Growing strawberries for sale - experience, plans and calculations. We increase the yield of strawberries in home gardening What seedlings should be

Everyone talks about super profits, about the strawberry business - if you listen, only the lazy does not do it, and missed opportunities. They famously calculate wild profitability and a blatant profit of 144% from 1 hundred square meters. But do you know the ins and outs of beautiful figures, do you represent all the items of expenditure - pseudo-business plans will not tell you about them. You guess about the unexpected costs - it's easy to go into the minuses, easier than getting out of them - much easier than I imagined.

Do you believe in the possibility of making money so easily and simply on a peasant farmstead, while you hardly guess where mustaches grow from strawberries? Then I will try to dissuade you, save your money, effort and time. And also nerves - you will need them if you still decide to seriously start growing strawberries for sale.

Strawberry business: why the numbers don't work?

Why do business plans for making money on strawberries not work in most cases? And because the numbers are average-ceiling. Many items of expenditure are not taken into account - that's where the profitability is above 100%.

So, the average yield is up to 25 t / ha - such a yield when growing strawberries is considered enviable, believe me, on average 16-18 t / ha. So, from our 10 acres we will get about 2000 kg at 3000-3500 average year on medium-sized varieties and up to 450-500 on the most productive - the calculations are correct for the early, for the remontant - completely different figures.

To begin with, let's estimate the scale of strawberry production: without them, all profitability calculations are water with water, suitable only for half-educated students of agricultural universities. It's simple: with a larger gross harvest, the unit cost of production, in our case, 1 kg of sweet strawberries, is less. So, when purchasing seedlings in bulk, a farmer buys them 2 times cheaper than a gardener who buys 5-10 pieces, 1.5 times cheaper than a small-scale producer who buys a couple of hundred. The situation is the same with the wholesale of mineral fertilizers, organics and covering material - everyone who wants to know knows about this. So, about the scale.

• Drip irrigation - on a plot of more than a hundred square meters is not a cheap pleasure: you will need to calculate the cost of the entire system, which also depends on the cultivated area.
• Fertilizer costs: Most farms do not recognize how much and what fertilizers are applied. Trade secret, you know. And in the articles they will write only general recommendations for amateur gardeners. We will have to delve into the art of agrochemistry ourselves, look for economical, effective options.
• Costs for transportation, transportation and storage - no one knows how far a start-up business will have to carry goods: where can the exact figures for transportation costs come from?

Unforeseen circumstances are not taken into account weather conditions, the human factor - did not find sales, damage to products, etc.

Let me tell you about the items of expenditure in the first place. I will give the figures in conventional units, c.u. that is, for the respected Internet community, in different countries living and measuring goods in different tangas. I will not describe industrial cultivation - by the way, the expression is not correct: industrial - means mechanized collection. Manual - just the production of berries, in my case - small-scale.

Our wild market is wild, but variability does not hold

There are many ideas for the industrial cultivation of strawberries - growing in a greenhouse, hydroponics, in bags - we will not touch on these topics. Even our grandmothers started their business of growing Dutch strawberries on their 6 acres, the grandchildren who remained with a broken trough of the economy continue it - on a larger scale, and not at home, in the front garden, but on plantations, in greenhouses. Of course, covered ground provides many advantages - but the conversation is not about greenhouse farming, but about growing in a private courtyard, in a field, so to speak.

About varieties - if you buy seedlings in eminent nurseries - you are a wealthy person, if from unfamiliar farmers, without a guarantee - you will not be a wealthy person. Pure seedlings are expensive - but it's worth it: it's more profitable not to mess with the mother liquor, but to make a profit through turnover by buying frigo seedlings. However, if there is something to buy. And if not, we buy expensive ones in trusted nurseries, from well-known sellers, in trusted stores - and grow our seedlings.

As for the best - a separate conversation about them. The main thing is that it would correspond to the purpose - industrial, fruitful, transportable and tasty - there are many main things - but, alas, this is not the conversation.

Costing: and in jest, but seriously

If you are interested in the cost and profitability of strawberry production in Ukraine, Russia, pay attention to this point - practice is practice, it's not to draw beautiful numbers on paper. Pay attention, despite the playful tone of the author.

Imagine a small cozy plot - a plantation of 10 acres. On average, there are 500 bushes per hundred square meters, 10 x 500 = 5000 pieces will turn out.
We consider further: price planting material, each strawberry bush ZKS - up to 0.2-0.5 c.u. depending on the variety, class and type of seedlings - I take frigo class A, A +, A ++ is more expensive if we take from 500 pieces. Total - 2500 c.u. (according to today's rate of USD to UAH - 1:25).

We want frigo - we will have frigo. And also better seedlings clean, free from bacteria of all sorts of viral and fungal spores, has not seen pests, from nurseries - A class, the highest. This is so expensive. It is good - there is no risk of a sudden disease of the entire planted plantation, means of prevention are needed, not protection - it is already cheaper. But the cost of production, alas, rises, and the pocket is scary from such expenses, isn’t it - after all, we were promised a business in strawberries with almost zero costs - did they really deceive us? No, they simply kept silent about its real side - the real cost.

A small digression: we will talk about strawberries of early varieties. About growing remontant for sale - in the next article, the conversation is completely different. By the way, in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, industrialists mainly grow early varieties, remontants - a smaller proportion. Why - oddly enough, it is more profitable, the turnover is faster despite the visible advantages of a larger shaft of repairmen, there are fewer risks.

Workshop

We will plant at the end of summer, when the heat subsides, not reaching the autumn. At this time, every day is expensive - it pushes back or brings next year's harvest closer. End of July - August depending on the region.

Saplings - exclusively ZKS. Or a transplant with a clod of earth. The later we plant, the more clod of land.
There should not be heat that kills seedlings - this is the main thing. And watering, mulching should be organized.

