Sweet fragrant strawberries are loved by children and adults. In the long winter months, people look forward to the summer when you can enjoy its taste. Why wait so long? You can grow strawberries in the winter in the greenhouse. Moreover, a profitably built business will bring considerable income.
What are the benefits of the strawberry business?
So nature ordered that the mass ripening of this delicious and beloved berry falls at the beginning of summer. But strawberries are grown and sold by many summer residents and farmers, so the competition between them is huge. However, at the end of the season, no berries can be found. Frozen strawberries are sold in stores. But it can not be compared with a berry, plucked from the garden.
An entrepreneurial person can start growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round and will not be disappointed in choosing a business. The main thing is to plant commercial varieties of berries that will be profitable. For reference: the consumption of strawberries by Russians is increasing from year to year to fifty percent. This means that growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round can serve as a good investment of their own funds for the future. Of course, strawberries are a demanding plant. However, with proper care, this crop yields good yields and does not require significant costs.
How to register a business?
If you are convinced that growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round starts to generate good income, start registering your business. This business is classified as an individual form of entrepreneurship and has the category of agricultural producer. A single tax is accrued on this type of activity , not exceeding more than six percent. In order to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business, registration alone is not enough. You need to stock up on several certificates:
- Belonging to a particular variety of berries.
- Type of fertilizer with a brief summary of the composition of the mixture.
- License for the sale of strawberries.
- GOST berry conformity declaration with information on product quality and compliance with all required standards.
- Sanitary certificate.
The profitability of the berry business
This concept refers to the return on all costs. This is the ratio between the profit received as a result of the sale of the product and the cost. Moreover, the profitability of this business depends on the cost of all the funds spent, plus a trade cover. If you first decided to start growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round, you need to draw up a business plan taking into account all the pros and cons. It is better to contact specialists for help.
The cost includes all costs: the price of seedlings, fertilizers, salaries to strawberry care workers, rentals for premises and so on. The Dutch method of growing berries requires less cost, which means costs will be significantly reduced. If the business is not large enough, you can not hire workers, do it yourself. By saving on wages, employees also save money. So, for example, the average cost per kilogram of strawberries in 2012 was one and a half dollars.
You can easily make a significant profit during the period when the berry season ends, if you grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round. The photo presented to your attention reminds you of a delicious and fragrant berry, especially in winter, when it is not easy to get strawberries. Therefore, you can put the desired price on the product, and thereby make a profit.
Selling strawberries
The entrepreneur has grown and harvested a good berry crop that meets all the requirements. The question arises about its sales. Some do it on their own, having organized several points of sale in advance. But this is not always beneficial. In the winter season, up to eighty percent of strawberries are sold in supermarkets. If you grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business, then long before harvesting, search for future customers for your products.
It should be borne in mind that the shops have very high requirements, first of all, to the appearance of the berry: it must be clean, without leaves and twigs, the color is one-dimensional. If you can’t sell strawberries through the store, you can hand them in bulk to processors: manufacturers of juices, jams and other convenience foods.
Growing strawberries in bags
How to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round in bags. And watering both lighting and pollination are easier to implement using Dutch technology. First you need to find and equip a room, the area of which depends on your needs. You can use the balcony, if its area allows. A prerequisite is the maintenance of temperature: during the day - twenty-five degrees, eighteen at night. You need to stock up on plastic bags and patience, since the troublesome thing is to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round.
In bags made of polyethylene, longitudinal holes are made in a checkerboard pattern, only four rows. The length of the hole is eight centimeters, and the distance between them is twenty-four. Young strawberry bushes are planted in these holes. Bags, with a diameter of fifteen centimeters and a height of up to two and a half meters, are placed on the floor in one tier. If they are smaller or if the height of the room allows, multi-level placement is allowed. 2-3 bags filled with a substrate from a mixture of peat and perlite are placed per square meter of area.
Sowing seeds directly into bags is inefficient. It is better to buy seedlings or grow it yourself. Before landing, she should be in hibernation. To do this, use a freezer or a cold basement. In this matter, the prospect is happy: after the first year's harvest, you will have your own seedlings.
Future planting needs to be provided with food. To do this, build an irrigation system. Suitable tubes for droppers, which lead to each bag: bottom, top and middle at a distance of 55 centimeters. The ends of the tubes are connected to a pipeline located above the bags, each of which requires two liters of water during the day.
An important role for growing strawberries is lighting. It should be adjusted so as close to natural. The lamps should be turned on for 8-12 hours a day, and the rest of the time - turned off.
Strawberries in the greenhouse. Benefits
- Possibility of growing berries year-round.
- No dependence on weather conditions. It's no secret that rain and dampness reduce productivity by 25 percent. The berry in the greenhouse is not affected by these phenomena.
- There is no need for additional land resources.
- The costs associated with growing berries pay off in just one season.
- Strawberries grown in a greenhouse are better accepted for sale by supermarkets.
