Waiting for God’s help
Hoa Van Thao, a gardener for 30 years in Phu Thuong, said that he fears that God may not humor peach and kumquat growers.
Thao explained that it is better to water trees with rain-water and that the ideal weather is a mix of cold and warm. This year, however, things are quite different.
The cold has come late and it has been dry for many days. Farmers do not know if they should take off peach tree branches or pluck the flowers of kumquat trees right now or not.
Le Thi Hang, also of Phu Thuong, admitted that her family has decided to “bet” on the weather. As soon as it began to get cold, Hang and her husband plucked off the leaves of the peach trees, hoping that the flowers will blossom at Tet.
Hang learned from last year when she was hesitant to pluck off the leaves. The flowers did not blossom at Tet, so customers did not purchase them.
Hang calculated that she has 400 peach trees and thinks that it would be better to pluck off the leaves of half of her trees. “This will help reduce risks,” she explained
Another owner of a peach and kumquat garden, Hung from Tu Lien, agreed that this year the weather is unpredictable so farmers are not sure what they need to do.
Hung said that growing kumquat and peach trees depends about 60 percent on the weather. A lot of farmers have to sleep at night in the garden to take care for trees. If too cold, gardeners light lamps to warm the trees. If too dry, farmers must dig wells near their gardens to water the trees.
Concerned about prices
Me So has 200 hectares of kumquat trees and gardeners have begun bending trees to create the shapes they want.
Tan, a farmer in Me So, complained that gardeners have been facing a lot of difficulties as materials are more expensive. “We need to sell trees at higher prices than the previous year to get profit,” he stated.
Thao, another gardener, explained that he has spent 300 million dong on the gardens this year, but only 200 million dong in 2008. He fears that farmers cannot raise prices, even though the expenses are higher than last year, because the economic downturn may cause people to lower their budget for ornamental kumquat and peach trees.
Thao has every reason to be worried. At the same time in previous years, merchants hurried to kumquat and peach villages. This year, the villages are still quiet.
Thu Lan, who has a peach and kumquat garden in Nhat Tan, confirmed that she has spent 500 million dong on the garden. “I think about my peach and kumquat trees all the time, when I have meals and even when I sleep,” Lan smiled. |
