Growing remontant strawberries for sale. Growing strawberries for sale - experience, plans and calculations. Business – strawberries all year round. Agrotechnics of cultivation

The strawberry growing business is considered profitable. The sweet berry is in demand all year round, especially in winter time. Breeders have developed remontant varieties that bear fruit 5-6 times per season, and new growing technologies make it possible to obtain a harvest even indoors.

Important information! 80% of the market today is occupied by imported strawberries. If it is profitable to transport berries by plane from the Dominican Republic to Moscow or Irkutsk, you should think about plans and methods of implementation profitable idea at home. Experts estimate the annual growth of the strawberry market at 25-30%.

What you need to know before starting a strawberry business

There are differences in growing strawberries for yourself and for sale. On 3-5 acres of free soil, berries are grown for home consumption, but there is no talk of serious income from the sale of strawberries. To make money in this business, they develop an area of ​​20 acres or more or use new methods of harvesting: in bags, boxes, film or polycarbonate greenhouses.

A good plan to make money on domestic berries requires detailed elaboration. This is not necessarily a one-time summer income; you can earn income all year round. A profitable strawberry business requires fulfilling a number of conditions:

1. the selected variety is adapted to the local climate and gives maximum yield under the given conditions;
2. varieties are selected in such a way that the sweet product ripens at different times;
3. the berries are suitable for transportation (a plan for collecting and marketing the products has been thought out, suitable containers and equipment have been prepared).

Important to remember! The taste of the berry is directly related to its ripening period and tolerance to transportation. The sooner it ripens, the easier it tolerates travel, the less moisture and sweetness it contains. Therefore, they grow sweet late varieties for themselves, and early varieties that are resistant to unfavorable climate conditions for sale. The taste of the latter is usually worse, but the presentation is better.

Growing strawberries outdoors

The home method of growing berries on open ground depends on the weather, so the main task gardener - protect seedlings from rain, drought, cold and pests. For this purpose, they not only carefully select varieties, but also stock up on film to preserve heat, a mulch coating to protect against weeds and diseases, mineral fertilizers for feeding, chemical protection from diseases. Including additional materials in the plan will require financial expenses, but will significantly increase yield and income.

№	Expenditure	Prices, rub.
	Total	30000
1.	Rent of 1 hectare of land, per month	10000
2.	Planting material	10000
3.	Mineral fertilizers	2000
4.	Growth stimulator	1000
5.	Additional materials (protective film, agrofibre)	2000
6.	Watering, per month	5000

The maximum profit from a strawberry plantation will be received by those who follow the full cycle of work: germinate the seeds themselves, harvest from adult plants planting material, independently (without intermediaries) packs, stores, and exports for sale. Good income give surplus strawberry seedlings (remaining after diving). In this case, it is not necessary to resort to the help of hired personnel. As a last resort, during the harvest period, businessmen hire seasonal workers to pick berries.

This is interesting! If you manage to grow a sweet product without “chemicals,” organic food stores will gladly take it. True, in this case you will have to obtain a certificate from Rosselkhoznadzor and a declaration of conformity from the SES.

The Dutch way of growing garden strawberries

A home-based strawberry business organized indoors (Dutch method) is recognized as good and profitable. A house, barn, garage - an area of ​​10 square meters - is suitable for this. m. is enough to start a business, because strawberry plantations are located on 3-4 “floors”. Using boxes or bags with substrate and humus instead of soil allows you to grow ripe juicy berries for sale all year round.

This is an expensive way to obtain a harvest, because sunlight will have to be replaced with artificial lighting, and natural heat will have to be obtained from home heating devices. In addition, you will have to take care of artificial pollination. But the price of a kilogram of strawberries in winter is from 300 rubles. In addition, the business does not depend on the time of year and the vagaries of the weather. In the summer (at this time the crops are harvested from the open ground), work takes place indoors. They germinate seeds, prepare planting material, and set up a mini-farm. Instead of soil, the Dutch method involves using plastic bags filled with peat and perlite. Slots are made in it in a checkerboard pattern, where the seedlings are planted. It is recommended to do this at the end of summer so that the harvest can be harvested in October.