- Great demand for berries in the winter makes it possible to make decent money.
- Caring for a crop in a greenhouse is easier than on a garden bed in the open.
- Profitability of a business can be approximated to one hundred percent.
Disadvantages of growing strawberries in a greenhouse
If you decide to build a berry business, the question will surely arise how to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round for sale. Take your time and do not make hasty decisions. The fact is that here, as in any business, there are problems.
- First you need to solve the issue of heating. If it is not in view of limited funds, you can immediately forget about the idea of growing strawberries year-round.
- To grow crops in greenhouse conditions at the initial stage, considerable funds will be required. First you need to build a greenhouse with a system of artificial lighting, irrigation and pollination. Purchase all necessary equipment and planting material.
- The problem is the constant care of plants. Not everyone can do it on their own. Sooner or later, the question will arise of hiring ancillary workers. And this is an additional cost. Perhaps for someone it will be cheaper to grow strawberries in the open ground. Everyone evaluates their capabilities.
Types of Greenhouses
- Film-coated rooms. Such greenhouses for growing strawberries require a minimum of cost. This is probably why they are available to beginner gardeners. But, there is a huge minus: the film does not protect plants from frost in the winter. The greenhouse cannot be properly heated. So in a harsh climate, using such greenhouses is very risky.
- Glass greenhouses are rather bulky structures that need a foundation. But they can be heated, and the walls are transparent.
- It is advisable to build polycarbonate greenhouses to organize a serious business for many years, since such premises have a long service life, they are durable and light, although the most expensive.
How to grow planting stock?
First you need to plant a plant, and then start growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round. Business directly depends on the quality of planting material. His preparation has some features. Self-grown seedlings will reduce the cost of its purchase. You can get a plant for planting in various ways.
One of them is the use of young outlets, for which, in the fall, before the onset of frost, you need to carefully dig up the rooted young antennae from the uterine plantations. Freshly prepared seedlings with open roots should be stored in a basement or refrigerator, with an air temperature of 0- + 2 degrees. But, some experienced field farmers-entrepreneurs find it unprofitable to allocate special areas for the uterine plantation. It causes losses.
Cluster seedlings
Based on the rich experience of Russian plant growers, a more suitable option is to use cluster seedlings if you start growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round. Productivity when planting this type of seedlings is much greater. The overgrown root system quickly takes root and fully provides useful plant nutrition. To get cluster seedlings, it will take about a month and a half.
To do this, the young antennae are separated from the uterine plants and placed for a period of one hour in a cool room, 0- + 1 degree for cooling. Then planted in plastic containers with cells, pre-filling them with a nutritious earth mixture. After 2-3 days, the roots grow by 3-4 centimeters, and after 10 days the root system is fully formed.
In the first month, it is necessary to ensure that direct sunlight does not fall on seedlings. Only after five weeks, young plants can be taken out in the sun. By this time, the cell is filled with roots, and may well transfer the transplant to a permanent place of growth. Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round should begin with the use of self-pollinated repairing varieties such as Korona, Kimberly, Florence, Marmolada, Honei, Annannasova, Selva, Sakhalin and others. Otherwise, you will have to manually pollinate each flower. Strawberry Festival Chamomile, Junia Smades is ideal if you grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round in Siberia. These varieties are typical representatives of a high-yielding industrial type of a given crop.
Berry business in a greenhouse
You can successfully build your business on growing strawberries indoors, having enough funds for this. One year before planting in a greenhouse, it is necessary to begin preparing planting material in open ground. The soil should be selected slightly acidic, loamy or neutral. It should have enough humus. For reference: in order to occupy 1 hectare of the greenhouse with strawberry seedlings, it is necessary to lay a uterine plantation in an open ground of 150 square meters.
Experts and amateur gardeners know several ways with which you can get planting material. But, the most fruitful are seedlings from plants - two-year-olds. They are transplanted into heated greenhouses in the fall, in October-November, according to a 20x30 centimeter scheme. In dry weather, young plants should be watered.
Greenhouse Strawberry Care
When rapid flowering begins, the greenhouse needs regular ventilation. This reduces air humidity and related plant diseases. At this time, fertilizing with carbon dioxide is carried out. After its holding, fruiting occurs earlier and productivity increases.
Strawberry is demanding on moisture. But water should not fall on plants, watering is carried out under the very root. In Western countries, the soil in the greenhouse is covered with a black film. It does not allow the berry to touch the ground, weeds grow more slowly, and the earth retains heat better than a film of a different color.
In the greenhouse, the procedure of artificial pollination of strawberries is carried out. On small plantations, this is done manually 2-3 times a day. After a few days, pollination is repeated. If the greenhouse occupies large areas, then for the time of flowering, beehives with bees are placed in it.
Harvested strawberries from mid-March to late April under artificial lighting, without it, berry harvesting occurs at the end of March - mid-May.