As the traditional Lunar New Year Festival (Tet) is drawing near, farmers in Van Don are gearing up to prepare peach trees, a symbol of this special festive time.
Peach blossoms are a symbol of a peaceful and wealthy life in Vietnamese people’s view. As a traditional feature, every family in Vietnam would buy one or some types of flower that appear only in Tet; if in the South of Vietnam, yellow apricot flower is the most common, in the Northern part, people usually purchase Hoa Dao for adornment.
Van Don has long been renowned for light peach trees with pink colour flowers. These trees are multiplied with seeds after each harvest and then naturally grown in the absence of stimulant substances. Therefore, unlike other peach trees, it often takes from 5-7 years to harvest a tree of that kind.
Light peach flowers often start to bloom in the beginning of the last month of a lunar year, or the first month of the new year. However, due to severe cold waves this year, many trees still have not sprouted flowers. It also seems to be good news to peach growers as they don’t have to worry about early bloom and can ensure that these trees will be in full bloom on time by making full use of agricultural techniques.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Van Don district, the whole district has 254 growing households with the total area of nearly 60 hectares including 51 hectares in Ha Long commune, 6 hectares in Dai Xuyen commune and 3 hectares in Dong Xa commune.
In order to preserve and develop the brand of Van Don peach, the district has approved the detailed planning of the peach growing area in the 2016-2020 period, with a vision to 2030, making ligh peach blossoms one of the key One Commune One Product (OCOP) products of the locality.As usual, customers from adjacent localities such as Cam Pha, Ha Long and the city of Hai Phong often visit these gardens to buy or hire their favorite peach trees.
Translated by Phuong Loan