About mulch and covering material: under the film or on the film - you still need it

Mulch is nowhere without it. It can be planted on agrofibre, it can be on film, it can also be on straw. Vegetable - an economical option. It will protect the soil from drying out, overheating, save watering, and the weeds will not break through. But where did you see the same free straw - if you saw it, then tell me - I will run for it. Pleasure is not expensive, but you will have to pay for it: at least 10-15 USD. leave a satisfied straw truck in your wallet, throwing you a couple of bales.

But the option is economical, often not the best. Organic mulch, humus + peat over straw, will cost more, by 30-35 USD. it will pull if you're lucky - the option is good for a garden where a dozen bushes grow. Give us something cheaper. And cheaper - expensive film or agrofibre, on which it relies. Its price - can you handle it? If not, let's remember straw and forget about agrofibre and film.

The worst thing is the covering material - 150-180 USD. for a roll did not want? Like it or not, even if you don’t mulch, but in winter and early spring it is necessary to cover from frost and for early ripening.
Since we are talking about the strawberry business in open field and its profitability, then let's think about tunnels, sheds, not to mention greenhouses. No, we are not talking about greenhouses - just a shelter that accelerates ripening. We will cover either with white agrofibre or with a film. Will we pay? Another roll please. We won’t - we’ll do without early ripening, when, oh, how expensive strawberries are.

So this roll may not be enough, you know. And without it, you can’t cover it with a newspaper. Tea, not in the grandmother’s garden, when you can mulch the bed with straw and litter: it will crush the snow with a snowball - that’s all over the winter. Once you decide to engage in the industrial cultivation of strawberries seriously - be so kind as to cover them correctly - icing of the roots with subsequent attacks is expensive now.

Without water - not there or the cost of irrigation

Drip irrigation - it will cost us about 200 green tugriks, depending on the amount of drip tape. Do not be mean: there is watering under the root, and water saving, and fertigation, and a fog plant at will - any whim for your money.

Feed-feed: how much is garden-field chemistry?

We draw up our business plan for growing strawberries next. The next cost item is organic and mineral fertilizers.
Organics - manure in our style: up to 100-120 tons are planted per 1 ha, i.e. for 1 weave - up to 10 kg, for 100 - a hundred, centner. How much good it is in your places - you know, then enter the number yourself. In ours, for the import and scattering of mechanical honey, a cultivator - it cost only 50 USD. - it's cheap, very cheap - friends helped in a friendly way. And so organic production is good, of course, but this is a costly business - mineral fertilizers are cheaper, at times.
Mineral fertilizers - we will calculate the application in the year of planting, and the next - in the phase before flowering, budding and ripening - we will reach another 55-60 c.u. This is also expensive - industrialists, in view of the wholesale, get sweet berry top dressing cheaper, as evil tongues say - or maybe good ones - who knows.

All in the shade!

And also, due to the heat and drought, not only in the south of those operating, shading nets have become fashionable. You know, an ingenious invention - the berry is not baked, the leaf does not burn: the strawberries are vigorous and fresh, the berry is poured with juice and sugar.

Protect yourself!

And they haven’t calculated the main thing yet: not only we love sweets, but also pests: Khrushchev and strawberry mites, etc. And also diseases - spotting, Alternaria and others like them. What to do - stock up on means of prevention - so as not to overpay for the means of struggle. The pleasure of using the achievements of agricultural chemistry will cost 30-35 USD. for our site - not a lot, not a little - just right. We will introduce it into the fertigation systems, according to the newfangled, the old-fashioned way, it’s not worth it - it’s ineffective, and why should a drop stand idle.

Tired of building the economy? No - then we will go externally to the next year - we will harvest the crop. Early rejoice in profits, gentlemen, young ladies, ladies and gentlemen: new expenses await us, at the same time we will finally calculate the income and profitability of growing strawberries.

We waited for the harvest: how much is a meter of strawberries?

O household chemicals- sorry, we talked about fertilizers and remedies above. We will not count.
About covering material - is it enough, is it not leaky - even if it is enough for 2-3 years, but 2 rolls are needed. We will buy one in the year of planting to differentiate costs and minimize risks - we will suddenly change our minds about suffering from agribusiness, the second - in the second year. We will cover with this material both in winter and in spring. And on the third, when you have to seat sockets - you still need it, don't worry.
Pots for seedlings - in case you want to continue a good cause, to start your own planting material and save hard-earned dollars. they will come in handy. Seedlings in pots as planting material are much more valuable with an open root system.

Waiting for a miracle or the second year

Reader bored again? Then let's get down to the main thing - harvesting. You will need:
Containers (plastic containers, blisters, glasses for retail and others). And also - the same baskets, baskets from plain veneer- only they are more expensive than plastic. It is not worth saving on capacity: the less we fill containers for the fresh market, the healthier the products, the less losses. Europeans are smart: they pack almost 100 g for supermarkets. And we - baskets and baskets, the Slavic soul is wide!
Jokes aside: the collection container should not exceed 2 kg - bring compote. Delicious, but only you need. Or maybe not even necessary - because it's tasteless.

At least 20-25 USD will go to the container. - this is really small, given the area planted with strawberries.

Stop, who goes - we protect the grown

As you might guess, not only spider bugs can encroach on your crop. Especially if your plantation is far from the estate, or even in open field in the country. The latter is very risky, because even in the village there are individuals who do not disdain to profit from someone else's good. This point should not be ignored: strengthening the fence, wire, installing an alarm system - I went through all this from my own experience.

Who would have thought that a 70-year-old neighbor would deftly bend under two rows of a stretched home-made signaling and harvest our crops with enviable speed? No, I didn’t even say anything to her - I didn’t get poorer from a couple of kilograms, and I had to treat her, although people are not poor, children and grandchildren come in such cars - oh right. But in the event of an invasion by a dysfunctional family, living on the outskirts of our holiday village, I had to involve my father as a well-deserved electrician in the matter: he settled it in the end.

