Features and technology of industrial cultivation of strawberries in a greenhouse all year round: business plan, video and all the most important things. Business idea: Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round

• Hydroponic strawberries
• Step-by-step opening plan
• How much can you earn
• Which equipment to choose
• Which OKVED code to indicate when registering a business?
• What documents are needed to open a business?
  • conclusions
    • • Similar business ideas:

Strawberries are a popular berry that is loved not only in our country, but throughout the world. Strawberries are consumed both fresh and used in processing to make jam, jam, juices, etc. With the appearance of the first harvests in the spring, the berries are literally sold out. And sometimes it doesn’t matter what the price tag is. A kilogram of early strawberries in large cities costs at least 250 rubles...

You can start your own mini-business growing strawberries even from a summer cottage. To sell the first batches of berries, no documents are needed, since the products are sold from personal plots. Registration of individual entrepreneurs, tax deductions, all this later, when industrial scale appears. At first, berries can be sold through fruit shops and kiosks, as well as by handing over berries in small wholesale quantities to resellers. Do you want to learn more about business and earn stable money? We offer you free book about investing money wisely. By choosing the method that interests you, you can earn a good income while doing something clear.

Growing strawberries in open ground

Growing strawberries in open ground is the most common method. There are a number of objective reasons for this:

1. Low investment. No buildings of any kind, in the form of greenhouses (read more about growing in a greenhouse) and hydroponic setups are not required. You can start with your own garden, and then, as necessary, either rent a plot or buy it. Main investments: fertilizers, planting material and drip irrigation (not counting the land plot).
2. The technology is simple and clear. A little literature - and you can get a good harvest.
3. Strawberries grown outdoors are juicy, sweet and more “natural”. Selling such a product is much easier.

In open ground, strawberries are planted in rows, at a distance of 35 - 40 cm from each other. The soil must be covered with spunbond-based agrofibre. This material protects the plant from direct sunlight, while retaining moisture, allowing air to pass through and accumulating heat. The most common varieties for open ground: Gigantella, Elizabeth II, Albion, Honey. The fruits of these varieties are large and appetizing. Thus, the fruits of the Gigantella variety grow up to 100 grams. Just 10 berries - we get a kilogram of marketable strawberries.

The disadvantages of open ground are obvious:

1. Seasonality. Depending on the climatic conditions of the region, strawberries can be grown exclusively between May and September.
2. Dependence on weather conditions. Drought, frost, etc., and you can lose almost the entire harvest.
3. Diseases, pests, and weeds, which are present in abundance in open ground, will haunt the farmer.
4. Harvesting - you have to pick berries by literally crawling on the ground, which is extremely inconvenient. This results in higher labor costs during the harvest period.

With all its pros and cons, growing in open ground is the surest way to start a strawberry business. Firstly, it is cheaper and therefore less risky. Secondly, you don’t need to have any serious knowledge to plant a field and reap the first harvest. Finally, this will allow you to try to sell the berries. And sales in this matter, as practice shows, is the most difficult stage. Having learned to sell, you can think about how to increase production volumes. In this regard, there are other, more expensive, but also more effective ways to grow strawberries.

Video about a successful farm growing strawberries in open ground:

Hydroponic strawberries

Hydroponics is a very popular method of growing plants indoors. Thus, in Israel, hydroponics is used by more than 80% farms. This method involves planting plants in a thin layer of organic substrate (peat, for example), laid on a mesh and placed in a tray with a nutrient solution. In simple words, with hydroponics the plant is fed not from the soil, but from a mineral solution, the composition of which is formed depending on the type of plant. Strawberries are also actively grown hydroponically, although there are few such farms in our country. What are the advantages of hydroponics:

1. The plant always receives the right amount of nutrients, much more than from solid soil. Hence faster growth and faster harvest.
2. There is no need for daily watering.
3. Pests and diseases that are typical when grown in soil (mole crickets, fungal diseases, nematodes) are completely absent.
4. There is no need to purchase soil for transplanting strawberries and spend money on its delivery.
5. It is much easier to replant a plant without damaging the roots.
6. The resulting berry is environmentally friendly, since no toxic chemicals or pesticides are used during the growing process.

Particularly successful farmers manage to produce up to 45 kg of strawberries per 1 sq. m. using hydroponics. m., or 450 tons from 1 hectare! The hydroponics method is extremely popular among homeowners who grow berries as a hobby. People plant strawberries this way not only in greenhouses, but also on window sills. And fresh berries, when choosing the appropriate varieties, grow all year round. Ready-made hydroponic installations and systems can be purchased from specialized companies. You can also construct a hydroponic installation with your own hands; fortunately, there are many videos on this subject on the Internet. For example this:

As the basis for the installation, you can use ordinary plastic containers placed on racks. If we talk about large planting areas, then the obvious disadvantages of the system include the high cost of structures and high energy costs, because plant growth requires a continuous supply of oxygen to the solution. Moreover, if an entrepreneur decides to grow strawberries on an industrial scale in this way, the construction of greenhouses will be required, which makes the project very expensive. Discount costs. A hydroponic installation for 30 seats will cost about 10,000 rubles, for 3,000 bushes - 1,000,000 rubles. In terms of area, this number of installations will occupy about 50 square meters. m. A fully equipped greenhouse of this size will cost about 150,000 rubles. In total, the total cost of the project exceeds a million, excluding the costs of planting material and substrate.

