The obsession named early blooming and storms and floods
In the last days of the year, when the cold wind begins to pour into the North, peach gardens in Phu Da village, Hung Yen are more busy than ever. From early morning, people have gone to the garden, adjusted the shape of trees, pruned branches, covered the roots, preparing to bring peach blossoms to the village head to sell to serve the early Tet market. But behind that hurried labor rhythm is the familiar anxiety of those who have "kept the colors of spring" for a lifetime.
For peach growers, each Tet season is not only a trading opportunity but also a big gamble, where the weather decides almost everything. Just a few weeks before peach blossoms, or a big storm sweeps through, the whole year's effort can be broken by the wind.
Sharing with the peach garden that is in the "flower season", Mr. Vu Van Quynh, a long-time peach garden owner in Hung Yen, could not hide his worries that he had followed him for many years in the profession.
According to Mr. Van Quynh, Vietnamese peach blossoms are a variety that requires special meticulous care, very sensitive to weather fluctuations, especially unusual hot sun spells, making flowers easily bloom early and difficult to keep on time for Tet. Meanwhile, wild peach blossoms have better endurance and high adaptability thanks to the root system of long-standing and healthy wild peach roots, helping the tree stabilize growth and withstand harsh weather.
Our peach trees are very few now, my garden is about 90% hybrid forest peach trees. Last year was one of the heaviest crop failure years when Typhoon Yagi damaged almost the entire peach garden," Mr. Quynh said.
According to him, after the storm, the whole garden only had less than a dozen trees left that could be sold. The great damage caused many difficulties for the family's economy, and at many times it seemed like they had to quit the profession.
Not only storms and floods, another big nightmare for peach growers is the phenomenon of early blooming peach blossoms. In some years, the weather is unusually warm, peach blossoms bloom from the beginning of December, forcing people to peel the roots to dry in the sun, tie the roots, water them or cut off the flowers to keep the trees.
Although there are many measures to control peach blossoms, they only save a part. There are years when flowers bloom too early, so we have to cut them early and sell them at cheap prices. Life is very hard," Mr. Quynh shared.
According to Mr. Vu Van Quynh, last Tet season was considered one of the most difficult crops for his family. Out of a total of about 300 peach trees in the garden, he only sold about 200 trees, after deducting care, transportation and labor costs, the total revenue only reached about 200-300 million VND. Notably, there are still nearly 100 trees that cannot be consumed, many trees are depleted and die after the storm, causing damage to extend to the next crop.
Not only Mr. Quynh's garden, many other gardeners are also in a similar situation. Some gardens grow on a large scale, up to about 500 peach trees, but during the Tet season, only about 180 trees are sold and rented out. The total revenue last year only reached about 270 million VND, not enough to compensate for effort and investment costs, forcing many households to narrow down production or hold on to wait for the next season.
The cold brings silent joy
This year, the cold weather comes earlier and lasts longer. For many people, the cold disrupts daily life, but for peach growers, it is a joy that is hard to say.
This year's peach blossoms look more difficult because they have to go to the garden a lot, cover them carefully, and monitor closely. But in return, the flowers can be kept until Tet," Mr. Quynh said.
Pink peach blossoms cling tightly, waiting for the day to bloom right at the time of seasonal transition, is not only a sign of a more favorable crop but also a psychological relief for those who have lost everything due to harsh weather.
An optimistic atmosphere is also evident in Ms. Lan's peach garden, the owner of Ngoc Lan peach garden. According to her, this year customers come to see and order trees earlier than every year.
Many customers focus on buds, shapes, and shapes of trees, so even though peach blossoms have not bloomed most beautifully, they still come to the garden to admire and order in advance," Ms. Lan said.
More fortunately, this year her garden has many beautiful, large peach trees, which are constantly sought after by traders and peach buyers. After a difficult year due to storms and floods damaging many trees, the early recovery of the market brought great confidence to her family.
Last year, many garden owners fell into hardship because of storms destroying trees. This year, seeing many customers asking to buy a lot, I am very happy, hoping the family's economy will be better," Ms. Lan said.
Not only relying on customers coming to the garden as before, this year many peach garden owners in Hung Yen have boldly applied technology to sell goods. From livestreaming directly at the garden, taking close-up of each peach tree, shape, flower bud, to online single stops, Hung Yen peach trees are gradually reaching customers in many provinces and cities.
Online sales help peach growers reduce dependence on traders, expand output and be more proactive in product consumption. For many households, this is not only an immediate solution but also a new direction to adapt to the modern market.
Amidst the worries about the weather, the memories of crop failure that have not yet subsided, Hung Yen peach growers are still persistent with the profession. They keep each flower bud, each tree shape, as if keeping the belief that after storms and floods, after failed seasons, Tet will still come on time.
For them, peach blossoms are not only ornamental plants sold at the end of the year, but also livelihoods, memories, and hope for a new year fuller. And when pink peach blossoms bloom at the right time of spring, it is also when peach growers believe that difficulties will fall behind.
