These days, along the highland routes of Son La such as National Highway 6, 37, 4G or provincial road 108, especially the Chen Pass, Van Ho, Pha Din Pass, Chieng Dong areas, baskets of lush green cantaloupe sold along the road have become familiar.
This rustic fruit is increasingly popular thanks to its crispy, sweet and cool taste and the completely natural planting method of the H'Mong and Dao people.
At the stop on Chen Pass, Ms. Mua Thi Xua, Suoi Chen village (Ta Khoa commune), said that cantaloupe has been grown for a long time, intercropped on corn fields, rice fields, and naturally cows on the ground, rocky banks, without needing to make trellises.
Previously, people only grew them for eating, now tourists buy a lot, so they bring them out to sell, and each day they also have extra income," Ms. Xua said.
Ms. Thao Thi Gong, Suoi Thong village (Ta Khoa commune), added that every year her family plants watermelons in the fields earlier than other places, so harvesting begins at the end of April and early May.
Each crop yields 7-8 tons of fruit, the selling price at the garden is from 10,000-15,000 VND/kg, the retail price is from 15,000-20,000 VND/kg depending on the type, helping the family have an additional stable source of income," Ms. Gong said.
Cucumber melon has thick flesh, white flesh, few seeds, crispy and cool. Fruits commonly weigh from 0.2-0.5 kg, some large fruits up to 1.5-2 kg. Thanks to being suitable for the climate of highlands over 1,000 m, the plant has few pests and diseases, and almost no pesticides, so it is trusted by consumers.
Not only sold on the roadside, cat melons are also purchased by traders to bring to the provinces. Ms. Quang Mai Phuong (Binh Thuan commune) said: "Naturally grown melons are clean, crispy, and sweet. In addition to selling to tourists in the Pha Din pass area, I also sell wholesale to customers in Hanoi, Hung Yen, and Nghe An, so the output is quite stable.
In Co Ma commune, cat melon is intercropped with upland rice, becoming a significant source of income. Ms. Vang Thu Hue (Cua Rung village) said that each crop her family harvests several tons of melon, bringing in tens of millions of VND in income. "Melodon is easy to grow, requires little care, so people in the village are increasingly expanding the area," Ms. Hue said.
According to local people, after the Lunar New Year, when it rains at the beginning of the season, people mix watermelon seeds with rice grains to sow.
Watermelons crawl naturally on the ground, without needing trellises, no watering or fertilization, but still achieve a yield of over 5 tons/ha. Watermelons start harvesting from May and last until September.
Mr. Bac Cam Cam - Vice Chairman of Co Ma Commune People's Committee said that this year the whole commune sowed more than 1,000 hectares of upland rice, of which nearly 20 hectares are intercropped with melons, concentrated in Co Ma, Co Tong, Lao Ha, Sinh Thang, Hua Luong, Pha Khuong, Cua Rung villages. "An average of more than 90 tons of fruit per crop, this is an important source of income for people at the beginning of summer," Mr. Cam informed.
Not only eaten fresh, cantaloupe is also processed into many delicious dishes, suitable for summer days. The most popular is cantaloupe salad mixed with carrots and herbs with a sweet and sour taste that is easy to eat; or sliced into salads, served with grilled meat.
In addition, old cantaloupe can be cooked into soup with spices and herbs, creating a refreshing and easy-to-digest dish. Thanks to its characteristic flavor and high cooling properties, cat cucumber is increasingly chosen by many families in their daily meals.
Currently, cantaloupe is consumed stably, becoming a typical summer flower product, contributing to increasing income for people in the highlands of Son La.