Trukars - growing strawberries vertically

An interesting device called “Trukar” was invented by Alexander Naseichuk from the Leningrad region. Trukar is a pipe with pockets, installed vertically. A strawberry bush is sown in each pocket and connected to a drip irrigation system. What are the advantages of Trukar? Firstly, the greenhouse area is significantly saved (by about 300%). One trukhar occupies only 0.5 square meters. m. and holds 90 strawberry bushes. That's only for 1 sq. m. we can place 180 strawberry bushes, thereby increasing the profitability of the entire greenhouse. Secondly, the trukar is very convenient in terms of planting plants and subsequently caring for them. You can watch more details about growing strawberries in trucers in the following video:

During the season (2-2.5 months), up to 12 kg of strawberries are harvested from one farmer. Accordingly, from 500 trukars (500 sq. m.) you can get 6 tons of strawberries. In monetary terms, this is approximately 1.2 million rubles. revenue if you sell strawberries for an average of 200 rubles/kg. This is if we take into account ordinary varieties. With remontant varieties, the yield and income, accordingly, may be slightly higher.

A variation of the vertical method is growing strawberries in plastic bags using the so-called Dutch technology. The essence of this technology is that seedlings are planted at a certain interval, after 2 - 3 months. This allows you to harvest continuously without using remontant varieties. In order for strawberries to begin to bear fruit, regardless of the time of year, they must be preserved, that is, sent into hibernation, as happens under natural conditions. To do this, well-developed strawberry bushes are cut in the fall and stored in a refrigerated place. A regular refrigerator is suitable for these purposes. The result is seedlings called "Frigo". Such seedlings can be “awakened” at any time by planting them in closed ground in a greenhouse (Recommended reading greenhouse business plan). And it doesn’t matter when you do it, in January or May. The main thing is that the greenhouse is ready for planting. A couple of months after planting, the strawberries will bear their first harvest.

The best varieties for Dutch technology are Elsanta, Darselect, Maria, Sonata, Gloom, Polka, Tristar and, of course, Albion (the most popular greenhouse strawberry variety). Strawberries are planted in bags made of white plastic film. The length of the bag is 2 meters and the diameter is 16 cm. The bag is filled with a substrate, including soil and fertilizers. Next, holes of 7 cm are made in the bag in a checkerboard pattern in four rows, at a distance of 25 cm from each other. Then the bags are hung on special supports, 2-3 bags per square meter. You can do it a little differently by placing the bags horizontally on regular racks. In this way you can make several tiers. Plants are fed using droppers, which are supplied in three parts of the bag every 50 cm. Strawberries are pollinated by hand, using a soft brush or using a fan.

Step-by-step opening plan

Having a certain amount of money to start with, you need to decide which method of growing strawberries is right for you. Based on this, choose: · Place (or room) for planting strawberries; · Equipment for growing berries; · Planting material - the variety that is most profitable for a given growing method; Product sales plan

How much can you earn

When grown in open ground, by the second year, 10 acres provide both seedlings and enough berries - 700-800 kg. In this case, all costs of the first year are covered: planting material, drip irrigation system, film or agrofibre. You can expand the planting area. But the third year already gives a clean and good income. I guarantee up to 2 tons of excellent berries from approximately 5 thousand strawberry bushes. The profitability of growing strawberries in a greenhouse exceeds 100%, and the payback is usually predictable in the first season. But, the starting investment for organizing and equipping a greenhouse farm is 30-50% higher than for agricultural production in open ground. When grown in the Dutch way (in bags), you can get up to 30 kg from one square meter. garden strawberries. When selling berries in the summer, with an average price of 70 rubles. per kilogram, from one square meter you can earn more than 2 thousand rubles. And in the cold season, the price for a “vitamin product” will be on average about 200 rubles/kilo, the benefit accordingly will be up to 6 thousand rubles. With a berry yield of 50 sq.m and taking into account expenses, the profit will be under 300 thousand rubles.

How much money do you need to start a business?

On average, to build a greenhouse with a planting area of ​​1 hectare, you will need 1300-1450 thousand rubles. To set up a 1 meter square room for producing berries in bags you will need about 300 rubles (including planting material). If you have problems with start-up capital, we offer the opportunity to earn at least part of the money. The one we offer is suitable for this purpose. set of 50 ways. From it you can choose starting options without investment.

Which equipment to choose

Equipment for growing: · in open ground - drip irrigation (pipes, fittings and filters, drip tape), mulching film or agrofibre; · Dutch method - room (barn, garage, etc.), polyethylene bags 200-220 cm long, 15-16 cm in diameter. For each bag there are 3 irrigation pipes and a mixture of peat and perlite; · for hydroponics - trays, pumps, tubes and nutrient substrate; · for the trukar method - a pipe with pockets, a substrate, an irrigation system.

So tasty and sweet...

Such a tasty and healthy berry as strawberry, in the middle zone, produces only one harvest. And even then, when growing it in open ground, the harvest does not always please gardeners. Either insects attack, or it rains most of the summer or it is hot, as a result the harvest is not large, and the berries are not pleasing with their size and taste.

There are varieties of strawberries, such as remontant ones, which bear fruit for several months (two or three), but they are also very dependent on weather and climatic conditions. All year round, strawberries can grow in a greenhouse, heated of course, in any climate.

