Tortoise back impression with their owner ── Green Nong Eason Luo Junhan's way of making money: why do farmers have to suffer?

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According to the regulations on names of the Republic of China, people can change their names three times in their lifetime. At the age of 33, Luo Junhan used up his three "buckles". The more frequent change in life than the name is to change bosses. As the saying goes, "24 leaders a year" refers to people like him.

From wanting to travel through the universe as an astronaut to stepping on the farmland in Pingtung, Eason Luo Junhan's unrestrained life was anchored by the tortoise, and finally had something to do with "success." "this is the first small achievement in my life, and my parents finally feel at ease when they see my management and efforts in this land." The emotional remarks are a little out of tune with his relaxed appearance.

Eason Luo Junhan relied on his tortoise's memory to find the direction of his life and earn enough money. (photography / Yang Yuyun) turn for no reason, but life has been anchored ever since.

Like many little boys, Eason wanted to be an astronaut from an early age because he watched a lot of hero cartoons. He said that he was smart, but he didn't like to study. The industry he had worked in was "too numerous to be prepared." the reason for changing jobs frequently was that he didn't want to be controlled, and that a fixed schedule made him feel asphyxiated and his salary was fixed. It was not until he entered the real estate industry that Eason was stable for a period of time and earned his first bucket of gold.

Eason's father was a manager of the fertilizer factory before he retired. Because of his deep knowledge of fertilizer management, he made friends with many farmers in his working life. He also likes to grow flowers and grass, and has the title of "folk tree doctor". After retirement, he and his wife moved to Pingtung. After learning that a farmer in Changzhi wanted to release a lease of more than two armies of farmland, he immediately asked Eason if he would like to come to the countryside to work as a farmer.

The father asked abruptly, after all, the child had not expressed the slightest desire to be a farmer, and Eason nodded and agreed, even if he even had a farm. What kind of crops do you want to grow? I haven't even thought about it.

"in fact, even if my father had helped me find a store, I might have agreed to take over." He said that he had thought of becoming a boss in the past, but he had no funds. This time he had money, and the opportunity just came to him. Coupled with the fact that he liked to do it, farming seemed to be a good choice. It may be because job changes are commonplace, and Eason's career change is not like others who have to think carefully or ask for a visa at the temple. After a brief assessment, he decided to work hard.

The rented land was originally a honey pomelo orchard, but the yield of honey pomelo was not good, so the original farmers decided to release it. Also because the farmer planted tortoise back impressions elsewhere, Eason inquired and learned that tortoise back impressions need to build a network room, and few farmers are willing to invest, but the reporting rate is actually very good. So he used the money earned by Fang Zhong Ye to prepare the land and set up a net. from then on, he took up the "turtle back" and "impression" to see a new life.

Turtle back taro with green and healthy color (Photography / Yang Yuyun) Tortoise back taro uses wide mother leaves to produce lateral buds endlessly

Tortoise back taro (Monstera deliciosa), also known as tortoise back bamboo, pineapple banana, Penglai banana and telecommunication orchid, is a plant of the genus Araceae. The country of origin is Mexico, and it has been planted in Taiwan for at least 1/4 centuries. It is a common leaf wood for flower arrangement, and it is also suitable for potted plants, both indoor and outdoor. Because the leaf color is evergreen and the split leaves are very different, they are popular in horticulture and floriculture, and the market price has been very stable.

As if to echo its name, the tortoise back taro is a long-lived plant. After raising seedlings, the seeds can be transplanted to farmland in about two months, and cut leaves can be sold half a year later. Miraculously, each tortoise back taro has a mother leaf that grows lateral buds. After the lateral buds are completely separated from the mother leaves, the mother leaves become a cut leaf commodity, and after the lateral buds change from soft to hard, from light green to dark green, they grow into new mother leaves, which will be divided into lateral buds in the future to complete the alternation of life.

In addition, the nodes from the lateral buds will also grow roots and become more powerful. In other words, after investing in the cost of a seed, the tortoise is basically a crop that can be harvested for decades. And the hotter the climate, the stronger its vitality, so Pingtung is naturally a good place to grow.

Because the tortoise back taro has lateral buds from its mother leaves, Eason thinks it is a "female" plant. Inspired by Rowling's novel, Facebook fans are named "Tortoise back impressions and their place of origin". In addition, his own English name Eason has a homonym. 13 is embedded in the English word thirteen to become THIR13EN, which is the tattoo on his left arm and the English name Thir13en Farm.

THIR13EN, this tattoo on the left arm is of great significance to Eason. (photography / Yang Yuyun) his tortoise saved his own memory and never liked to study hard.

For a person who doesn't like to study, the impression of the tortoise makes Eason's personality change greatly. Although farmers taught some skills at first, it was up to Eason to solve the problems they encountered after they really started planting. For the sake of these precious crops, he, who did not like reading, began to get into the pile of books. If you can't answer it in a book, look for information on the Internet. It doesn't matter if you can't read English. Google will help with the translation. He even found a website in Mexico, only to know that Mexico used to use Spanish.

Eason thought that he and the tortoise had the help of God when they met each other. Although he is a rookie in agriculture, the tortoise is not a bully. It has been smooth since he joined the industry in 2017, and he has only encountered one planting crisis: rust. This is a disease caused by fungi, which will form rusty brick-red spots on the leaves, affecting the appearance, and highly contagious. An infected plant will spread into a whole area in about a week, making Eason very worried.

At that time, he turned to other seniors, but everyone was inexperienced, so Eason had to beg the Internet gods for mercy. After he went online to study the experience of various parts of the world, according to the pesticides available in Taiwan, he made his own prescription and sprayed it on sick plants, which quickly suppressed the spread of fungi, saved the farm and saved his own life.

The substitution is low, and the thickness, color and size of the leaves will affect the price.

Unlike many flowers and leaves, tortoise-backed taro is easy to be replaced. For example, when the price of rose flowers is high, Platycodon grandiflorum or carnation can be used. If jasmine leaves become more expensive, they will be replaced by chrysanthemum leaves. However, if you need large and posturing leaves when arranging flowers, it seems that it must be tortoise taro. This is also the main reason why its price is rarely significantly volatile and the reporting rate is stable.

Eason says that after harvesting, the leaves of tortoise back taro are delivered daily to five auction markets in Taipei, Taichung, Changhua, Tainan and Kaohsiung. Conditions such as the thickness, color, size, number of cracks and evenness of distribution of the leaves will affect the price, and different markets will have different needs. According to his long-term management, he found that consumers in Taipei and Tainan are more willing to buy high-quality wood. He reckons that it is because the wedding and funeral venues in Taipei are more upscale, and there are more temple sacrifices in Tainan.

Eason has made a lot of efforts to plant excellent turtle back taros with dark green and thick leaves. "I'm afraid I haven't read as many books in my whole life as in the past three years." He said with a smile. At first, tortoise memories were just commodities to him, just observing and groping every day, and Eason found that they did give back, such as growing faster or having healthier leaves, which made him fall in love with a plant that seemed to interact with him.

In addition, he is already a hands-on person, so he will experiment with the back of the tortoise from time to time, such as destroying the circulation of the mother leaf, or cutting the leaves from different angles, simply wanting to know what the result will be. This accumulated knowledge over the years, so that he has a better capital.