And there are video cameras - to see and intimidate potential thieves and other delights of civilization. We are ready to contribute them to the budget for commercial cultivation of strawberries - then we write them down in our list of costs.

As a result, modest attempts to protect the territory from invasion will go from 50 USD. up to 250 - it all depends on your fantasies. I’ll take a modest minimum - for wire and alarm connection, lighting - lanterns, etc. Chinese things.

Do not think down about the implementers: the time will come - you will go yourself. Maybe…

Implementation: if you grow strawberries for the fresh market, even with 10 acres you will need a lightning speed of implementation. Lightning fast means fast: a perishable product will not wait. Do you otherwise have refrigerated trucks, stationary refrigeration units with circulation? A refrigerated minibus is good in business - both transportation and storage - are you ready to purchase in case of expansion of strawberry lands?

In any case, you will have to spend money on fuel and lubricants for your own transport, someone else's. How much is fuel now - remember yes on required distances multiply. At least from 25 USD you will have to roll in a season. Either throw straws, then hit the road for a film, and when the shaft goes - oh, how you run over.

If not, then again, let's remember the fresh market and several outlets, where everything should be in order with the documentation, paperwork, the so-called. sanitary and epidemiological stations - we heard about such organizations, to check the goods of those who love, and about the patents of an honest trader - individual entrepreneurs, etc. called in different states. By the way, money is also needed for the official registration of activities - after all, we are law-abiding citizens, and we do not want to risk goods and profits.

The surest way is to hand over the good part remaining from the market deduction to good hands wholesalers or supermarkets (they also take at a bargain price). And to give quickly - otherwise the goods are stale. Another option is to hand it over for processing, but you need to worry about it in advance, at the flowering and ovary phase, so to speak - a spoon for dinner is good for processing enterprises, and dinner is prepared in advance.

Having managed to find all points of sale, we will not leave a chance to lose at least a large share of the crop, which, as it turned out, costs a lot of money.

About the hands of the workers of our workers with you

By the way, we forgot about the main thing. The most important item of expenditure in the year of collection is labor. you just can't do it on your own. You won't make it and that's it. At a minimum, your family contract should consist of 3 people who are deftly wielding both garden tools and who know how to trade and bargain. As necessary, which is most likely the maximum, you will need to hire one or two people for collection - for 10 acres this is enough under the conditions of collection every day, and one more seller. How much you will pay - of course, your commercial little or big secret. Just do not forget to subtract this amount from the amount of profit - add it to the cost of strawberries for sale. And, of course, do not forget about it when calculating strawberry profitability.

Summing up

Thus, summing up the main costs, we get a large amount.

For beginners - how many strawberries can be harvested from a hundred square meters - from 220 to 250 kg in a good scenario, more often - less. The minimum will be calculated from our site, subtracting substandard, transportation losses, etc. 200 kg.

• The cost of early strawberries on the market fluctuates between 1.2-1.7 USD depending on the region and time: at the beginning of May it is more expensive, by June it becomes cheaper. Wholesale, processing - even cheaper. Let's take the average.
• According to our business plan, the cost of strawberry production is approximately the following: 1 kg - 0.6-0.8 c.u.
• Thus, we earned dirty, so to speak, 3700 USD. And how much did you spend? Yes, about the same, count. If in the first year we paid back all purchases - the same planting material, drip irrigation, film, fertilizers and means of protection - then we are great. If you have earned on top - svurkhumnitsy.

How so - you ask. But what about the profitability of the strawberry business - at least 50%, they say? So it is in the following years. That is why you need to start with small volumes - if there is no free capital. Do not strive to buy everything and everything at once - if you are not ready for the opportunity to go into the red, not to make a profit and even payback.

Thus, summarizing the above - who said that growing strawberries as a business is 100% profitable, who talked about incredible benefits and almost no costs? And we didn’t talk about possible losses, unexpected expenses and pitfalls waiting for the strawberry - the farther into the forest, the more firewood you can break. However, it is beneficial. This is really beneficial - if you really represent all the items of expenditure - I described some of them in such an unusual way.

In some countries, this is approaching: Spain is considered the leader in Europe: the return from 7 thousand hectares is 307,000 tons, or 44 t / ha! For comparison, in Japan, the crop productivity is 27.4 t/ha, in South Korea 28.6 t/ha, in Israel - up to 30 t/ha. The United States can be called the world leader: up to 48 t/ha - there is room for improvement.

If in Ukraine a remontant variety produces berries until the very frost, then in the Moscow region its yield is lower - some of the fruits, up to 20%, will go into winter, which comes much earlier - this is for a general understanding of the picture: productivity is a very loose concept. It is also affected by:

• Soil composition and climate zone, weather;
• characteristic of the variety - ripening time (early, medium-early, late);
• age of planting material - for 3-4 years, the gross harvest of one-time fruiting is rapidly falling, for 3 years, planting material should be changed remontant varieties;
• seedling planting time: seedlings planted in September will produce fewer berries than seedlings planted in August. During the spring enough level, if this is not a frigo one-time fruiting, you can not count: the fruit buds did not have time to lay in the right amount.
• level of agricultural technology: irrigation systems, fertilizer, pest control and disease prevention;
• for production - timely collection, qualification of assemblers.

Let's give an example intensive technologies cultivation.

With reference to V. Pavlyuk Ph.D. n., Institute of Horticulture NAAS, Ukraine. A separate conversation about shelter - low tunnels, shelter with agrofiber, inter-row spacing with a film in early spring increases the collection by 0.9-1 kg - a little less than 2 times, and the fruiting period is reduced by 14-18 days (Sherengovoy P.Z., Gontar V.T. 2009).

Simple agricultural practices - shelter and mulching accelerate maturation by 8-10 days, while the growth of plant biomass increases by 10%, 9-13% of leaves. Mulching the soil with a black film for 2-3 days brings the collection closer, increases leafiness by 33-36%, biomass growth by 32% (Butsik. R.M., 2011).

