“Tilling in the seventh month yields gold, and in the eighth, Silver.” Currently, it is a critical period for Tea garden management, and tea farmers across our county are busy with ‘autumn tilling' to improve the yield and quality of next year's tea harvest.

Early in the morning, Wan Chunyu, a resident of Fang Village in Qishan Town, heads to his tea garden to begin ‘autumn tilling' and weeding. Wan Chunyu explains that after several rounds of spring harvesting, the tea plants have expended a large amount of nutrients, weakening their vitality. Additionally, weeds grow rapidly during the summer in the tea gardens. If not properly managed, this can directly impact the growth of the tea plants. Due to the recent prolonged high temperatures, they take advantage of the relatively cooler temperatures in the early morning and evening to work, avoiding the intense heat of the day. Moreover, the ‘autumn tilling' is done at a shallower depth to avoid damaging the tea plants.

“The weather is extremely hot now, so we cannot dig deep into the soil around the tea plants; instead, we do shallow weeding, which needs to be done more frequently. We start working on the tea plants at 5 o'clock in the morning and finish by 9 o'clock. In the afternoon, we work from 5 o'clock until 7 o'clock,” says Wan Chunyu.

“Tilling in the seventh month yields gold, and in the eighth, silver” is a practical adage passed down among local tea farmers, referring to the annual cultivation and weeding of tea gardens in the seventh and eighth months of the lunar calendar. ‘Autumn tilling' in tea gardens not only eliminates weeds and reduces pest infestations but also loosens the soil, improving its water retention capacity. It is also the most effective method for promoting root growth and rejuvenating the tea plants. During this season, tea farmers brave the scorching sun to weed their gardens, sacrificing their comfort for a bountiful harvest the following year.

“There's no shade in the tea garden, and after just five minutes of work, my clothes are soaked. The extreme heat makes the work very arduous, and I hope that we'll have a good tea harvest next year,” says Wan Chunyu.

A single tea leaf drives an entire industry. In recent years, our county has prioritized the development of the Qihong tea industry as a key sector for enriching the people and strengthening the county. We have implemented a comprehensive plan involving the “Five Major Improvement Projects” for the tea industry, resulting in a tea production of 7,568 tons and a total value of 6.507 billion yuan in 2025.

Author: Chen Yanjun, Ding Zhihong