Dalat farmers succeed with growing vegetables in the air

After a period of testing, Mr. Tran Huy Duong, owner of Langbiang Farm (Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Ward 7, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province) has successfully grown many vegetables by gas cultivation method, ie Vegetable production in the air.

The area of ​​his current vegetable garden is about 500m2 wide, cultivating nearly 10 vegetables such as lettuce lettuce, kale, spinach, celery, spoonful, spinach .

With aeroponic methods, vegetables are grown on high rigs suspended in the air.(Photo: Nguyen Dung / VNA).

With aeroponic methods , vegetables are grown on rigs half a meter high to isolate the ground. The roots of vegetable plants do not directly plug into soil or water (as) but are placed in coconut fiber bags.

Then each vegetable placed on the truss is perforated, the roots are suspended inside the gantry cage covered with a coating.

There is absolutely no water or soil in the rig, but only the conduit with mini sprinkler system.

Next, the automatic irrigation system with pre-installed watering time will pump water with nutrient phase to each vegetable bed through mini valve system.

From here, the root system will absorb water vapor and nutrients to grow plants. Each irrigation period only lasts for a few minutes so almost no water and fertilizer is lost, flowing out so it saves the cost of care.

'Not only is this method of watering and fertilizing more effective, it is also suitable for leafy vegetables because it does not spray nutrients upwards so the surface of leaves is clean, not contaminated with chemicals' , Mr. Duong analyzed.

According to Mr. Tang, he learned how to build aeroponics systems from Dutch agricultural experts. However, in Vietnam there is no aeroponic cultivation equipment available, so he must use the available and common equipment to assemble into a aeroponic system.

Compared to the popular hydroponic system in Da Lat as at present, the cost of building a monoculture system is about 20%, the cultivation time is also shorter from 7-10 days.

Mr. Tran Huy Duong is inside the farm's vegetable garden.(Photo: Nguyen Dung / VNA).

Over the past month, Mr. Tang's farm has harvested over 1 ton of vegetable and temperate crops.

Due to being planted in a greenhouse with a modern farming system, the quality is guaranteed, all vegetables are qualified.

However, the price of vegetable soup is 2 - 3 times higher than that of traditional vegetables so it is only suitable for high-end customers, big restaurants and hotels.

According to the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Huy Duong's farm is the first place to successfully grow veggies on a large area.

Mr. Lai The Hung, Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lam Dong Province) said that the type of aeroponic cultivation is assessed to easily control fertilizer residues.

If this model can be replicated, Da Lat vegetables will have more competitive advantages in the premium vegetable segment for the whole country market.