Many different ways have been developed to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round, but they all have several key points in common:

1. Organizing proper artificial lighting. (See LED Lights)
2. Creation of optimal temperature conditions.
3. Providing plants with sufficient nutrient medium.

Plants can be grown using the following methods:

• in the ground;
• small containers;
• Dutch technology.

Strawberries - tasty and juicy

In heated greenhouses for growing strawberries all year round, you can plant plants in the ground. Gardeners most often practice this method.

For gardeners who want to get a high yield of this berry indoors throughout the year, the small container method, or the so-called “Dutch” technology, will be more suitable (see Growing strawberries in a greenhouse using the Dutch technology).

When using the small container method, strawberry bushes are planted in pots with a diameter of 18-20 cm and filled with nutritious soil, in which they develop, of course, subject to proper and complete application of fertilizers and watering. Pots can be placed in several rows, one above the other. The meaning of the “Dutch” technology will be as follows:

When using this method, plants are placed in special “berry blocks” or specially prepared plastic bags. Both “berry blocks” and plastic bags are placed in a heated structure. They can be placed both vertically and horizontally, in several rows. The most important thing is that all plants have enough light, water and nutrients.

So what should a greenhouse be like to grow strawberries all year round?

First of all, you need to remember what strawberries need for normal development and growth. Strawberry is a warm and moisture-loving berry, responsive to the application of various fertilizers and actively developing only under conditions of sufficiently long and intense lighting.

Based on the characteristics of this crop, all year round the room for strawberries should be heated, well lit and have access to water so that it is possible to water the plants and humidify the air (see how to build a greenhouse for strawberries). Considering that in the autumn and winter months the daylight hours are short and the air temperature outside is sub-zero, it will be necessary to install fluorescent lamps inside that can extend the daylight hours to 14-16 hours, as well as a heating system that can maintain the optimal temperature of +22 0 C+24 0 C, regardless of the outside temperature.

Before you start cultivating strawberries, you need to select varieties suitable for growing indoors and test them.

Choosing a variety

The most suitable for growing in greenhouses will be early self-pollinating remontant varieties of strawberries, preferably belonging to the day-neutral group.

Important features of such varieties are:

• Varieties with early ripening yield maximum yield even with heavily thickened planting.
• Strawberry varieties of the so-called “neutral daylight hours” are good because they are not affected by the length of daylight hours during flowering and setting berries.
  Strawberry varieties of medium ripening can form ovaries only with sufficiently long daylight hours, and late varieties form ovaries only with short daylight hours. Unlike all the others, day-neutral strawberries stably form ovaries and bear fruit at a fixed length of daylight hours.

• In order for strawberries to grow all year round, it is necessary that the variety continuously forms inflorescences, ovaries and berries. Otherwise, the harvest will not be constant, but will come in “waves” - harvest - a month, or even more - waiting.

The most famous and in demand are such remontant strawberry varieties of neutral daylight hours as Pineapple, Arapahoe, Brighton, Mount Everest, Darselect, Elizabeth II, Zenga Zengana, Temptation, Queen Elizabeth, Crown, Marmolada, Mahern, Moscow Delicacy, Ozark Beauty, Profuzhen, Red Rich , Sakhalinskaya, Selva, Tribute, Trufaut Produce, Tristar, Khoniei.

Most modern strawberry varieties are self-pollinating, but the old, “classic” varieties are not.

Features of agricultural technology for growing strawberries

A year before planting seedlings in greenhouses for growing strawberries all year round, the plants are planted in open ground to check varietal qualities and obtain the necessary planting material.

To grow strawberries in open ground, you need loamy soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction, enriched with humus. To obtain the necessary planting material, the mustaches that form the strawberry bushes during the season are used.

How to prepare seedlings

The resulting seedlings are “planted” and rooted on the mother plantation at the end of July, beginning of August. After the plants have formed a good root system, they are transplanted into a special nursery according to a 15 cm x 15 cm scheme. A ridge is usually used as a nursery, into which complex fertilizers have been applied in advance, and the top 15 cm layer is fertile soil.

Strawberry mustache

Instead of a nursery, seedlings can be transplanted into seedling boxes. Both the nursery and the boxes with seedlings must be watered, avoiding both drying out and waterlogging of the soil.

Before the onset of frost, usually at the end of October, beginning of November, preferably at a temperature of 0 0 C, seedlings from the nursery are transplanted into small pots, 8-10 cm in diameter, filled with a nutrient substrate or good soil. Leaves on bushes should be removed. Then they are removed to a room, for example, a basement, where the temperature does not drop below -2 0 C. The seedlings are no longer transplanted from the boxes, but the boxes with the plants themselves are simply removed into a cool room. Where they can be stored at rest for up to 9 months. Seedlings can be planted gradually.

How to prepare the soil

Before you start growing strawberries, you need to prepare the soil. First of all, it is advisable to disinfect the soil with a weak pink solution of ordinary potassium permanganate. Then peat or rotted manure is added, and complex mineral fertilizers are added immediately before planting.