When both methods are combined, the number of peduncles increases by 10-12%, the number of flowers by 18-20, and the number of ovaries by 10%. Together, productivity increases by 16-26%.

Autumn shelter with white agrofibre will provide an increase from 1.3 to 3.8 t/ha (Butsik. R.M., 2012). The tests were carried out on varieties Honey and Olvia.
Spring shelter provided an increase in the gross harvest by 1.3-2 t/ha.

The data are given for cultivation in open ground, the prospects for closed ground are even wider - by closed we mean greenhouses closed type- however, this is a topic for a separate article.

About productive varieties

Only under the same conditions listed above, it is possible to compare the yield of strawberry varieties. But let's try to give average values. It is worth making a reservation: the productivity given above in the fields research institutes and industrial farms, nurseries and the gardener's garden will be different - for obvious reasons. If we exclude the agrotechnical measures used, then the quality of planting material remains - if seedlings of the Elite class were used in the experimental plantations of the institute, then what seedlings does the gardener use? It is also worth making adjustments for climatic conditions, and the composition of the soil.

Much depends on the potential of the variety: on the number of rosettes, on the number of peduncles: for example, the Elsanta bush resembles a bouquet dotted with berries - a sea of ​​peduncles with huge berries. Clery, Marmalade have less, although they are considered quite promising. More details about the best varieties of strawberries and this publication.

In addition, if we calculate the yield of strawberries per 1 m2 or per 1 ha, per 1 weave in open ground, it is worth clarifying the planting density: how many plants are located in a given area. It would not be superfluous to clarify their age, soil composition and other factors. As you can see, everything is complicated - complex and interconnected.

The yield of early varieties of strawberries, the so-called. KSD - short daylight hours will average 250-300 g per bush, up to a maximum of 400-700 g in open ground conditions. The latest figures relate to large-fruited varieties - for example, the Dutch selection of Wim Xima, Wim Tarda, etc., Gigantella Maxi. The average value is easy to calculate - about 300-350 g. Productivity in the first year of life is 1.5-2 times less.

As an example: the famous Honey can give from 20 t / ha to 22-24 t / ha or up to 400 g per bush, Marmalade will give us up to 600 g per bush, Elsanta 400-700 g, Clery up to 700-800 g, Alba , Vima Xima, Shelf 1.5 kg with running meter, Crown 1.37 kg/m2, Zenga Zengan 1.6 kg/m2. It is worth noting that these figures are given in the descriptions given either by originators (copyright holders) or by distributors (nurseries, private farms, shops, etc.).

Most gardeners during spring planting do not allow fruiting, cutting off the ovary and thereby contribute to the growth of the measles system, the laying of many fruit buds for the next year. On industrial plantations, the method has not found application due to inefficiency: all dances with a tambourine are possible only in the conditions of a personal small farm, they are very labor-intensive.

About the yield of remontant varieties of strawberries is a separate conversation. Considering that remontants give from 4 to 6 waves of fruiting, starting to give berries along with medium-early and ending in autumn, the gross harvest is much higher. The average yield of remontant strawberries is from 450-500 g to 1.7 kg per m2, depending on the variety.

Queen Elizabeth 2, Chamora Turusi as large-fruited will give more than 1 kg of berries from a bush - up to 2, according to many gardeners. Recall that to obtain really large fruits, intensive agricultural practices are used: top dressing, shelter in the spring, drip irrigation, etc.

Varieties of the neutral photoperiod type, fruiting continuously regardless of daylight hours, the so-called neutrals give almost the same amount.

It should be noted that the intensity of fruiting directly depends on the intensity of the growing technology - the organization of ridges, mulching, planting density, top dressing, the purity of the material in the end and its age. So, for the 3rd year, the fees are rapidly falling - the plantation needs to be updated. Farms and even grow strawberries in a one-two-year-old culture, planting frigo seedlings.

Some data can be confirmed by farmers and gardeners, some can be refuted. In addition, the figures for the plots of these two categories l will differ significantly. In the fields with the use of intensive technologies, the yield of strawberries will be many times greater than in the gardener's garden, in the greenhouse - even more.

This is true for industrial grades. For large-fruited, dessert, which cannot be grown in industrial scale- many are used in small-scale production - the situation is reversed: the gardener can afford to breathe over a bush, feed and cherish it and get an awful performance. Farmer, alas. That is why large producers choose an intensive method of cultivation - in a one-two-year culture, productive, unpretentious varieties with a large, but not particularly berry.

Under the mother plant nursery, I allocated 1 acre of land. On this weave, I dug 6 trenches 50-60 cm deep. To the width of a shovel, 10 meters long. I grow 6 varieties of seedlings on them. What mixture of earth is laid in these trenches, I think everyone knows, this is written in many publications. Let me just say one thing, the amount of fertilizers that will be filled with trenches should be enough for 10-12 years. The earth between the trenches does not need to be dug up and fertilized. The trenches, after the earth sags, should look like low ridges. When the trenches are ready for planting bushes, the entire area is covered with black agrofibre, the edges of which are covered with sand so that the wind does not blow. On both sides of the comb, the fiber is pinned point-blank with U-shaped hairpins 10x10 cm to the ground so that the comb does not pop out. Therefore, in its center along the entire length, every 20 cm we cut through the fiber and plant 2-year-old strong strawberry bushes. Then I lay a drip tape along the ridges and connect it to the water supply.

We measure 35-40 cm from the edge of each ridge in both directions, hammer in the stakes at the beginning and at the end, pull the twine and evenly cut through the fiber, drive stakes 10 cm high through each meter, attach 10 cm white to them plastic lining. It will serve as a side so that the sawdust does not crumble. From side to side there should be paths 40-45 cm wide.

