Probably everyone would like to get into the tropical heat on a frosty winter day. And now such a magical movement is possible without the use of a magic wand. In the suburbs of Magnitogorsk there is a unique place where different varieties of lemons are grown.
Yes, it is lemons that live in the greenhouse and delight visitors with their citrus smell. Since ancient times, their beneficial properties have been known. They were grown in Egypt to combat the damaging effect of scorpions, since they have strong antiseptic functions.
Lemon juice is useful for tonsillitis, atherosclerosis, and stones in the gall bladder. Citrus peels improve digestion, remove leg cramps, and more.
Moreover, here you can find various cultivated plants from the subtropics. By their number, and by the size of the complex itself, they have not yet built an analogue in the Russian Federation.
What is limonaria?
Surely you are intrigued by the title of the article, but is this the first time you see such a word? What is limonaria?
In general, if you parse the name, then everything will immediately become clear. A limonary is a special nursery or nursery where lemons and other citrus plants are grown.
The first such complex was already built in the Soviet Union. And the RSFSR got its nursery in the city of Ufa in 1984.
Initially, the limonary was one huge greenhouse, under which a small area of the Park Forestry was allocated. In 1990, about one and a half thousand seedlings of citrus trees were delivered from the existing lemonaria in Tashkent. The collective farm named after Lenin in Tashkent began to study the technology of growing the fruit back in 1985.
Limonary in the village of Narovchatka: creation and development
The Magnitogorsk calibration plant with its greenhouses, where ancillary farming was conducted, was used as the basis of the new South Ural Lemonaria. In 1999, the complex was opened.
The idea of cultivating tropical exotic in the harsh conditions of the Urals was submitted by the former director of the Narovchatskoye state farm. The name went from there. This is how the first Magnitogorsk limonary appeared in the South Urals.
The distance from the city of Chelyabinsk is 256 kilometers, from Magnitogorsk it is much closer - only 20 kilometers.
The complex is considered the most popular attraction of the village, although it is located away from it. Any local inhabitant will be happy to tell and show you how to get there. Magnitogorsk limonaria is one of three in Russia: the rest are located in Saratov and Ufa.
The complex consists of fifteen greenhouses. Each is 4 meters wide and 100 meters long. They adjoin one another and make up one complex building under one roof. The total area of 6200 square meters. The territory is equipped with special departments for plant propagation, meta, where they are grown, a special area where potted plants are kept. The territory has a flower department, a special quarantine zone and a sales room. Moreover, in this greenhouse complex they are engaged in breeding, work on the cultivation of new varieties of yellow sour fruit.
Schedule of the Lemonaria in Magnitogorsk: the working day starts at 8 in the morning and ends at 6 in the evening. On Saturdays, the complex is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday is a day off.
What is grown in Magnitogorsk limonaria?
Since the administration of the Lemonaria cooperates with the All-Russian Research Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops, replenishment is constantly coming to production in Narovchatka.
Between the employees of the two nurseries there is an exchange of experience. They share with each other ways of growing and caring for citrus fruits. The limonary keeps in touch with many breeders and simply lovers of citrus crops from different cities of our vast country.
Greenhouse workers are proud of their plants, and in particular their citrus favorites. 1,500 lemon trees are grown in Magnitogorsk limonaria. Photos of unique plants can be seen below. The annual income in the form of lemons is from 30 to 50 kg.
Keeping a tropical greenhouse in Russia is not cheap financially. Therefore, a large share of its budgetary funds receives from the sale of lemonarium. Four tons at least every month is exported outside the "tropical land". Implementation is mainly in stores in the city itself and in the settlements of Bashkortostan.
Since all the fruits obtained are ecologically absolutely clean, the price tag per kilogram starts at 40 rubles. All grown lemons have special certificates of eco-production.
Money for the maintenance of the lemon nursery comes from the sale of seedlings. All types of seedlings under the protection of the greenhouse, as well as potted plants, are provided for sale. In spring, vegetable seeds, flowers for greenhouse and park seating are sold.
Moreover, the distribution of cuttings around the world is carried out in special packages. Thus, lemons from Magnitogorsk already grow in the homes of many people on our planet.
A profitable article is the conduct of excursions. Separate group ones are arranged for children from kindergartens, schools, institutes and universities, and special ones for visitors and gardening enthusiasts.
They come from many regions of the country. Traffic per day is about two hundred visitors. The excursion program includes stories of the construction of greenhouses, stories about the special features of breeding and breeding of new plants.
Visitors can also taste the grown fruits. There is a special eco-shop at the lemonaria itself, where fruits and their seedlings are sold. Would you like to see how exotic grows in your home?
Illustrious Champion
In 2005, Magnitogorsk limonaria received an award and a gold medal at an agricultural exhibition. This happened thanks to the main winner of the event - Yubileiny lemon. Fruits from trees of this species can be removed all year round. This is a very good yield.
One tree in about 12 months gives about fifty fruits. The flowering-ripening cycle lasts nine months. Just like carrying a human fetus.
Flowering itself looks very beautiful: bright yellow fruits are in good harmony with immature green and woody flowers.
You won’t believe it, but it’s a fact - sometimes the weight category of one fruit of the Yubileiny lemon reaches 1 kg. Regular citrus weighs about 400 grams. Such lemons are very different from other counterparts in that it does not lose its beneficial properties in hot water, which means it retains its proportions of vitamin C.