How to grow strawberries all year round

For normal growth and development of plants, it is necessary to observe:

• Light mode. Even day-neutral varieties require light. It is important to remember that during flowering plants need intense and fairly long daylight hours, at least 8 hours. In addition, the length of daylight determines how long it will take for strawberries to bloom and form berries.
  So, with an 8-hour day of light, strawberries will bloom in 14 days, and the berries will set in a month and a half after planting. If you double the daylight hours, to 16 hours, then the plants will bloom in 10 days, and berry set will begin in 35-37 days.

• Temperature conditions. During planting, the temperature should be +8 0 C +12 0 C. Gradually, as the plants grow, the temperature is raised to +15 0 C +20 0 C. During flowering, strawberries need +20 0 C +24 0 C Lower temperatures will delay the flowering time, and the berries will set worse.

Important: it is necessary to monitor the temperature regime, since high temperatures cause strawberry bushes to grow a large number of leaves, which leads to a deterioration in fruiting.

• Air humidity. Strawberries are demanding on air humidity. So, during planting, it requires air humidity of about 80-85%, and during flowering - no more than 70%.

Tip: to maintain the required air humidity, you can spray the greenhouse itself, being careful not to splash the plant.

• Regular watering. Strawberry is a moisture-loving plant and therefore it is necessary to water it regularly, making sure that water does not get on the leaves and flowers of the plant. However, it is worth remembering that strawberries do not like both lack and excess moisture. The optimal type of irrigation for strawberries grown all year round is considered to be drip irrigation (see Drip irrigation system in a greenhouse or greenhouse).
• Creating conditions for pollination. Old selection varieties must be artificially pollinated. To do this, use a paint brush, transferring pollen from the opened flowers of one plant to another.
  Most modern varieties are self-pollinating, however, experienced gardeners still recommend manipulating the brush and pollen so that pollination takes place and the ovaries are formed.
  For large structures, the use of bees or bumblebees would be relevant. A hive with insects is installed in a greenhouse, and they pollinate the plants naturally.

• Prevention of diseases. Strawberries are quite easily affected by a disease such as gray rot. It has long been known that preventing a disease is always easier than curing it. Therefore, take care of your strawberries in advance (see Growing strawberries in a greenhouse in winter for more details).
• In addition, during the flowering of strawberries, it is necessary to treat the strawberries with fungicides several times, until the petals of the flower fly off, applying them by drop method to the root zone of the plant.
  High air humidity and heat can awaken slug larvae, which may be found in poorly treated soil. To prevent slugs from spoiling the results of your work, it is necessary to place special traps produced by industry.

• Feeding and fertilizers. Strawberries need to be fertilized every two weeks. You can use liquid fertilizers intended for this plant, or dilute 80 g of ammonium nitrate with superphosphate and 10 g of potassium salt in 10 liters of warm water and fertilize.

It is better for farmers to build medium-sized greenhouses (100 - 120 sq. m). Polycarbonate can be replaced with a double layer of polyethylene film, but this coating will have to be renewed after 1-2 years.

Large greenhouse farms often use steel frame greenhouses covered with glass. The pitched roof structure provides good natural light and does not allow snow to linger. Glass retains heat well, but it costs significantly more than film and polycarbonate.

Strawberries are grown in industrial conditions using a rack method, or hanging Dutch technologies are used. Industrial greenhouses for strawberries with this arrangement save space and make harvesting easier. It is also possible to plant strawberry bushes directly in the ground.

Hydroponic technologies reduce the cost of the process, but significantly worsen the taste of the berries. They acquire a characteristic watery taste and lose their aroma. A greenhouse with a blank wall made of cinder blocks will help you save on heating costs. Usually the northern wall is made blank.

The blocks reliably protect the greenhouse from cold winds, and they can also provide additional heating using the solar panel principle. There must be a greenhouse equipped with a ventilation system and drip irrigation, good lighting.

Advantages and disadvantages of business

Business for growing strawberries in a greenhouse has many advantages, which makes it especially attractive for beginners.

1. Strawberries are very popular. It is readily purchased by both end consumers and shops and catering establishments.
2. Competition is low, strawberries are present in sufficient quantities on the market for no more than 3 months a year.
3. Imported berries are significantly inferior in taste and aroma to domestic varieties grown in soil.
4. In the winter-spring period, premiums for strawberries increase significantly.

Among the disadvantages business can be noted:

• costs for the construction and equipment of greenhouses;
• high cost of electricity for heating;
• the need to register a legal entity to operate stores;
• During the summer season, the markup on products decreases.

Variety selection

Remontant strawberries that do not require pollination are ideal for this. Both early and mid-season varieties can be planted in closed ground.

It is important to choose options with fairly dense berries that can withstand transportation well. Consumers prefer brightly colored large strawberries regular shape with a rich aroma.

Among the most popular varieties:

Entrepreneurs with experience in greenhouse farming recommend choosing varieties of Russian, Dutch, American and Polish selection. They take root well in protected soil, do not get sick and produce good yields.

Greenhouse equipment rules

Still at the construction stage of the greenhouse it is important to think through the system. The most convenient option is to combine biofuel with artificial heating. An infrared cable or pipes are laid underground, through which warm air is driven. For heating, you can use an electric boiler or fire, as well as stoves.

Prepare biofuel, mixing horse, pig or goat manure with straw, spilling the mixture with water, covering it with film and leaving it for several days. Rotted manure is spread under the top layer of soil. This mixture maintains the temperature in the greenhouse up to 25ºC.