How to open a clothing studio: business plan

In a room of 10 sq. m. grows 300 kg of strawberries. Selling at a price of 150 rubles in the summer will bring 45,000 rubles. In the winter season - at least 80,000 rubles. Since the berries ripen all year round, income is received several times.

№	Expenditure	Prices, rub.
	Total	125000
1.	Premises (rent), per month	10000
2.	Racks (shelves)	35000
3.	Lamps (sodium), 100 pcs.	15000
4.	Irrigation system	40000
5.	Seedling	10000
6.	Utilities, per month	15000

Important! If the premises are your own, the entrepreneur will make shelves with his own hands and come up with a good plan for automatic watering, this will save a lot start-up capital. There will also be no need for salary expenses - one person can easily manage a compact strawberry plantation.

The nuances of growing strawberries in a greenhouse

A good way to earn income is to combine both options by growing berries indoors in a greenhouse. For serious commercial enterprise glass structures or polycarbonate greenhouses are erected, but the most affordable option is a metal or wooden frame with a film coating.

Since the film will not protect against frost, the task of the greenhouse is to speed up the ripening of the berries and bring them to the market before competitors. It will also save plants from weeds, weather vagaries and reduce losses from diseases and pests. Construction of a greenhouse on 10 square meters will cost 30,000 rubles, and full organization greenhouse business with a working area of ​​1 hectare will result in the amount of 1,000,000 rubles. But the profitability of growing berries in a greenhouse is more than 100%.

Important tip! The larger the working area, the lower the cost of 1 kg of goods. On an area of ​​20 hectares, a kilogram will cost 10-20 rubles, on an area of ​​less than 1 hectare - the cost increases to 50 rubles. For business profitability open ground choose a plot of 0.5-1 hectares, in a greenhouse - 20-30 acres.

Issues of advertising, marketing and transportation of crops

The strawberry business has an obvious disadvantage: it is a perishable product; You can’t take it long distances, you can’t keep it in a warehouse for a month. So the question of where to start a business is decided not by purchasing seedlings, but by searching for someone who will sell the crop. To preserve the berries, a prudent businessman will take care of scales, plastic containers and a refrigerator. As for transport, its purchase is relevant if you plan to sell the goods yourself. If the manufacturer plans to sell on the local market, documenting business is not so relevant. But when delivering to a supermarket, you can’t do without it. The mini-farm must be registered as an official business; In addition, certificates for berries are obtained from a special laboratory or SES.

How to open a business growing strawberries at home in open ground, all year round and in winter in a greenhouse, and earn over 400,000 rubles in net profit. Additionally, we will consider other ways to produce strawberries: in an apartment and at home on a windowsill and in a garage, on an industrial scale using hydroponics and in greenhouses. Read detailed business plan growing strawberries with calculations.

Strawberry business.

Business plan for growing strawberries at home

There are several options for growing strawberries - in a greenhouse at the dacha, in an industrial greenhouse or hotbeds, in open ground or at home on a windowsill or garage. Each option has its own calculations. Let's look at growing strawberries in open ground in more detail. But let's also look at other options.

Evaluating the idea

To begin with, you should choose a direction, evaluate your capabilities and the market. When analyzing an idea, first answer the following questions:

1. Where and how to grow strawberries?– can be grown in a greenhouse, in an apartment and in a garage, in open ground. Growing occurs directly in the soil, in bags, in boxes and pots, hydroponically.
2. Do you have land or finance for a greenhouse?– in an apartment, the business will turn out to be small, so you need either land for growing in open ground, or finances for the construction of a greenhouse.
3. Who are your competitors?– if there are large greenhouse farms, it is worth considering the option with open ground, and vice versa. If there are competitors in all areas, first find a solution to get around them. Perhaps the market, even with competitors, will be partially free. Evaluate this item in detail.
4. Do you have any knowledge about growing strawberries?– you can get your first experience in an apartment or in open ground by planting a small area. Over time, the business will expand.

After working through these issues, it is worth deciding on additional nuances, depending on the choice of growing method. The article will talk about them. Also look at the pros and cons of the case. Review the risks carefully.

