In April, many melons and fruits are ripe for sale. In the Ming Ming Farm in Jiugang Village, Zhangyan Town, baskets of fresh mushrooms and melons picked early in the morning are filled, and fruit farmers are busy weighing and packing. Walking into the planting greenhouse, the third crop of melons is still growing quietly, the green vines are "climbing" freely along the ridges, and under the tender green leaves, the oval fruit pokes out its head, and the growth is very gratifying.
"At present, it is the second crop on the market, and the skin of the mushroom melon is white, and the flesh is fresh turquoise. We generally pick melons with a ripeness of eight and a half minutes, and the flesh at this time is sweet and soft, and the sweetness is between 13~16 degrees. Zhang Mingming, the person in charge of Mingming Farm, said that generally around December 20 every year, the farm plants the first crop of mushroom melon seeds, and plants them in batches every 15 days, and it takes about 105 days from the seeds to maturity. By the beginning of May, the third crop of fruit will also be available, which is also the last batch of mushroom melons of the year, which is expected to be available until the end of May.
Zhang Mingming said that fruit farmers judge the ripeness by the "coarze" of the leaves, and the leaves on the melon stalk are not scorched to indicate that they are not ripe, and the more scorched, the higher the ripeness. In order to ensure that the fruit looks beautiful and fresh, the leaves of the melons are deliberately cut off when packing. In addition, the mushroom melon with a ripeness of 8/2 to 9 minutes is the most delicious, and if you prefer a soft taste, you can leave it for 2~3 days after purchase.
Over the years, the farm has always adhered to the concept of "not pursuing yield, pursuing stable quality", in order to grow good quality and good taste of mushroom melons, Zhang Mingming got inspiration from planting strawberries, he collected edamame, broad beans, rapeseed cake and other raw materials from surrounding farmers, after soaking or boiling, fermented into organic matter and sprinkled into the soil, increasing soil fertility, making melons softer and sweeter.
It is understood that this year's yield of mushroom melons on the farm is estimated to reach 5,000 catties per mu. Recently, the daily picking volume can reach 800~1000 catties, and it is basically picked and sold out on the same day. At present, the online and offline prices of jade mushroom melons are 10 yuan a catty, and the gift box is 4~5 fruits, each weighing about 1 catty 8 taels ~ 2 catties and 3 taels.
In addition, following the mushroom melon, the "little crown" watermelon, which is widely loved by the public, will also be picked and marketed. From now until the end of July, fruit corn, snow melons, green-skinned melons, and grapes are ripe, and a variety of seasonal fruits are available throughout the year to meet the diverse needs of citizens.
With the rise of "experiential tourism", the farm has also specially opened up a whole vegetable garden, divided into small vegetable fields of the same size with bamboo fences, and built a "shared vegetable garden", with a claim card inserted in the vegetable field, so that the "garden owners" who rent vegetable gardens can go into the field, experience farm work, and feel the joy of the countryside.
Reporter | Xiang Zhuyan, Wang Peiyong
Correspondents | Gu Lingli
Edit | Cheng Jiayu
Editor-in-charge | Cheng Jiayu