Very important point – soil preparation. For strawberries, you need a light mixture of equal parts of turf and humus with the addition of ash and mineral fertilizers.

To optimize acidity, a mixture of superphosphate and potassium chloride is suitable. The soil must be thoroughly loosened.

For suspended technologies, you can use a peat-perlite mixture, which must be steamed. The prepared substrate is poured into plastic sleeves and placed on racks installed along the walls of the greenhouse. Nutritious the mixture retains moisture well and accelerates the development of strawberry bushes. The Dutch system increases strawberry yields, allowing you to remove 8 kg of berries from one sleeve.

Strawberry care

The grown seedlings are planted in the greenhouse. When using Dutch hanging technologies, each bush is placed in a separate pot filled with nutritious substrate. When planting bushes in the ground placed in rows with a distance of 30-45 cm. To optimize watering and maintain the required level of humidity in the greenhouse, you should install an automatic drip system.

The soil should not dry out, but flooding is also unacceptable. Stagnation of water in the soil provokes the disease gray rot, which can destroy the crop. Humidity in the greenhouse should not fall below 80%. After the bushes take root, you need to ventilate the room daily.

Once every two weeks it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers: ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride diluted in water. After flowering begins, you need gradually increase the temperature in a greenhouse, this will speed up the ripening of the berries, making their taste bright and rich.

Accounting for income and expenses

Before starting work, a detailed business plan is drawn up, taking into account upcoming expenses and planned income. The list of expenses must include:

• rent or purchase of land;
• building materials for greenhouses and costs for its construction;
• greenhouse equipment (ventilation, irrigation, lighting systems);
• purchase of planting material, fertilizers and insecticides;
• fare;
• registration of a legal entity (required for working with retail chains);
• salary of hired personnel.

Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business is not cheap for a private owner.

Construction and equipment of a polycarbonate greenhouse with an area of ​​100 square meters. m will cost 90,000 rubles. You will have to pay for heating and fertilizers from 15,000 rubles per month. Another 15,000 rubles will have to be spent on purchasing planting material; about 10,000 rubles costs to register a legal entity and obtain certificates for products.

Helps reduce costs:

• use of combined fuel;
• growing seedlings yourself, from seeds;
• refusal of hired labor;
• replacing polycarbonate for covering the greenhouse with a cheaper film.

Calculate your expected income from the farm. With a yield of 5 kg per 1 sq. m can be removed from 400 kg of berries. The average purchase price is 600 rubles per kilogram. The price varies throughout the year from 200 to 800 rubles per kg, depending on the time of year. Thus, profit from one greenhouse will be 240,000 rubles per month. The profitability of a strawberry business in a greenhouse is from 50%.

In winter, the markup on berries increases 1.5 times. This is due to a decrease in supply and high demand from retail chains. However, it is worth considering that heating costs also increase during this period.

Personal farming is becoming more and more popular and is increasingly reaching the market level. Such a business brings in good money, and it is also full of options for running it. Today we will look at growing strawberries as a business: profitability, self-sufficiency, reviews from successful entrepreneurs and their recommendations on how to avoid various troubles. Let's begin.

What is this business?

The strawberry business has a low barrier to entry and we will dwell on this point in more detail later. In addition, growing produce at home is quite easy and does not require too much equipment. But there are also disadvantages.

The organization requires quite high costs for heating and water consumption, especially in winter. If you can’t set up enough heating in the winter, you won’t be able to grow berries suitable for sale. In addition, you will constantly have to care for the plants.

It is unlikely that the owner of such a production will allow strangers to be in his own home, so your time will be spent on caring for strawberries, and although growing strawberries is not difficult, it is time-consuming. Remember that the self-sufficiency of this business is really high; a season is enough to recoup the opening costs.

Where should you grow berries?

You can grow strawberries in a greenhouse or in open ground, and the choice here is quite easy.

The open ground option is quite constraining for the entrepreneur, since the berries will bear fruit only from May to June, while winter production is completely impossible. A greenhouse is more suitable, and here’s why:

1. Allows you to establish year-round production of berries.
2. Eliminates the influence of weather on yield.
3. Costs far less land.
4. Has a great interest in shops and supermarkets.
5. Provides the opportunity to receive huge profitability in the autumn-winter season.
6. Excellent payback in just one season.
7. Makes the fruit more aesthetically pleasing.

Undoubtedly, the advantages are good, but it would be wrong not to note the disadvantages of the greenhouse. The disadvantages are the following:

• The costs of opening a greenhouse nursery are really high compared to the costs of an open field nursery.
• The need to organize artificial pollination.
• The berries begin to acquire a less natural taste, reducing the natural aroma.
• Constant lighting of the earth is necessary, close to natural, which will cost money.

Analyze the disadvantages and advantages of different options and choose what your industrial strawberry cultivation will be like.

Choosing a variety

In the case of home production, entrepreneurship depends solely on how successfully you purchase seeds and how tasty your berries turn out. In addition, the variety of strawberry affects the success of its cultivation in certain conditions.

Due to the fact that the berry reproduces with “whiskers”, remember that for business it is worth purchasing plants that have grown from “whiskers” of the first and second order. It is important to monitor the development of the rosette, the strength of the roots and directly find out about the yield indicator.