Subsequently, we prepare such a mixture: on 3 buckets of sawdust, we take 1 bucket of dry humus sifted through a fine mesh, a bucket of river sand, a glass of ash for each bucket of such a mixture. Then I breed in 10 l. water 2 l. fresh mullein or 1 liter. fermented chicken manure, when there is neither one nor the other, we take 10 liters. water 100-150 gr. urea (carbamide), pour this solution over the substrate and mix well. Then these strips on both sides of the ridge are 35-40 cm wide, we fall asleep directly along the agrofibre ready mix exactly with sides, i.e. 10 cm thick. Weeds, as such, will never be on this area, because they will not germinate through black agrofibre. Then on the ridge, every meter along the entire length, we put arcs from the wire. From the bottom of the arcs for the entire length of the strips in the center we fasten a plastic tube 18-20 mm thick, previously drilled thin holes of 00.1 mm in it, or burn them with a carnation every 10 cm and connect them to the water supply. These tubes will serve to moisten the sawdust during seedling growth. When from mother bushes whiskers will grow, they need to be directed in one direction and make sure that they do not lie on top of each other, because when the roots begin to grow on the sockets, they will dry out in the air. On each mustache we leave 3-4 sockets and then pinch the mustache. During the growing season, these young rosettes will also begin to grow whiskers, which should be removed. For normal plant growth, they need to be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. For the winter, when the ground freezes, the seedlings are covered with leaves, straw, reeds. In the spring, before planting, the seedlings are well watered, the sawdust gets wet and the plants are easily removed from them, and the roots are almost not damaged. It remains only to shake off the sawdust from the roots and prepare the seedlings for planting.

This is one of the options for growing seedlings with exposed roots.

Option 2 involves growing potted seedlings. Everything is done in the same way, only the earth is not covered with agrofiber. Unless the combs can be covered. On both sides of the ridge, the earth is dug up for the same width of the strips, the soil is loosened and 250-gram plastic cups filled with earth are planted in it, with several holes in the bottom. When young rosettes begin to form on the mustache, they should be pinned with U-shaped hairpins made of thin wire into cups. Therefore, everything is done as in the previous version. I plant the cups in this way: I take a round stick with the diameter of the upper part of the cup, put one end on a cone, nail a jumper to the second and make a hole in the ground and put the cup in it. In the spring, before planting, I take out the cups from the ground. With light pressure on the bottom and the plant is very easily removed from it, not a single root is damaged. Strawberries thus do not tolerate stress at all and are accepted 100%.

Now let's talk about the preparation of fruit-bearing beds. Option one. In autumn, next to the mother liquor, we measure another hundred square meters of land (10x10 m), divide it into 8 strips. Each of them is 100 cm wide and 10 m long, we make paths 40-45 cm between the strips. Instead of a path around the beds, we dig a trench 35 cm deep and 40-45 cm wide. This is to make it convenient to bend over, firstly, and secondly, on such beds the earth warms up faster. The beds come out as if raised above the ground. And every 10 cm of elevation brings it 100 km to the south, which helps to accelerate the ripening of berries. In addition, we drive stakes close to the walls of each bed every meter, at the level of the ground we attach a white plastic lining 30 cm wide to them. Then the rain will not wash away the bed. We fill the paths from the house to the beds and between them with concrete. Now we are not afraid of any rain. As they say, you can walk in room slippers.

earth from trenches upper layer, throw out on the beds. The rest we take out and scatter around the garden. A large dose of organic matter has been applied to the beds, they are dug up and remain until spring. At the end of February, if there is snow on the beds, I sprinkle it with ashes, cover it with a transparent plastic wrap on top, and after 2-3 weeks the earth is ripe and strawberries can be planted in it. However, first I dig up the earth and clutter it up.

By this time, the sawdust on the mother liquor had thawed. We cut off the old dry mustaches from the strawberry bushes with scissors, take the young bushes by the leaves, shake them off, and take them out of the sawdust. We cut the roots to 8-10 cm, cut the leaves, leaving 2-3 cm cuttings, wash them in a barely pink manganese solution and put them in bundles in plastic bags, which we put in the refrigerator at a temperature of minus 1.8-2 ◦ C. Here they must be at least 800 hours. If it was laid in the first decade of March, then at the beginning of the third decade of April it can be planted in the ground. Such seedlings are called "Frigo" - frozen.

By this time, by the beginning of the 3rd decade of March, on 8 beds, the earth under the film had warmed up sufficiently. We sow early 18-day-old radishes on all beds. We cover the beds with white thin and light agrofibre. After 15-18 days, we collect radishes from the beds and ... to the market. It is clear what price it is in early spring. This is how we make the first contribution to the family budget.

After the radish, the beds are dug up to a depth of 10-12 cm and cluttered up. April 20-21 on the calendar. We take out the seedlings from the refrigerator in small portions, heat the water to 22-24 degrees, immerse the seedlings in this water for 15-20 minutes. We prepare a mash from 1 part of the earth, 1 part of clay, 1/2 - fresh mullein, process the roots in this mash and plant it in the ground in rows every 12 cm from the bush, between the rows is also 12 cm and staggered. We put 2 bushes in each hole. In general, we plant 1280 bushes on one bed, 10240 bushes on 8 beds. This method allows you to harvest a large crop in the first year of planting. When thickened, strawberries tend to give a justified harvest. After planting on the same day, the beds are covered with plastic wrap. On the third day, young leaves begin to grow on the bushes. When the sun is very hot at noon, the film must be removed, because young leaves can burn. Later, when 2-3 leaves appear on the bushes, I cover the beds with white agrofibre and remove it when the berries ripen.

As a rule, I plant seedlings on April 20 and harvest in the last days of May at the beginning of June. During this period, there are very few strawberries on the market, so what is their cost is known.

First, I plant the seedlings of the "Empress" - a medium-early variety. Its first berries weigh an average of 0.50 grams, the rest are smaller, then we collect at least 60-70 grams of berries from one bush. And we have 10240 bushes on the beds, it turns out that on average we will get 600 kg of berries. Even if you sell them in bulk for 20 UAH. per kilogram, we get more than 12 thousand UAH. (1 thousand 200 euros), which is a good contribution to the family budget.

