Fears about contaminated and pesticide-laden produce is leading Vietnam's city dwellers to take matters into their own hands and start growing vegetables at home.
According to Tuoi Tre, Saigoneers are increasingly turning to landscapers to install home garden systems on their rooftop. Demand for the setups is rising as Tet approaches and people look for fresh vegetables to give as gifts.
Every morning, warm light nourishes a verdant expanse of plants on a terrace overlooking District 7’s chaotic streets. Their caretaker, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nguyet, keeps the space fully covered year round with 15 kinds of edible plants. She told VietnamNet that the garden provides her family with 110 kilograms of vegetables a month and that the 15 different types of plants she grows allow her to be certain they are “clean and safe”.
Across the city in Binh Tan District, Bui Thi Thuong grows 20 varieties of plants such squash and turnips on her rooftop. She specifically planted melons, cauliflowers, and cabbage two months ago so their harvest would coincide with Tet so she can share them with friends and family. Like Nguyet, she exemplifies the city’s newest agricultural movement.
Thuong tending to her home garden.
Several high profile contamination incidents have made people more aware of the importance of their food’s origin. A spokesperson for Vnaquaponics, a collective that builds home garden systems, told Oi Vietnam that the trend really began to take off a few years ago when “there was a food scandal involving chemically contaminated beansprouts. People were so scared of being poisoned by these toxic beansprouts that many started looking into growing clean beansprouts in the privacy of their home.”
In the past several years numerous companies specializing in seeds and gardening equipment have been established to meet the demand for home gardens. They offer fully-contained grow systems that range in price from VND1.5-2 million (US$66-88) to VND25 million (US$1,099). They also provide full package services that include consulting and training in addition to high quality seedlings and saplings.
To maximize production on small terraces and balconies, many of the grow systems rely on advanced technologies including hydroponics, which is “a method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent.” Aeroponics, a type of hydroponics, nourishes the plants with automated mist dispensers and suspends the plants’ roots in space-saving towers. The techniques are often less labor intensive than traditional soil gardening and relatively cost-effective.
The amount of people investing in rooftop and balcony gardens is skyrocketing. Le Phuong Vy, representative of a local hydroponic veggie-growing business, disclosed that five years ago there were only several companies offering home growing services in Saigon, but there are now dozens. Statistics released by five such businesses reveal that each installs 20-30 aeroponic and hydroponic household systems a month. And their operations rapidly increase as Tet approaches. Vo Thi Thu Ha, who runs a company specializing in hydroponic vegetable growing services in Saigon, said “we normally germinate 10,000 saplings. The number triples to cater to Tet demand, but we still run out of stock.”
[Photos via Tuoi Tre]