Here are the best varieties of strawberries according to many entrepreneurs:

1. Alba - fairly small bushes give high yields. It is considered an early variety, has excellent disease resistance, has bright red cone-shaped berries, and this species does not lose color for a long time. Excellent transportability.
2. Darenka is a domestic variety that resists fungal diseases and is not afraid of pests. Reviews speak of the excellent taste of the fruits, and they are also very large and elastic.
3. Octave is perhaps the earliest variety among those presented, ideal for growing in greenhouses, but also suitable for open ground. Extremely productive and quite resistant to mechanical stress during transportation. It has the most pleasant aroma.
4. Sonata - this variety is distinguished by extremely juicy and tender fruits, sweet taste and pleasant aroma, therefore it is one of the best for sales in stores. It boasts good resistance to pests and tolerance to temperature changes.
5. Rusanovskaya is another greenhouse variety that allows you to harvest several times a year. It has a fairly pleasant round shape of the fruit, a red juicy color, and is perfectly stored for a long time.
6. Honey is one of the best options for making money, as it begins to ripen extremely early. It has fairly large bright berries in the shape of a cone, but the taste is sweet and sour for everyone. The berries have a delicate aroma, tolerate temperature fluctuations well, but are sensitive to soil nutrition.

In addition to these representatives, professionals note decent characteristics and predisposition to growing in nurseries in the following varieties:

• Elsanta;
• Will;
• Kama;
• Cambridge;
• Red Capulet.

Looking for a greenhouse

We continue to search for the necessary premises for breeding. Of course, you can buy a separate plot where the greenhouse will be maintained, but the necessary acres are now difficult and expensive to find, so it’s worth asking yourself the question of finding land at the very beginning. If the search for a site is completed, then it’s time to find out what kind of greenhouses should be installed for industrial cultivation.

They are sold in the following types:

1. Glass.
2. Polycarbonate.
3. Film-frame.

Greenhouses of the latter type are the most budget-friendly and affordable, therefore they are more often bought up by novice entrepreneurs, but this is wrong. The diaper usually does not help protect plants from banal frosts, not to mention really low temperatures.

A glass nursery is better suited in this case; besides, the walls allow for excellent heating of the area inside. But the downside is the need for a special foundation, for which some people have neither money nor enough space.

Polycarbonate greenhouses are the most expensive, but the most effective in this business. They do not require a special foundation, are durable and really do their job honestly. Strawberries grown in a polycarbonate greenhouse all year round will recoup the costs of the business within a season, so it is better not to skimp if possible.

Once you download it, you can use it to create your own.

How to grow fruits?

Your future business is based on growing strawberries, so you need to be sure that you will be able to grow the crop correctly. For cultivation in a greenhouse nursery, avid gardeners have established two main types of strawberry cultivation.

The first one is really simple and understandable even for a novice entrepreneur: you need to strew the soil with strawberries in special separate containers. It is the area of ​​the nursery that influences the number of containers and their arrangement: in a row, in a cascade, vertically. You just need to prepare the most convenient layout and not worry about the soil under the greenhouse.

There is also a second option, the most popular among people already experienced in this field, which helps grow strawberries on an industrial scale. It is called Dutch and it is assumed that strawberry or wild strawberry seedlings must be planted in special bags with soil two meters long.

The seedlings themselves are planted through separate holes eight centimeters in diameter. This method wins over the first in that it allows you to fill much more space with plants. You can hang the bags, lay them out on the balcony, place them in the garage - it is important that the plants receive a sufficient amount of lighting and nutrition, as well as protection from external influences.

Whatever option you choose to grow strawberries all year round, it is important to properly approach the care of the plant and timely procedures. Here are some main rules and recommendations:

• Seedlings must be planted strictly in prepared soil. The soil can be taken from the garden; purchased soil is only suitable mixed with garden soil.
• Also, before planting, it is worth treating the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate. It doesn’t hurt to add fertilizer to the food.
• The tubers themselves must be planted low at an average depth, so as not to expose the root system and give the plant full light.
• Even when watering plants with a watering can, you can flood the leaves and the fruits themselves, so watch this.
• For a real business, it is preferable to acquire a real irrigation system that supplies moisture directly to the roots of the bushes. It is quite rare that a nursery is sold with the support of such a system.
• Water for strawberries specifically must be warm, and it is important to water at least once a day.
• It is necessary to maintain the plant at a temperature no higher than 25 and no lower than 18 degrees Celsius all year round.

Your business idea is to independently grow strawberries for sale, because you are solely interested in the fact that the grown strawberries can be sold in stores or in the hands of other people. Be sure to follow the implementation of each point.

We are trying to sell the goods

Enough money was spent on the opening, so I want to recoup the costs as quickly as possible. Having grown your own strawberries, it is important to make them look marketable and pleasing to the eye.

Home business allows you to treat the fruits more carefully, so be sure to try not to overfill or unnecessarily rearrange the strawberries. The truly correct solution is to collect the berries in plastic one-kilogram containers and transport them to the place where the goods are sold.

Where to start selling your own products? There is a dependence on the season. During the summer, it is quite effective to sell homemade berries at the market. In some cities, you may even be able to find a free corner or space near other vendors, but it is important to make arrangements to trade at your chosen location.

