In the morning sunshine of the last days of the year, I stood in the green bamboo “forest”, breathing in the fresh air in the sky. Countless golden rays of sunlight pass through the leaves, through the remaining dew drops, glittering colors on the vegetation under the bamboo. Each shoot of bamboo shoots has risen from the ground, waiting for people to come to harvest, sell Tet …
Grow organic bamboo on barren land
“I chose to grow the four-quarter bamboo because it produces bamboo shoots all year round, while other types of bamboo indicate only one season. Moreover, bamboo shoots are out of season, so the price is higher.” That is the sharing of Mr. Le Thanh Son (born in 1971), Thanh Linh village, Tan Phuoc commune, La Gi town.
Mr. Le Thanh Son next to his family’s four-quarter bamboo garden in Thanh Linh village, Tan Phuoc commune, La Gi town, Binh Thuan province.
This land has a dry climate with little rain and a lot of sunshine. Besides the problem of irrigation water, it is also an alkaline soil, not very fertile. With Mr. Son, since childhood, he has been attached to the village’s bamboo ramparts, adding a passion for farming, has molded his will to an effective crop.
However, because the family’s land area is arid, crops such as acacia melaleuca leaves and dragon fruit do not bring high economic efficiency.
Therefore, Mr. Son wondered, finding out which plants are easy to adapt to the local climate and soil, and the four precious bamboo varieties are the choice.
According to the gardener’s share, the four-quarter bamboo variety originated from Taiwan and was purchased in Dong Nai by him. Currently, 25 hectares of four-quarter bamboo trees have entered the third year, harvesting shoots all year round, the current yield is 1 hectare from 30 to 50 tons of bamboo shoots/year (depending on care conditions), at an average price. 10,000 – 15,000 VND/kg, distributed to local traders and the city market. Ho Chi Minh.
Harvesting bamboo shoots of the four quarters
Every day at midday, when resting under the shade of covered bamboo trees, looking at his green property, the owner of this farm feels relieved, temporarily satisfied.
Mr. Son confided: “I was thinking why not grow bamboo, a tree that has been associated with the Vietnamese people for a long time. This is a plant that seems to adapt to all types of soil, including alkaline soils like those in Tan Phuoc. They both harvest products and improve the soil and environment. In addition to bamboo, I also planted hundreds of green Siamese coconut trees, raised fish in irrigation ponds, and raised wild boars, porcupines, and goats to eat bamboo by-products according to a closed, organic production and husbandry model that brings effective results. high fruit”.
“I chose to grow the four-quarter bamboo because it produces shoots all year round, while other types of bamboo indicate a single season. Moreover, out of season, the price is higher, “said Mr. Le Thanh Son.
Bamboo shoots are a familiar food of every family, especially during the Lunar New Year. With farmer Le Thanh Son, food must be clean and safe to ensure the health of consumers. Therefore, the bamboo garden was grown by him in an organic way, mainly fertilizing chicken manure, without using pesticides and using an automatic watering system from fish ponds to provide natural nutrients for the garden. tree.
Clean bamboo shoots reach far
The characteristics of the four quarters bamboo shoots are green skin, white flesh, the more cooked, the sweeter the bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots are not only rich in flavor, but also very nutritious, contributing a good amount of fiber, potassium, manganese and antioxidants to the body.
Worth mentioning, almost all parts of the bamboo shoots can be used. Bamboo shoots harvested in shell or boiled finished products are quite popular in the domestic and foreign markets. Bamboo shoots, when cooked, are used as feed for wild boars and hedgehogs.
Bamboo stalks are used to feed the nuns, and bamboo powder is used to feed sheep. Bamboo branches after pruning will be put into a small cutter to form vegetation under the tree…
With his experience, Mr. Son, now as the Director of Tan Phuoc Quartet Bamboo Cooperative, has advised and guided 11 members on seeds and growing bamboo on infertile soil. At this time, the members of the cooperative have planted about 25 hectares of four-quarter bamboo and are covered by the cooperative.
Excitingly, in the past time, there have been a number of organizations and individuals inside and outside the province to visit, learn the model and order seedlings at this quartet bamboo nursery to replicate. According to the garden owner’s share, the average annual income from four-quarter bamboo shoots, Siamese coconuts and circulating livestock at home, after deducting interest expenses, is nearly 2 billion VND/year. At the same time create jobs for 10 local workers with stable income.
Prune bamboo branches.
Not stopping at fresh bamboo shoots, with the desire to bring quartet bamboo shoots to the market, Mr. Son is completing an advanced technology processing factory to create fresh and dried bamboo shoots that meet production criteria. food safety and hygiene. At the same time, towards the registration of OCOP products, step by step looking for markets to export bamboo shoots to foreign countries…
Another spring came! Seen from afar, the large four-quarter bamboo garden in La Gi land creates a beautiful rural picture.
This is a destination that promises to become an ideal eco-tourism area. The story of the four-quarter bamboo tree in an infertile land like Tan Phuoc, is becoming an effective tree in crop transformation, applying scientific advances to agricultural production, and contributing to the fight against climate change. Spring comes in full color. Birds fly to the bamboo forest to make nests.
On the eve of the new year, four quarters bamboo shoots have been bought by many families to prepare for a loving Tet. Farmer “loving” bamboo Le Thanh Son is cherishing problems about the economic value of bamboo, green industry from bamboo that he is aiming for in the future…
In 2022, Mr. Le Thanh Son was one of the few farmers in Binh Thuan to win the title of good production – business at the central level for the period 2017 – 2022 and was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association.