Pros:

1. High demand for berries.
2. The payback period is 1-2 years.
3. Easy planting care.
4. In the greenhouse, the climate does not threaten the harvest.
5. Possibility of processing strawberries into jam.
6. Small investment when growing in open ground.
7. Growing all year round in a winter greenhouse and marketing high prices out of season.

Minuses:

1. High competition during the open ground season.
2. Without knowledge, you can make mistakes and lose your harvest.
3. If care is not taken care of, there is a high risk of strawberry disease.

There are also risks of low yields - especially when grown in open ground, when it is impossible to control the temperature. Open ground also implies possible difficulties with the sale of berries, since the entire harvest comes out within one month. With a greenhouse, you can arrange for harvesting weekly throughout the year thanks to different varieties and planting dates.

After the assessment, study information about growing strawberries in the chosen direction.

Growing strawberries in open ground

Growing strawberries as a business.

Despite the fact that growing strawberries in open ground as a business carries many risks, this method is the most popular. The thing is that the existing areas require minimum investment in preparation, although caring for strawberries takes 7-8 months a year from March to October.

Of course, you can care for 2-3 months a year. But then the result will be slightly worse than with detailed work on plantings. In order to somehow protect the plant from the weather, entrepreneurs build large greenhouse tunnels, 3-7 meters wide and the length of the entire field. We will discuss this method further below, but for now we will consider step-by-step planting and caring for strawberries in open ground.

Choosing a strawberry variety for open ground

Strawberries for industrial cultivation.

Let's look at different varieties that are well suited for open ground. Entrepreneurs often complain that some varieties may not be suitable for the climate or soil in their area, so plant different varieties. After a while, decide on the best varieties and replant them yourself, replacing the unsuccessful ones.

Strawberry varieties:

• Asia– a mid-season variety, one of the best for business, as it is resistant to diseases, pests, and frost;
• Alba– an early ripening variety, tolerates diseases well in open ground and is perfectly adapted for transportation;
• Arosa– mid-season variety, has a bright orange color;
• Clery– early ripening variety with presentation, gives a lot of mustache, which is very good for additional income on strawberry seedlings;
• Malvina– a late-ripening variety with sweet berries, but reacts negatively to pests;
• Marmalade– mid-season variety with high yield;
• Olivia– an early ripening, frost-resistant variety with an attractive presentation.

The varieties produce good yields and are well grown in open ground. True, they also require a lot of care, which will be discussed below.

Tip #1. The root system of seedlings should have shoots 8 centimeters long. Roots longer than normal are pruned, as are damaged ones.

Strawberries are planted according to a pattern of 40 x 40 centimeters. 4 bushes are placed per 1 square meter. If you completely plant 30 acres of land, you will get 3000 * 4 = 12,000 bushes. 1 seedling for open ground costs an average of 50 rubles. We will need 12,000 * 50 = 600,000 rubles for seedlings. The amount is large, so people usually plant a small area and then propagate it themselves. In addition, we need more walking paths. Therefore, we will assume that the initial investment will be half a million rubles for seedlings - 10,000 bushes.

Investments in strawberry seedlings will amount to 500,000 rubles.

Planting strawberries in open ground

How to grow strawberries in open ground.

First, choose a landing site. An area where corn and carrots were previously grown is suitable. Strawberries are not planted next to rowan and rose hips. The area should be well lit. Do not plant in deep places or on high ground.

When making ridges, dig them up so that the plant grows to the southwest. Plant the area around the fields with tall bushes or trees to protect from winds, especially from the north. Ideally, you should also sprout corn on the site so that the soil receives nitrogen from them.

Tip #2. The site is changed every 4 years, otherwise the plant may be susceptible to disease if grown for a long time in one site.

How to plant strawberries in open ground:

1. A week before planting, the seedlings are placed outside in the shade.
2. Strawberries are planted at a temperature of +16 °C in cloudy weather.
3. Planted in the north in May, in the south in autumn, in the middle zone in April.
4. The soil is chernozem with an acidity of 5.5-6 pH.
5. Remove weeds and dig up the ground.
6. Fertilize with superphosphates - 7 kilograms per 1 hundred square meters.
7. All clods are broken and the area is leveled.
8. Before planting, the ridges are watered.
9. The hole should be as deep as the root.
10. The root is placed vertically and the plant is sprinkled.
11. Afterwards, water each bush with 1 liter of warm water.
12. Immediately after planting, be sure to mulch with straw.