Lemon Trees: Popular Varieties
What other varieties of lemons grow in Magnitogorsk limonaria?
- the most popular is Kursk;
- sweet orange flavor - "Dioscuria";
- the smallest fruit is Meyer;
- aromatic lemons - "Novogruzinskiy".
You can add to them a variety that produces fruits only once a year - “Tashkent”. Interestingly, in winter this tree throws off its foliage. Its fruits have a thin crust, medium size and good taste.
Other plants
Other plants are grown in greenhouses throughout the year. There are about a hundred species. These plants belong to subtropical crops. For example, grapefruits, figs, oranges, kiwi, lime, kumquat, unabi, pompelmus, banana, orange, aucuba, feijoa, persimmon, grape, avocado, govenia and so on.
The curiosity of the collection is the candy tree. However, its berries do not fit its name at all. But the legs of the flower can usually contain up to thirty percent sucrose. They are used exclusively for making sweets, not simple ones, but the most oriental ones. They look like corals, only brown with a golden hue.
Have you heard about the sausage tree? If not, then you should rather look at it in the unique Magnitogorsk lemonaria. It grows as much as six meters in height. But sausage lovers will be disappointed, since no sausage grows there. But you can look at the strange leaves in the form of this meat product.
What else is rich in limonaria?
Greenhouses sheltered many exotic flowers and other plants with their own period of activity under their roof.
Among a number of subtropical original exhibits, you can see the medlar, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. Its leaves stick up, and it seems that frost has laid on them. Its flowering period is autumn and winter, and in spring, medlar breeds with tasty and juicy fruits, the taste of which looks like a yellow plum.
Collections of various types of cacti cannot fail to interest lovers of these plants. For example, succulent, or simple cactus, is very well established at home. Locals buy them as an ornamental plant. But in the greenhouse you can see their true size, in a natural cactus environment.
Care
Each plant is followed by individual care. All employees invest a lot of working time in their “children”, using the accumulated knowledge. After all, there are species of such exotic plants that take root and cannot get along, being next to each other.
To do this, they are seated in different corners of the greenhouse territory. Some need constant light, while others require more moisture and darkness.
Greenhouses warm up to 20 degrees above zero, and in the summer to 35. Humidity is maintained at 90 percent. Plants are watered with automatic installations above and below. Just imagine that the daily water norm for all residents of the greenhouse is thirty cubic meters.
How are harmful insects exterminated in limonaria? They do not use toxic chemical drugs, but resort to a very humane way. Specialists - entomographs - breed insects in laboratories that are beneficial for the therapeutic effect.
"Bugs" come in many forms, for example amblyseius helps fight ticks. At regular work in the greenhouse there is also a mosquito gall midge of aphidymysis. However, such a control method has not yet been found for scabies, therefore bactericides that are more sparing for human health are used.
Employees of the lemon complex use only organic matter as top dressing. Any chemicals excluded.
Who else can you meet in a greenhouse? Since flora and fauna in nature are interconnected, subtropical plants brought bees, turtles, birds, chickens and even peacocks.
Magnitogorsk limonaria: how to get there?
For those who ride their vehicle, the coordinates of the complex are 53 ° 16′39 ″ N 59 ° 5′47 ″ E. The physical address of the Magnitogorsk limonaria is Agapovsky District, the village of Narovchatka, Regional Route P361 13 km, 1.
Do you have any questions regarding the trip? You can get the necessary information by contacting the staff of the Magnitogorsk lemonarium. Phone: +7 (35140) 9-91-46.
Limonary today: threat of closure
The market economy has toughly adopted such a greenhouse organization. Narovchatsky limonaria was under the leadership of various owners. Several times he was at the stage of complete closure and ruin.
Between 2005 and 2010, the greenhouse replaced glass with cellular polycarbonate products, built its own boiler room, as well as its own gas pipeline. After the overhaul of all other rooms, the limonary breathed in a new way. The management planned to open a special platform for outdoor breeding of plants in the open. But now it’s known that the Magnitogorsk limonary is being closed.
Back in May 2017, the complex was accused of negative emissions for the environment. And in the fall, his employees began distributing their unique lemon subtropical trees and plants.
Various government agencies queued up to receive a free gift. People came even from Bashkortostan, just to grab their precious piece. Some citrus fruits are sold at a price of a thousand rubles. "Limonarians" want to save at least part of the representatives of a huge greenhouse. But, unfortunately, not all plants can survive in a new environment.
For the past two years, the lemonarium has been run by an invaluable man, creator and leader of the Gardens of Russia Society. He not only loved his job, but was devoted to each plant individually. However, his death overshadowed both the existence of society and the limonaria.
The owner’s daughter considered that maintaining greenhouses was completely unprofitable in the Russian market. Therefore, it was decided to sell the company. Rumors say a ridiculous amount of five million rubles. For such a unique structure, this is a very ridiculous price.
However, the new housewife, concentrating exclusively on farming, plans to "kill" the remaining plants, and in the spring to make a huge greenhouse - a place for growing cucumbers and tomatoes. Although the hostess herself does not confirm such rumors, all employees have already been dismissed. But they are ready to come to their native greenhouse, to water and care for plants for free.
With tears in their eyes, they part with their brainchild, which has survived difficult crisis times. Magnitogorsk Lemonaria was the largest in territory in our country. Nevertheless, there remains hope for a temporary closure and for the restoration of the lemon economy.