Hangzhou white chrysanthemum cultivation helps returning entrepreneurs blossom and bear fruit
On June 23, the author arrived at Zhoujiazhai Village, Dongtian Town, and what met the eye was a vibrant stretch of Hangzhou white chrysanthemum swaying in the wind, its lush growth delightful to see and bringing a touch of coolness to the scorching summer.
Pan Li, the owner of the Hangzhou white chrysanthemum, was in the field pinching off the growing tips of the chrysanthemum branches. Growing up along the Tuo River, she had known since childhood that chrysanthemums can clear heat and detoxify, and dispel wind-heat. They are an essential good medicine in the home. Whenever the wild chrysanthemums bloomed, she would go to the mountains and wild fields to pick them; after steaming and sun-drying, they could be preserved for a long time.
Five years ago, while she was idle at home, the thought of cultivating them arose during one of her wild chrysanthemum-picking trips. Their medicinal value is so high, so why not plant them widely and let more people know about them? This thought ignited her hope. Wasn't this the business opportunity she had been looking for? She acted at once. Before planting, she had investigated and found that the best variety among chrysanthemum teas at present is the Hangzhou white chrysanthemum, also known as "sweet chrysanthemum," which is divided into large ocean chrysanthemum and small ocean chrysanthemum; the small ocean chrysanthemum is further divided into early small ocean chrysanthemum and late small ocean chrysanthemum. These are currently the two main cultivated varieties.
After a month of visits and investigation, she contracted 10 mu of paddy field in Zhoujiazhai Village, Dongtian Town, and began her path to prosperity with Hangzhou white chrysanthemum. Every day she hurried about the fields, plowing and tending with great care. But due to insufficient planting experience, in July of the following year the Hangzhou white chrysanthemum was infected with leaf blight. In the scorching summer, yellowed diseased leaves appeared in patches, and the continuous rainy weather throughout August and September was undoubtedly adding frost to snow; the hot and humid weather caused the Hangzhou white chrysanthemum to die off one after another. Although Pan Li was anxious, she had no idea what to do. There was no precedent for growing Hangzhou white chrysanthemum nearby, no experience to draw on, so she could only turn to any doctor in desperation. After the chrysanthemums were picked in November, after deducting costs and workers' wages, Pan Li still lost tens of thousands of yuan. Her family all urged her to give up, but at 48 years old she had an unyielding will. Through a friend's introduction, she learned that the Employment Service Bureau offered two-year interest-free loans of 8 to 10 wan yuan to farming and breeding households. With the government's support, she successfully obtained the loan, and in entrepreneurship training she learned how to effectively avoid risks as well as planting experience, which greatly boosted her confidence.
Through continuous learning and exchange, five years have passed, and Pan Li's Hangzhou white chrysanthemum has grown from the original 10 mu to today's 50 mu. Pan Li says the normal yield of Hangzhou white chrysanthemum is 1000 jin to 1500 jin of fresh chrysanthemums per mu, or 100 to 150 kg of dried product, and the income from one mu of land is nearly 3-4000 yuan or so. She is also full of confidence about the November harvest.