This is approximately how planting seedlings in open ground occurs. If after planting the air temperature begins to drop, cover the plantings with film.

Land preparation: the cost of fertilizers and tools for planting is 15,000 rubles. Plowing with a walk-behind tractor costs 5,000 rubles.

How to care for strawberries in the ground

How to care for strawberries in open ground.

To obtain a stable annual harvest in large volumes, the plantings should be looked after. The work is not difficult, but at such a scale it will be constant throughout the season.

Work on caring for strawberry plantings:

1. Irrigation. Water after planting daily for a month. Afterwards, water once every 3-10 days, depending on soil moisture. It would be ideal to install drip irrigation. Water only with warm water.
2. Mulching. Mulch with straw after planting. But you can also replace straw with mown grass, humus, small stones, plastic film. All this protects plants from contact of berries with the ground, from pests and diseases. Organic mulch further fertilizes the soil. Straw protects the roots from frost.
3. Trimming. Trim unnecessary tendrils and damaged leaves. Pruning is done in dry weather in the morning or evening. You can also earn extra money from this.
4. Feeding. Strawberries are fertilized almost every 2 weeks. In March, fertilize with Nitroammophoska - 1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water. When flowering with potassium nitrate or chicken droppings. At the end of summer, urea - 30 grams per 10 liters of water. They are also fed with potassium fertilizers, phosphates and nitrogen.
5. Pollination. For pollination, you can also engage in beekeeping. Bees are great at this task.
6. Treatment against pests and diseases. The main pest is the cockchafer. Plant Alkaloid Lupine, which is lethal to beetle larvae. Also treat bushes with folk remedies. Mulch, timely fertilizing, weeding and watering save you from viruses and diseases.
7. Shelter. They are protected from frost with straw or spruce branches for the winter, especially if the frosts are severe and the winters are without snow. In the spring, after the frost has subsided, the mulch is completely removed, the ground is loosened, fertilized and new mulch is laid.

Harvesting is done by hand. One bush is harvested every other day for 1-1.5 months. If you plant different varieties, the harvest can be harvested for 2-3 months in a row. You will have to hire someone to help you harvest.

There is a lot of maintenance work, given the large plantings. Therefore, you will have to work almost every day for 6-8 months.

Well, container, hoses - 105,000 rubles. Annual costs for electricity - 10,000 rubles, mulch and shelter - 20,000 rubles, fertilizers - 15,000 rubles, drugs for pests and diseases - 5,000 rubles, berry picking service - 10,000 rubles, packaging - 10,000 rubles.

Growing strawberries at home in a winter greenhouse

Growing strawberries all year round.

To earn 18-20 thousand rubles a month, you can build a winter greenhouse of 120 square meters, and grow strawberries in it all year round. The costs for the greenhouse will be as follows:

• Construction of a polycarbonate greenhouse – 190,000 rubles;
• Installation of irrigation, heating and lighting systems – 160,000 rubles;
• Purchase of racks and tools – 90,000 rubles;
• Legalization of a greenhouse – 10,000 rubles.

The total costs will be 450,000 rubles. Buying seedlings from a nursery will cost 70,000 rubles - 1,000 pieces of productive greenhouse varieties such as Aromas, Capri, Octava, Sonata and others. Buy remontant varieties that produce several harvests per year.

The cost of soil and first fertilizing will be 50,000 rubles. The soil should consist of fine crushed stone, sand and fertilized garden soil mixed with peat. Experts do not recommend buying ready-made soil. Planting can be done in the racks themselves - beds are made, also in bags, pots or boxes.

In the greenhouse itself, it is important to keep the temperature from +22 °C to + 25 °C, the humidity during planting is 85%, and during flowering and fruiting 70%. Constantly ventilate the greenhouse without creating drafts. Daylight hours should be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Strawberries themselves do not require care. Once every 10-15 days it is necessary to fertilize. Moderate watering every 8-10 days, strictly at the root, with warm water. Unnecessary shoots and tendrils are also removed. Ideally, take care of the availability in the greenhouse carbon dioxide– there are folk remedies, as well as pollination – for example, with the help of bees.