After picking the berries, the beds are immediately dug up along with strawberry bushes, or transplanted to another bed.

It could be early June. On beds 1,2,3,4 freed from strawberries, we plant seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, sow carrots. Next, we take out 1280 bushes of seedlings "Tsar's Crown" from the refrigerator and plant it on the 5th bed. At the end of July, we harvest and sow green manure on this bed - white mustard. The 1st berry of the "crown" weighs 90-100 grams. If we collect 90 grams of berries from each bush, then from this bed we will have 120 kg of them. On July 10-11, we plant the "California Miracle" on the 6th bed. At the end of August we collect 170 kg of sweet berries. We dig up the bed and sow green manure. There are no more strawberries on the market at this time. And we have! On the 7th bed on July 20-21, we plant seedlings of "Florina", its medium-sized berries - 30-35 grams alone. In mid-September, we harvest 60 kg from the garden. Again, we sow green manure in the liberated area. And on the last 8th bed in early August we plant "Albion" and in October we get 50 kg of strawberries. Who at that time saw beautiful and fragrant vitamin berries on the market?

And so, during the season we collected 1000 kilograms (ton) of strawberries. Plus radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, etc. And all this from one hundred acres of land. This is how I came up with a berry conveyor.

Of course, it is more suitable for those who want to get busy family business, because we need a special refrigerator, a lot of seedlings, due to which we get good harvest.

The 3rd option is simpler, but you will have to work hard for the first year, therefore the work will be rewarded a hundredfold. Stepping back from the previous beds a few meters, I formed six more, exactly the same design, only 60 centimeters wider, that is, 1 m 60 cm wide and 10 m long beds, on which six varieties of strawberries described above will be grown. I added a lot of organic matter to the beds so that the plants would have enough to eat for 5-6 years. He dug up the beds, fluffed the ground well, shaped it so that the ground on them was not flat, but oval. I laid black agrofibre on all the beds to the very sides, so that the earth could not be seen. Sprinkle the edges of the fiber on the bed with sand so that the wind does not blow. All! On these beds for 5-6 years, it will not be necessary to sap the aisles of strawberries, nor weed weeds, since they will not be there. The berries will be clean and will not rot during heavy rains, as the fiber does not get wet like regular fabric. It passes water, "breathes", retains moisture. Under it, on hot days, the temperature of the earth is 5-6 degrees lower than in open ground, which is important for strawberries.

Then we make markings on the beds for planting seedlings, which we have on the mother liquor in cups and are already ready for transplanting into the ground. We divide the bed in half along the length, retreat from the center 14 cm to the left and 14 cm to the right, hammer 2 pegs at the beginning and 2 at the end of the bed, pull 2 ​​twine. Therefore, we have 2 rows, between them 28 cm wide. From these rows we retreat twice 28 cm in one direction and twice 28 cm in the other, we get 6 rows in checkerboard pattern. We plant seedlings not all at once, but in parts. If it is planned to mount a drip irrigation system on the beds, then you must first lay a drip tape next to the stretched twine and make markings on it so that the nettles coincide with each bush. And so, they laid a ribbon and tied it to those pegs to which the twine was tied, additionally pinning it with thin wire U-shaped pins to the ground so that it would not move in different sides. The distance between the nettles on the tape every 30 cm. From the edge of the first row we measure 60 cm, put it with chalk on the agrofibre, clearly under the twine, a mark, adjust the tape so that the nettle is opposite the mark. From this mark to the end of the row, we also put marks every 90 cm. We get 11 marks in a row. Then we move on to the second row. In order not to match the bush opposite the bush, we measure 45 cm from the beginning of the second row already, put a mark under the twine, adjust the tape so that the dropper matches opposite the mark and again put marks every 90 cm.

We mark the third row as the first, the 4th - as the 2nd and so on until the end. In total, on a bed on 6 rows, we get 66 marks. Now we will cut holes in the agrofibre. We take chalk and a half-liter jar. We rub the edges of the can with chalk and make prints clearly in the center of the mark. It is more convenient when the edges of the jar are dipped in a thick slaked lime. And in order to cut holes better, I extended a cable with a socket to the garden, connected a soldering iron with a thin sting at the end, with which I cut holes. With the help of a planter, I make holes in these holes according to the size of the cups, and in which good seedlings grew until August and we plant. I pour water into each hole, gently, so as not to damage the roots, take out each seedling and lower it into a hole with water, and when it is absorbed, sprinkle it with dry earth. In six beds, I plant 6 different high-yielding strawberry varieties described above, each with 66 plants. All! There is nothing more to do here this year, except that if it doesn't rain, the plants will have to be watered. For the winter, we remove the twine from the garden, leave the pegs.

In the spring, or back in February, when the snow melted, at a positive temperature, as it is this year, I covered the beds with plastic wrap. In 2-3 weeks the plants will begin to grow. I cut the old leaves from the bushes and burn them. When it becomes warm, I pull on the twine and continue to make markings on the agrofibre. From each bush we measure 30 cm forward in a row and 30 back. Cut out holes. Soon shoots (whiskers) will grow on strawberry bushes, we leave only 2 best ones on each bush, we delete the rest. When the first rosettes form on the mustache, they are pinned with U-shaped hairpins, one in the center of the hole on both sides of the mother bush. When the bush is well rooted, the mustache should be fastened further, stepping back from the bush 1-2 cm. During this period, you should monitor the ground so that it is moistened, then rosettes take root faster and strong ones grow before frost, with a large tufted root system and root neck 18 -20 mm thick in which buds will be laid for next year's crop.

During the growing season, mustaches will grow on both mother and young strawberry bushes, which must be removed all the time as soon as they reach a length of 10-15 cm. It was possible to leave 4 mustaches at the beginning of summer, pin two sockets in one hole in front mother bush and 2 outlets behind the mother bush. This method allows the first two years to get a good harvest of vitamin berries. If these are multi-horn varieties, which are described above, then in the third year of fruiting one bush must be removed, because the yield will decrease through thickening.

