“Chou Family’s Farm” has a rich ecology. Fairy hawthorns are the main crops on the farm, planted on a one-hectare land. To provide tourists with a deep understanding of the fairy hawthorn, the farm arranges guided tours that introduce the growth process of the fruit tree consisting of the fairy hawthorn and pear, and identify the morphological difference between the fairy hawthorn and the pear. At the same time, regular pruning is done to keep the fruit trees short to make it convenient for tourists to experience the fun of fruit picking. In addition to fairy hawthorn, other fruits that may be found on the farm are ponkan and pomegranate. Tourists can come to pick fruit all year round.
Introduction
Fairy hawthorn can be differentiated into big fairy hawthorn and small fairy hawthorn varieties. The big fairy hawthorn is fleshy and not sour. It has a better taste and is usually sliced or dried to make dried fairy hawthorn. The small fairy hawthorn has a sour taste and is mostly made into candied haws. June to October is the annual harvesting period of fairy hawthorn.
Food education on the farm, such as DIY homemade hawthorn konjac, and using hawthorns to create special meals, are memorable experiences. You can also take a trip into natural ecology by heading off to Jiufu Trail at Jiuxiong Lake, and Jiyue Trail near the farm.
To prevent pests and diseases, “Chou’s Family’s Farm” has developed a method of growing fairy hawthorn and pear by grafting them together. As the hawthorn is a native species, its growth and resistance is more developed than that of the pear. Grafting the trunk of the pear onto the root of the hawthorn, and then graft the branches of the hawthorn on the trunk, greatly enhances the fruiting rate of the pear.
Although the fairy hawthorn was originally planted to increase the fruiting rate of pears, the malleability of fairy hawthorn, whether eaten directly or made into processed products, has made it the main agricultural product of the farm.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Fruits
The fairy hawthorn has been used as traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times, and is also eaten as a snack. “Chou Family’s Farm” has a series of processed fairy hawthorn products. Every year when the fairy hawthorn is in season, there will be homemade sun-dried fairy hawthorn, fairy hawthorn tea, fairy hawthorn popsicles and ice cream, hawthorn mung bean cake and hawthorn vinegar.
In addition to the fruit-picking experience, there is DIY hawthorn konjac. Using the dried fairy hawthorn made on the farm, boil it into hawthorn tea then add konjac powder to make hawthorn konjac jelly that leaves an unforgettable sweet and sour taste. The fairy hawthorn dish is also the perfect complement to any dish. Fairy hawthorn chicken hot pot is sweet and delicious, making this a trip to the countryside filled with joy and delicacies.
