On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the atmosphere in many watermelon fields in My Tu commune (Can Tho city) became bustling and lively when farmers entered harvesting to serve the Tet market. On the fields, each round, shiny watermelon was successively cut, harvested, gathered, and prepared for transportation for consumption.
Attached to the Tet watermelon growing profession for more than 30 years, Ms. Ong Thi Hoang Dung said that this year is one of the most favorable crops. According to her, this year the family proactively planted sparsely to improve fruit quality. On average, each cong (1,000m2) is only about 500 vines and each vine only leaves 1 fruit to concentrate nutrients. Thanks to that, the weight of watermelons is high, commonly from 9–10 kg/fruit, especially some fruits reach 11 kg. Total output is about 900 fruits. She sells to traders with a total amount of 48 million VND. A part of beautiful watermelons is kept for retail sale to neighbors and acquaintances, expected to be sold out during the day.
The remaining watermelons I mainly sell in pairs. The type 9 kg/fruit (equivalent to 18 kg/pair) costs 300,000 VND/pair; the type 8 kg ranges from 260,000–280,000 VND/pair depending on the time and buyer," Ms. Dung informed.
Ms. Dung assessed that this year the weather is particularly favorable, almost no rain during the watermelon development process. "God loves us, so this year's watermelon is very beautiful, very successful, very happy," she excitedly said.
Not far from there, Mr. Ong Tan Ngac, also in My Tu commune (Can Tho City), said that this year the weather is stable, so the watermelon yield is quite good. His family and his brothers cultivate about 2-3 cong of Tet watermelons. On average, each cong yields from 4-5 tons.
Regarding farming techniques, he said that Tet melons have a growing time of about 65 days. Growers must calculate the appropriate planting time to harvest right before Tet, usually starting to cut from December 24th of the lunar calendar.
Compared to ordinary pickled mustard greens, Tet pickled mustard greens are cared for more carefully because they not only require delicious flesh but also beautiful skin. Each vine of pickled mustard greens usually only has one fruit to focus on nutrition, improve quality and weight. To ensure appearance, growers focus on managing pests and diseases, keeping the skin of pickled mustard green, shiny, and not scratched - a factor that determines the selling price in the Tet market," Mr. Ngac shared.
Mr. Chau Thanh Hai (My Phuoc commune, Can Tho city) said that this year's Tet watermelon crop his family planted 2 cong. On average, each cong is about 800 fruits, with an estimated output of about 5 tons. Revenue per cong is estimated at about 30-40 million VND, while investment costs are about more than 10 million VND/cong.
Mr. Hai said that Tet melons are easier to grow than some other crops in the year if the weather is stable. The most important thing is still to cultivate at the right time and get good sunshine so that the fruit is of good quality and sells at a high price at the end of the year.