As my 26 years of experience shows, this way of growing strawberries is the best. I do not write off other people's information from other sources, everything is taken from my practice. The very formation of beds by daughter plants allows you to collect 4-5 years, 1.5-2 kg of berries from each bush. Of course, it all depends on the variety of strawberries. Potted seedlings also have their drawbacks, all the roots are entangled in one heap, it takes time for them to grow, and the central leading roots that crawl out through the holes in the pot into the ground will break off while digging the pots. As a rule, they no longer grow to the required depth of 100-120 cm, from where the plants feed on moisture during a drought. And planting seedlings with bare roots for fruiting for 4-5 years is completely unacceptable. Unfortunately, neither scientists nor amateur gardeners write about this. Such seedlings are planted in a thickened method, as an annual crop. Its further use is impractical due to a low yield, although in the first year it may be good due to the fact that the roots were processed in a mash of clay and mullein.

If you liked this material, then we offer you a selection of the most the best materials of our site according to our readers. You can find a selection - TOP about existing eco-settlements, family homesteads, their history of creation and everything about eco-houses where it is most convenient for you

Strawberries are garden, large-fruited, cultivated. People call it strawberries. Is it really possible to get one ton of berries from one acre of land?

I don’t know how it is on large industrial plantations, but in my village of Kitaygorod, which is 20 kilometers from Kamyanets-Podilskyi, my 26-year practice also testifies to this, it is possible on personal plots. Now Dutch and Italian breeders have created such high-yielding, multi-horned strawberry varieties, where 1-1.5 kilograms of berries are harvested from one bush.
What does "many horns" mean? That is, when many more similar necks-horns grow from the central root neck of strawberries, part of which is on the soil surface, during the growing season, every year, then more horns grow from them and after a year or two a large well-leafed wide bush is formed. . Therefore, such bushes give such a large harvest. But this is still not enough, here we need perfect knowledge of modern world technologies and high-quality seedlings of these varieties. Having such seedlings, it is not necessary to occupy large area for getting big harvest. For a family of two old pensioners, one hundred square meters is enough. Enough berries for yourself, and sell, replenishing the family budget.
According to my technology, it is not so difficult for old people to work, judging by myself, with seven decades behind them.

For several years in a row on my personal plot such high-yielding varieties of strawberries are cultivated - these are "Empress" medium early variety with very beautiful shape berries weighing 50-60 g each, bright red, shiny, pleasant in taste, sweet and sour. Productivity - 0.9-1.3 kg. berries from one bush.
"Royal Crown"- mid-late variety, medium-sized apple berries 90-100 gr. Well ripened, they have a dark red color with a sheen, a flattened end with an incredibly fragrant smell, sweet and sour. Productivity - 1-1.5 kg of berries from a bush. "California Miracle" - late variety. This is a real miracle. One berry barely fits into the neck of a 0.5-liter jar. Two berries - and the jar is full. The weight of one berry is 100-120 gr. By the way, this is my wife Maria's favorite variety for their wonderful taste and aroma. Productivity in the second or third years is 1.5-1.8 kg. berries from the bush. I also grow neutral day varieties: "Florina" "Albion"- favorite varieties of the Dutch. They bloom and bear fruit from April until frost without a break for rest. In the presence of a greenhouse, they bear fruit in winter. Productivity per season is 80-90 tons per hectare. The berries are transportable, light red with sourness, medium size. During fruiting, creeping shoots (whiskers) grow from the mother bush, on which young bushes form until June and bloom and bear fruit the same year. New beardless variety "Cardinal"- remontant, also bears fruit until frost.
I deliberately left the story about this variety in the end, because it deserves attention and is called "Pink flamingo". Favorite variety in Italy and America. bears fruit all year round therefore needs diligent care. The variety is very productive and produces 90-100 tons of berries per hectare per season. It blooms with large pink flowers, medium-sized berries are bright red, sweet with sourness and a taste similar to citrus fruits - kiwi, banana, pineapple. It is also a multi-tracked variety with high peduncles up to 35-40 cm. When berries ripen on the stem of the peduncle, it cannot bear their weight and falls to the ground. In the middle of the stem is a knee, from which inflorescences branch off. During the ripening of the berries, roots grow from this knee and, over time, young bushes form, which by the fall “manage” to bear fruit. To avoid this, because the beds are overgrown with young plants. On the beds every meter I put arcs of wire along which I pull the twine and my wife tied flower stalks to them so that they do not lie on the ground. In the summer, during fruiting, mustaches begin to grow from the mother bushes, but unusual ones. In ordinary strawberries, young leaves first grow on the even knees of the mustache, under their weight the mustache adheres to the moist ground and the rosettes begin to take root, if these are varieties of a non-neutral day, then young rosettes produce a crop only next year. Here is a different picture: during fruiting, mustaches 1-1.2 m long grow from the mother bush. On paired knees, flower stalks first come forward and when the berries begin to ripen on them, roots grow from the knee, and only then, after the berries ripen, leaves grow. After 3-4 weeks, a young bush is created and also bears fruit until frost. That is why we get such a high yield.
And I also made such an experiment: at the mother bushes, I hammered into the ground several pegs the height of the length of the mustache. Until now, the stakes have tied one mustache each, and they bloomed and bore fruit just like those on earth. When you look at such a bed from afar, you get the impression that you are really standing on it. "Pink Flamingos".

