ietNamNet Bridge – Farmers have used techniques to shape watermelons, pomelos and other fruits into gourds, hearts and wishes to meet the demand of people for decorating their houses and the altar of their ancestors during the Lunar New Year holiday, which is better known as Tet in Vietnam.

Ngo Van Son takes care of his pomelo garden. After around 25 days of being tied, the pomelo will be put in a mold so that it will have words on its peel.

Ngo Van Son, the owner of a gourd-shaped pomelos farm in Vinh Hiep Hamlet, Vinh Cuu District in Dong Nai Province, said creating such fruits requires growers to make large investments and learn right techniques. After years of failure, he has succeeded in shaping pomelos into gourds with words on their peels. This year, he has grown 400 gourd-shaped pomelos for sale during Tet.

When a pomelo is a bit larger than a fist, the grower uses a plastic string to tie around it as the first step to create a gourd-shaped fruit.     A collection of four gourd-shaped pomelos with words on their peels is priced at VND10 million (US$468)     A yellow heart-shaped watermelon