019, my family was working at an oil refinery in Nghi Son Economic Zone of Thanh Hoa province with a relatively stable salary, but at that time, both my husband and I had the same intention of returning to our hometown to start a business. At that time, we combined our family's land and rented an additional 1 hectare. Initially, when we started our agricultural business, my husband and I grew guava and grapefruit because the initial cost was low," said Mr. Hoang Thanh Minh.

After the guava trees yielded a good harvest, Minh and his wife decided to convert 4,000 square meters of land to grow black grapes. At that time, the guava trees were growing and generating high income, but Minh decided to cut down the entire guava area to grow grapes, but he encountered opposition from his family and friends.

"At that time, people prevented me from growing grapes because they thought that grapes were only suitable for the climate and soil in the South Central region and no one had ever grown grapes in my hometown before. At that time, Thanh Hoa only had 2 newly planted vineyards but they did not know the effectiveness and how the grapes would grow. Because the climate in the North is too hot in the summer and long in the winter, with a lot of rain, it is not suitable for grapes, so when making the decision, my wife and I thought very carefully...", Mr. Hoang Thanh Minh recalled his decision at that time.

But with determination and having learned a lot about grapevines, Mr. Minh still decided to switch to planting 800 black grapevines. After a period of planting and fertilizing, the grapevines grew poorly due to pests and diseases and were not adapted to the climate.

"The most feared weather for grapevines is cold weather. When the temperature drops below 15 degrees Celsius, they stop growing and go into hibernation. Therefore, the care and flowering techniques are also different between the two crops. In the autumn-winter crop, after harvesting the fruit, stop all care activities so that the plant can accumulate nutrients and go into hibernation. In the spring crop of the following year, when the weather gets warmer, start applying technical measures such as fertilizing, using growth regulators, and germination drugs to help break dormancy so that young shoots can sprout easily," said Mr. Minh about how to care for grapevines through the winter in the North.

According to Mr. Minh, grapevines are often susceptible to pests and diseases, so grapevine care requires regular attention to manually treat pests and diseases, ensuring organic production. To replace pesticides, Mr. Minh uses garlic and chili soaked in alcohol. This mixture is considered a very effective "pesticides" in killing pests.

According to Mr. Minh, his family's vineyard is following organic farming processes, so the fertilization steps must be safe and clean. He uses decomposed cow manure, which is composted for 3 months before being used as top dressing for the plants. In addition, to provide nutrients for the plants, he uses crushed soybeans mixed with biological products for fertilization. Soybeans are considered a vegetable protein that helps the fruit to be fragrant and sweet.

In addition, grapevines do not like waterlogging, but they also need to be provided with enough moisture for the plants to grow. Therefore, for grapevines in Thanh Hoa, Mr. Minh has to water the grapes with 4 liters of water per tree every 2 days. In addition, 20 grams of organic nutrients must be added every week, fertilized twice to provide enough food for the plants.

In addition, according to Mr. Minh, the care process must be timed to the growth of the grapevine to prune the tops to help the tree concentrate nutrients to nourish the trunk. If well cared for, grapes can keep their roots for up to 15 years. From the 5th year onwards, the grapes will produce high yield and quality. The most difficult step is pruning the fruit. From fruit set to finished product, the fruit must be pruned 3 times to remove flat grapes and wormy fruit.

Combine experiential travel

After Minh’s family’s vineyard became known to many people and they wanted to visit and experience the garden, he and his wife decided to combine it with tourism. Since the end of last year, many kindergartens and primary schools have allowed students in districts and cities to come experience and take photos at his family’s vineyard.

According to Mr. Minh, like in previous grape seasons, there were days when his family's vineyard welcomed more than 1,000 people, while on normal days, it fluctuated between 200 and 300 people coming to visit and take pictures. Therefore, in the near future, Mr. Minh plans to expand the grape growing area to meet the needs of tourists coming to the vineyard.

For visitors to the garden, Mr. Minh sells tickets for 30,000 VND for adults and 15,000 VND for children. Currently, Mr. Minh is selling black summer grapes at the garden for 150,000 VND and Korean milk grapes for 300,000 VND/kg. In addition, everyone who comes to the garden will be able to enjoy grapes on the spot.

According to Mr. Hoang Thanh Minh's plan, the first crop of 2024, his family's vineyard will yield about 4 tons of fruit, including about 2.5 tons of Korean milk grapes and 1.5 tons of black summer grapes. According to Mr. Minh, the grape growing model combined with sightseeing and experience helps his family have an income of about 400 million VND/crop.

Currently, Minh's family's grape growing model is creating jobs for 6 regular workers with an income of 4 - 5 million VND/person/month.