Being in Italy for the exchange of experience, I saw that my Italian colleagues plant 60-66 plants of this variety per 1 m2 in a checkerboard pattern and harvest 45-46 kg from 1 m2. berries. After their last collection, the bed is dug up along with strawberry bushes. I also saw how they grow this variety in winter in apartments on window sills instead of flowerpots, on balconies, loggias, in offices, on specially made cabinets. Pots with strawberry bushes are tied almost under the very top of the window in its entire width every 20 cm. pink flowers and scarlet berries. And beautiful, and children eat strawberries all winter. They also decorate the yard near the cottages very well. The Italians produce original 6 or 4-sided or round columns 1.5-1.7 m high and 70-80 cm in diameter. 7 cm. A plaster mesh is attached to this mesh from the inside, and a black agrofiber is attached to it so that the earth does not crumble and weeds do not grow out. The frame is ready. They put it in front of the building right on the ground on paving slabs. One on the left in front of the house. Another on the right. In a plastic pipe with a diameter of 60-80 mm and a length of 1.5 m, holes are made from below and up along its entire circumference, not reaching the top of 25-30 cm. They are drilled from below with a drill with a diameter of 3-4 mm, in the middle of the pipe - 6 mm, above 8 mm. The lower part of the pipe is muffled. Therefore, a substrate is prepared, (preferably from forest land), from sand 1 to 3, more humus, 1 tablespoon of ash for each bucket, 100 g are added to the bucket. superphosphate, nitroammophos, so that these fertilizers are enough for 10-12 years. All mix well and fall asleep in the middle of the column. First lay 30-40 cm thick and moisturize well. When the soil sags, they put a pipe on the ground in the center and fill it to the top with the finished substrate. The upper end of the pipe should be 10-15 cm above ground level. The soil is well moistened. Then an exposure is given so that the earth sags well. If necessary, it is filled up to be on a level with the frame. The pipe serves to moisten the soil and feed the plants.
And only then, annual strawberry bushes are planted from above in a circle at the very edge every 20 cm. One bush "Pink Flamingo" one bush with white flowers "Florin" it also blooms and bears fruit all season. Red tulips are planted in the center of the column. Marigolds are still planted between tulips, which bloom until late autumn.
When mustaches with 3-4 rosettes begin to hang from the mother bushes, they need to be pinned to the ground with U-shaped hairpins made of thin wire, cutting agrofibre in advance in a cell of a metal mesh. After the 4th outlet, the mustache will be pinched. When mustaches grow in the lower bushes, their sockets also need to be pinned into the cells. The rest of the whiskers should be removed. Over time, the entire column will be overgrown with bushes, neither mesh nor reinforcement will be visible.
Imagine when all this together will bloom with white and pink flowers with bright red berries, with red tulips, it will take your breath away from such beauty. In the garden where the green grows lawn grass, the Italians put large white garden vases on high curly stands. Along the edges of vases from strawberry bushes hang mustaches in blossom and berries, and in

Strawberry yield We immediately decided that our goal is not a one-time harvest, but a three-year total.

On a note
At industrial cultivation strawberries on the yield of varieties of medium and late ripening does not exceed an average of 1.5–2 kg per square meter (often less, within 1–1.2 kg).

So they expect that from a hectare of a plantation during its heyday per season, at best, 20 tons will be obtained (200 kg per hundred square meters).

This means that at the usual planting density for industrial plantations (6 bushes per square meter) on average 1 bush gives 300 g of berries.

About the first harvest. As we have already noted, it strongly depends on the timing of landing. If planted in the fall, then the average yield does not exceed 20–30 g per bush.

However, with a successful landing in optimal timing it can reach up to 100-150 g per bush. The highest achievement for the temperate climate of our country can be considered the yield for late-ripening varieties up to 1 kg per bush during the flowering period (2nd and 3rd harvests).

The early ones give about half the yield - this is a general pattern for strawberries: since the variety is early, then the harvest will be more modest compared to late varieties.

In general, the record yield of strawberries in the world is considered to be 1.5 kg per bush, it is obtained in a warmer climate. This is not much beyond our capabilities.

Conclusion
With such high yield 6 bushes per 1 sq. m will give a very good harvest. And with a dense planting of the 1st year, when they are planted twice as often, a good harvest is also obtained (further, immediately after it is harvested, the bushes are thinned out after about one, again trying to leave only the most powerful plants number 6 per 1 sq. m).

In general, the yield of strawberries, like any fruit or garden culture, is quite heterogeneous over the years, depending on the weather and other factors.

The degree of favorableness of summer for this crop can be quite accurately recognized in the spring by the flowering of wild strawberries: if its powerful flowering shows that the summer will be strawberry, then strawberries will also be good in the garden.

Several factors affect the yield of strawberries.

Firstly. Watering has a very noticeable effect, since the strawberry consists of almost one water - 90%.

During their greatest increase in volume, in June, the ovaries may experience a lack of water, since in middle lane in recent decades, the climate has become noticeably drier and often the soil is already dry in mid-May.

On the other hand, rainy June becomes the main enemy of the harvest, reducing it sharply, as the berries rot while still green.

Secondly. Soil nutrition is the most important factor high yield. The berries should have enough of everything in terms of nutrients, while they should be as balanced as possible, without an excess of nitrogen.

Thirdly. Sunlight actually affects no less than the previous factors, and many overlook this when planting strawberries in the shade.

In the shade, flower buds are poorly laid, and indeed it cannot be without the sun. large berries is a drastic reduction in yield.

Comment
In many varieties, the regularity affects: when grown on black film, at least the first yield is on average twice as high as without film, due to additional heat.

However, as already mentioned, in the dacha production of berries for oneself and the family, in contrast to the industrial one, there is, so to speak, the “inexpensive criterion”.

If in industrial production additional costs bring additional profit and therefore are profitable, then in summer cottage cultivation these costs only “eat up the last cash”, and therefore it is more profitable to grow from improvised means here, being smart.

Fourth. Regarding the effect of planting density on the yield: it has been established that if one adheres to a reasonable framework (not closer than 20 cm between plants - this is 20–25 bushes per square meter), then the rule applies: the denser the planting, the higher the first harvest.

Although the next crop will fall if left like this, thinning is done after the first crop is harvested.