Winter time opens up more chances to earn money by selling berries yourself and selling them in supermarkets. Your project has the right to enter into an agreement for the supply of products, fulfilling the requirements of the store. It is also possible to build connections with strawberry processors for the production of juices, yoghurts and other products.

Video: growing strawberries - how to get large berries?

How profitable is the strawberry business?

To begin with, it is worth making a mini-table with an approximate list of expenses and amounts that will be spent on opening and starting this business.

Remember that you will have to spend some money monthly on purchases, utilities and transport services, as well as other costs. It’s even easier to figure out income: getting 5 kilos of berries from one square meter, a total of 1,500 kilos is collected from three acres. On average, you can earn 500 rubles per kilo of strawberries. In a month, a sale can bring in about 750 thousand rubles!

Well, in winter, the price of berries increases significantly, so from paying monthly expenses on average for the year you will receive 240 thousand, which makes the strawberry business a leader in profitability. In addition, in the future it will be possible to expand plantations and recruit workers.

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Growing strawberries is a promising business area. The demand for berries of domestic origin has increased significantly over the past 4 years. This niche of the agricultural industry is just being explored by entrepreneurs, which means you have an excellent chance of successfully “joining” it.

Do you want to know how to start a strawberry growing business, how to find buyers and get a stable income? Read the new article on our website!

Business and product description

Growing strawberries is a business with many advantages. Do you have any doubts? Let's find out!

Strawberries are a healthy, sweet berry. Russians buy it all year round. Peak demand is from May to October, when ground berries bear fruit. This area has not yet been mastered by Russian entrepreneurs like growing herbs, potatoes, and vegetables, so competition is still low.

Factors of profitability of a strawberry business:

1. Reducing the volume of imported products.
2. Growing using the greenhouse method does not depend on the season and climatic conditions.
3. Different cultivation methods (hydroponics, open or closed ground).
4. Some varieties produce two harvests per season.
5. According to experts, the costs of starting a business pay off after the first harvest.
6. Great customer demand even in the off-season.
7. Annual increase in product prices (on average 25-45%).
8. The business does not require significant start-up investments.
9. Strawberries are not fancy. She needs light, warmth and moisture.
10. It will take only 2-3 months to “launch” the business.

Start your business in a small town. In its suburbs it is cheaper to rent a plot of land. It is easier to enter the market and there is less competition.

Description of the sales market

Sales methods depend on the amount of products grown. Think over your sales routes at the stage of drawing up a business plan. The berry quickly loses its marketable appearance; it needs to be sold quickly.

Let's look at ways to sell crops:

• independent sale on the market. You will need: retail space, counter, refrigeration equipment for storing berries, scales, packaging for packaging goods;
• sale to supermarkets, food stores, catering establishments. You will need: registration of individual entrepreneur, certificate of product quality from the laboratory;
• wholesale sales to companies engaged in repurchase of products. You will need: registration of individual entrepreneurs, certificates of product quality.

You will get the maximum price per kilogram of berries only from retail sales on the market. Sales to stores and wholesale resellers are carried out at a low purchase price. This is a way to realize a large harvest.

Sales and Marketing

To increase sales and attract customers, advertising is needed.

1. Bright outdoor advertising. Make effective advertising on cars delivering berries to supermarkets, above a retail space in a market, near greenhouses where berries are grown.
2. Advertisements in local newspapers.
3. Use the Internet. Online trading platforms like Avito, social networks, local forums - use them to find like-minded people, exchange experiences and find buyers.

The more information the consumer sees about you, the more trust you will inspire in him. Your task is to be remembered during the sales season for ground strawberries, so that during the “off-season” buyers have maximum confidence in your berries.

Position yourself as a producer of high-quality berries of domestic origin, focusing on the naturalness and taste of the product. Accompany your advertisements with photographs of strawberries growing in a greenhouse.

Step-by-step production plan

Before installing the greenhouse and starting production, draw up a detailed action plan. Reflect in it all the stages that you have to carry out to produce and sell berries.

A plot of 6 acres is suitable for organizing a business. It is enough to allocate 50 square meters for a greenhouse. m., on 100 square meters you can grow strawberries in open ground.

Let's consider each point of the production plan in detail.

Step 1. Preparation and execution of documents

To sell strawberries to supermarkets and hand them over to wholesale companies, you need to register an individual entrepreneur. Select OKVED code: 01.13.21. It is responsible for the cultivation of berries and fruit crops. This activity relates to agriculture. Complete the Unified Agricultural Tax (USTA). His rate is 6% of profit.

To register as an individual entrepreneur you will need:

• application for registration;
• photocopy of all pages of the passport;
• receipt of payment of the state fee for consideration of your application.

You can provide documents for registration in person or by mail.

Step 2. Installation of the greenhouse

A practical and reliable option is to install a polycarbonate greenhouse on a metal frame. The size and number of greenhouses depends on the scale of production.

It is rational to start with the construction of one greenhouse. To save money, build it yourself. There are many ready-made installation diagrams on the Internet. Choose one of them and adapt it to your project. Don't forget the foundation. It serves as the basis for the structure, protects against pests and freezing.

Step 3. Install the necessary equipment

Is the greenhouse installed? Proceed with installation of equipment.

To grow strawberries year-round you need:

• an irrigation system or a hydroponic system if you are using Dutch soilless growing technology;
• shelving to increase the usable area of ​​the room and combine different growing technologies;
• lighting;
• heating;
• ventilation system.

