Nanhakou Village, Julu, Hebei: Farmers Busy Raising Seedlings in Greenhouses
January 21 was a bright, sunny day. Walking into Guo Jianqiang's vegetable seedling greenhouse in Nanhakou Village, Julu County, one could see rows upon rows of trays, in which various vegetable seedlings looked even more tender and emerald green under the sunlight.
Guo Jianqiang inspecting vegetable seedlings.
Nanhakou Village in Julu County is a major village for protected vegetable cultivation, with more than 2000 mu of vegetables planted in the whole village. For the villagers, being able to buy good-quality, sturdy seedlings is the prerequisite for increasing their planting income. Five years ago, villager Guo Jianqiang, who was already familiar with greenhouse fruit and vegetable cultivation, began pondering vegetable seedling raising.
Over the past few years, through going out to visit and learn and consulting technical experts, Guo Jianqiang gradually mastered seedling-raising techniques. One steel-frame greenhouse after another was built, and intelligent equipment was purchased, continuously optimizing seedling quality and increasing the variety of seedlings.
Good seedlings bring fifty percent of the harvest, and good young plants bring half the success. "Buying seedlings nearby saves on transport costs, can increase the survival rate of the seedlings, and also allows flexible choice of planting time according to climate conditions," said Si Jinghuo, secretary of the village Party branch. Because Jianqiang started raising vegetable seedlings, growers no longer need to go out to buy seedlings, and the village can raise its own seedlings, which is conducive to the development of the whole village's vegetable industry.
In order to select high-quality varieties suitable for local planting, Guo Jianqiang trial-planted every vegetable variety he cultivated in his own greenhouse, carried out comparative experiments, and selected the best varieties from them for promotion. Such seedlings help increase yield and also promote quality improvement. Guo Jianqiang's vegetable seedlings are deeply welcomed by growers.
As demand increased, the volume of seedlings raised also continued to grow. In 2016, Jianqiang's seedling-raising area reached more than ten mu. In addition to supplying growers in the county, the seedlings were also sold in large quantities to surrounding counties and cities.
"We can raise seedlings here all year round. The vegetables we normally cultivate include more than 10 varieties such as tomatoes, eggplants, chili seedlings, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. Because the seedling quality is good, they are all contract-grown seedlings, and we don't worry about sales!" Guo Jianqiang, who was inspecting the growth of the seedlings, pointed to a patch of verdant vegetable seedlings and said, these are Chinese cabbage seedlings and cabbage seedlings, and in a few days they can be transplanted.
Near noon, in another seedling-raising greenhouse, seven or eight women were busy selecting seedlings. They carefully inspected the pumpkin seedlings in the plug trays, removing the weak ones and keeping the sturdy ones ready for grafting into watermelon seedlings. "Every pumpkin seedling selected is sturdy, and once grafted into watermelon seedlings they will surely grow vigorously." "Next year our village's watermelons are sure to have a bumper harvest!" the workers said one after another. Previously, growers in the village all bought seedlings from Shandong, and the seedlings wilted after being on the road for too long, affecting growth.
The Spring Festival is approaching, and most villagers are busy shopping for New Year goods, while Guo Jianqiang is leading the workers in a bustling rush to raise seedlings. "Vegetable planting is most particular about timing. In order to catch the good opportunity for vegetables to go on the market, every Spring Festival is a busy time, and we are used to it," Guo Jianqiang said with a smile. As long as the seedlings can be raised early and the customers' planting time is not delayed, eating dumplings in the greenhouse is also celebrating the New Year just the same.