Fresh strawberries are tasty and healthyHowever, you can enjoy it only a few months a year.
High demand - a weighty argument in order to build your own berry business.
If you grow strawberries in a greenhouse, you can provide a family with fresh berries make good money.
What greenhouse is suitable?
Ideal for growing strawberries suitable greenhouse of metal framesheathed in polycarbonate sheets. Farmers better to build medium-sized greenhouses (100 - 120 sq. M.). Polycarbonate can be replaced with a double layer of plastic film, but this coating will have to be updated in 1-2 years.
Large greenhouses often use greenhouses on a steel frame covered with glass. Pitched roof construction provides good natural lighting and does not linger in the snow. Glass retains heat well, but it costs significantly more than film and polycarbonate.
Strawberries are grown in industrial conditions in a shelving way, or they use suspended Dutch technology. Industrial greenhouses for strawberries with such placement saves space and facilitates harvesting. It is also possible to plant strawberry bushes directly into the ground.
Hydroponic technologies reduce the cost, but significantly worsen the taste of berries. They acquire a characteristic watery taste and lose their flavor. To save on heating will help greenhouse with a blank wall, lined with cinder blocks. Usually the northern wall is made deaf.
The blocks reliably protect the greenhouse from the cold wind, in addition, they can provide additional heating on the principle of solar panels. Greenhouse should be equipped with an airing system and drip irrigation, good lighting.
Advantages and disadvantages of business
Business on growing strawberries in the greenhouse has many advantageswhich makes it especially attractive to newbies.
- Strawberries are very popular. It is readily bought by both end consumers, and shops and catering establishments.
- Low competition, strawberries in sufficient quantities present on the market no more than 3 months a year.
- Imported berries are much inferior in taste and aroma to domestic varieties grown in the soil.
- In the winter-spring period, the margins for strawberries increase significantly.
Among the disadvantages business can be noted:
- the cost of construction and equipment of greenhouses;
- high cost of electricity for heating;
- the need to register a legal entity to work with stores;
- in the summer season, the margin on products decreases.
Variety selection
For cultivation in the greenhouse is ideal remontant strawberries that do not require pollination. In early ground can be planted in both early and mid-season varieties.
It is important to choose options with sufficiently dense berries, well tolerated transportation. Consumers prefer brightly colored large strawberries the correct form with a rich aroma.
Among the most popular varieties:
- Alba. Compact bushes with good yield. Early variety, resistant to diseases. The berries are bright red, beautifully conical in shape, well transported and retain an attractive appearance for a long time (see photo below).
- Darenka. Variety of Russian breeding, resistant to fungal diseases and pests. The berries are large, red, have a pleasant sweet taste and good density (see photo below).
- Octave. Very early variety, suitable for greenhouses and open ground. It gives excellent yields, berries are large and fragrant, they do not crumple during transportation.
- Sonata. Juicy and tender berry with a pleasant taste and bright aroma. Variety tolerates temperature fluctuations, resistant to pests (see photo below).
- Rusanovskaya. An early variety in a heated greenhouse may produce several harvests per year. The berries ripen together, have a rich color and a beautiful rounded shape. Well kept.
- Honey. Very early ripe variety, the berries are large, bright red, conical in shape, have a rich sweet-sour taste and delicate aroma. The variety tolerates temperature fluctuations, but is sensitive to the nutritional value of the soil (see photo below).
Entrepreneurs with experience in greenhouses recommend choosing varieties of Russian, Dutch, American and Polish breeding. They live well in protected ground, do not get sick and give good yields.
Greenhouse Equipment Rules
Still under construction greenhouses it is important to think about the system heating. The most convenient option is to combine biofuel with artificial heating. An infrared cable or pipes, through which warm air is pushed, are laid underground. For heating, you can use an electric boiler or a bonfire, as well as stoves.
Prepare biofuelsby mixing horse, pork or goat dung with straw, spilling the mixture with water, covering with foil and leaving for several days. Dead manure decomposes under the top layer of soil. This mixture maintains the greenhouse temperature up to 25ºC.
A mixture of superphosphate and potassium chloride is suitable for optimizing the acidity. The soil must be loosened carefully.
For suspended technology, you can use peat-pearlitic mixture, which must be steamed. The prepared substrate is poured into plastic sleeves and placed on the racks installed along the walls of the greenhouse. Nutritional the mixture retains moisture well and accelerates the development of strawberry bushes. The Dutch system increases the yield of strawberries, allowing you to remove 8 kg of berries from one sleeve.
Strawberry care
The seedlings are planted in the greenhouse. When using Dutch suspension technology, each bush is placed in a separate pot filled with a nutrient substrate. When planted in the ground bushes placed in rows with a distance of 30-45 cm. To optimize watering and maintain the desired level of humidity in the greenhouse, an automatic drip system should be installed.
The soil should not dry out, however flooding is also unacceptable. Stagnant water in the soil provokes the disease gray mold, capable of ruining the crop. Humidity in the greenhouse should not fall below 80%. After the bushes take root, you need to ventilate the room daily.
Every two weeks is required to make mineral fertilizers: ammonium nitrate diluted in water and potassium chloride. After the start of flowering need gradually increase the temperature in the greenhouse, it will accelerate the ripening of the berries, make their taste bright and rich.
Accounting for income and expenses
Before starting work, a detailed business plan is prepared taking into account upcoming expenses and projected revenues. The list of expenses must include:
- lease or purchase of land;
- building materials for greenhouses and the cost of its construction;
- greenhouse equipment (ventilation system, irrigation, lighting);
- purchase of planting material, fertilizers and insecticides;
- fare;
- registration of a legal entity (necessary for working with retail chains);
- salary hired staff.
Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business is expensive for a private trader.
Reducing costs will help:
- use of combined fuel;
- growing seedlings on their own, from seeds;
- waiver of wage labor;
- Replacing polycarbonate to cover the greenhouse with cheaper film.
Calculate the estimated income from the farm. With a yield of 5 kg per 1 square. m can be removed from 400 kg of berries. The average purchase price is 600 rubles per kilogram. The price varies during the year from 200 to 800 rubles per kg, depending on the time of year. In this way, profit from one greenhouse will make 240 000 rubles per month. The profitability of strawberry business in the greenhouse - from 50%.
In winter, the margin on the berry is increased by 1.5 times. This is due to a decrease in supply and high demand from retailers. However, it is worth considering that the cost of heating in this period also increase.
Many farmers refuse from growing strawberries in winter, preferring earlier planting and prolongation of the fruiting period until November.
If you decide to engage in another business of growing flowers, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes or other vegetables in the greenhouse, then look at the articles on our website.
Entrepreneurs who decide to grow strawberries in the winter should advance sign contracts with trade networks and enterprises Catering. This will help minimize the reject rate and stabilize income.