At first, you can water the plants manually with a hose. This is the most economical option. For a small greenhouse, a homemade drip irrigation system is suitable.

Another option for saving money at the start is using solar heating. We are not talking about solar panels, but about improvised means that accumulate heat. With them you will provide plants with heat and stabilize the temperature in the room.

Step 4. Selection and purchase of seedlings

At this stage you need good theoretical preparation. Explore agricultural forums, chat with those who have already succeeded in growing strawberries. For year-round cultivation, different varieties are needed: early, mid-season, late.

The most popular varieties: Honey, Darenka, Victoria, Sonata, Rusanovskaya, Octave, Alba.

Buy seedlings from those who professionally grow strawberries. These are greenhouse complexes and nurseries. Take several varieties to get to know their characteristics. Choose those that ripen faster and bear fruit longer.

Step 5. Pollination and berry care

The main principles of berry care are the creation of optimal conditions of humidity, light, and temperature. Strawberries do not like overflow, so it is better to water them using the drip method. Along with water, additional feed is introduced through a drip system. This irrigation system is convenient for greenhouse production and open ground.

In open ground, flowers are pollinated by wind and insects. In greenhouse conditions, pollen is moved using fans. The second way is to transfer it from flower to flower with a soft brush. Flowers are pollinated by hand only on small plantations.

Plant flowering is affected by light. During the flowering period, plants need more light and warmth.

The video will tell you in detail about planting berries in greenhouse conditions, lighting and watering:

Organizational structure

At the initial stage, to maintain the strawberry beds, you will need two or three auxiliary workers, as well as two security guards (if you rented a plot for a greenhouse complex and did not build it in your yard).

Personnel cost table:

Job title	Number of persons	Salary per month (RUB)	Expenses for the year (rub.)
Security guard	2	10 000	240 000
Handyman	2	15 000	360 000
	Total:	50 000	600 000

As production volumes increase, the staff will expand. You will need a driver to deliver products to the place of sale, general workers, and an accountant. Hire an outsourcing specialist to reduce the cost of paying an in-house accountant.

At the initial stage, engage in production yourself. Many entrepreneurs who choose to produce herbs, mushrooms or other crops at home work themselves together with family members. This way you will save on personnel, try out production technologies, and get a feel for the specifics of the industry.

Financial plan

This part of the business plan reflects all the costs associated with starting a business. This includes the costs of purchasing materials for constructing a greenhouse, purchasing seedlings, advertising, and employee wages.

Costs are divided into starting and ongoing.

They are displayed in the summary table:

Start-up costs	Amount (rub.)	Monthly expenses	Amount (rub.)
Purchasing equipment for greenhouses	300 000	Rent of land	35 000
Purchase of fertilizers and seedlings	150 000	Feed and fertilizers	25 000
Registration of business with government agencies	2000	Staff salaries	50 000
		Communal expenses	12 000
		Taxes	8 000
Total:	452 000	Total:	130 000

The cost depends on how you grow garden strawberries and on what scale: at home, in closed greenhouses, in open ground, in bags, on racks with a hydroponic system in your own basement, or in several greenhouse complexes.

In addition to expenses, the financial plan includes projected profits. The price of strawberries in the “off season” reaches 600 rubles. In summer it fluctuates between 230-270 rubles. The average net profit will be 150-170,000 rubles. If you organize sales of your products well, you will recoup your starting costs for the first harvest.

Risk factors

Risk factors for this agribusiness sector:

• low yields due to violations of production technologies and climatic characteristics of the region;
• plant diseases;
• sales problems.

If you don’t want to depend on climatic conditions, set up greenhouse production that allows you to get a good harvest even in winter.

The risk of crop failure is reduced by the correct choice of seedlings, treatment of plants against diseases, and adherence to production technologies. Invite a specialist for consultation. His recommendations will help you comply with technological conditions and properly organize the process of planting, care, and harvesting.

How to avoid implementation problems? Study the market, analyze competitors' offers, offer competitive prices, and actively advertise for yourself.

Berries that have lost their marketable appearance will be used for jam. Jam is another profitable type of business, but that's another story.

Additional details on this topic can be found in our article. Strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business.

Download business plan

The path of every entrepreneur begins with a business plan. It includes the goals and objectives of the project, schedule, costs of starting a business, description of risks, marketing plan, production plan.

What will writing a business plan give you?

1. A clear action plan.
2. Control of all production launch processes.
3. Forecast of income and payback.
4. Possibility of obtaining investments from a bank or government agencies.
5. Insurance against errors and unnecessary expenses.
6. Saving time and effort.

To prepare a business plan, it is not necessary to hire a specialist. Download a sample with calculations on the Internet.

You can't blindly follow a pattern. This is an example for drawing up a document reflecting the features of your project.

We have prepared one of these for you. This is a plan for the production and sale of vegetables in greenhouse conditions. It provides sample calculations, describes varieties, irrigation systems, etc.

Conclusion

The most profitable type of “strawberry business” is the industrial cultivation of berries in a greenhouse. It is considered profitable even taking into account the fact that its opening requires start-up capital to purchase equipment, purchase or rent land, and seedlings.

Your main task is to establish sales, plant plants and harvest all year round.

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