The costs for the greenhouse will be 450,000 rubles, for soil 50,000 rubles, seedlings 70,000 rubles, agronomist services 5,000 rubles, registration and other expenses 30,000 rubles. Annual costs for electricity are 90,000 rubles, fertilizing and renewed soil are 30,000 rubles, advertising and fuel and lubricants are 25,000 rubles. Also consider the cost of paying taxes to be about 35,000 rubles if the case is registered.

Strawberries in the apartment on the windowsill and in the garage

Strawberries at home as a business.

Home cultivation will not bring high incomes, but rather will provide only you with berries, but all year round. It all depends on the scale. If we are talking about growing inside a house or apartment, then these are window sills and balconies. Outside the home, they are grown in a garage or other building.

They are grown exclusively using Dutch technology in plastic bags. They are filled with a substrate consisting of peat, perlite and disinfected garden soil. Holes are made in the bags and strawberries are planted. You can fit 4-5 bags per 1 square meter. But you can install shelving on the balcony, and even more so in the garage.

Some entrepreneurs complain about the inconvenience of working with plants in bags. They can be replaced with flower pots or plastic boxes.

Water by hand once a week. You should also remove unnecessary tendrils and damaged leaves. Provide the plants with lighting - daylight for at least 12 hours, and heating - from +22 °C to +25 °C. Plants will have to be pollinated by hand - the procedure is not complicated. The room itself should be ventilated periodically, especially a closed garage. After fruiting, send the plant into hibernation.

Choose varieties for growing strawberries at home.

Thanks to home growing in small quantities, you can gain experience, which will then be used for growing in large quantities in a greenhouse.

Growing strawberries on an industrial scale

Growing strawberries on an industrial scale as a business.

There are three profitable options growing strawberries on an industrial scale.

Option number 1 - growing strawberries in open ground

The process from planting to harvesting is the same as described above. Additionally you will have to do the following:

1. Hire personnel to care for the berries. Large fields cannot be handled alone, so workers are needed.
2. Find people to pick berries. The number of people depends on the size of the field. 1 person can process 2-4 acres per day. Only ripe berries are collected. The berries are collected from one place every other day.
3. For convenience, special carts are needed to transport berries during picking. You will also need containers.
4. Since there will be a lot of berries, timely sales are needed. Therefore, enter into agreements with large clients.

To make your business profitable, plant at least several hectares of land.

Option No. 2 – growing strawberries in industrial greenhouses

Industrial greenhouses with all equipment cost about 10 million rubles for every 1,000 square meters. For convenience, it can be grown hydroponically. True, entrepreneurs complain about the wateriness of the berries. But the growing process itself is a little simplified. Strawberries grow on a nutrient solution. At the same time, no mulch, watering, or weeding is needed. It is also fertilized through a nutrient solution.

With hydroponics you get 2-3 times more berries. The system is expensive, but it can be built from scrap materials purchased at a hardware and gardening store. Electric generators are also needed, since the design will depend entirely on electricity.

Option No. 3 – growing in greenhouses

Grown in soil in fields. But to protect against unforeseen weather conditions, greenhouse tunnels are installed. With this method, you can get a harvest ahead of time, and more. Greenhouses are made from polypropylene pipes, wood or aluminum, covering the structure with transparent plastic film.

These are the methods chosen when growing on an industrial scale. Each has its own pros and cons. If you have finances, build greenhouses. No money - use open ground. An alternative to the two options is large greenhouses.

Selling strawberries and registering a business

Selling strawberries.

There will be a lot of berries. If you plant varieties of different ripening periods, then you can stretch the yield over 2-3 months. In this case, on average you will have about 100 kilograms of strawberries for sale per day.

Strawberry marketing methods:

1. Resellers- the simplest and cheap way sales No registration, advertising, taxes, or delivery required. But prices will be low - from 50-70 rubles per kilogram of berries.
2. Enterprises– manufacturers of preserves, jams, confectionery shops and others. The prices are a little higher, but you will definitely have to register the business and deal with quality certificates.
3. Supermarkets– prices can be even higher, but the client needs to be found and the goods delivered to him.
4. Own points or production– sell at the market or make preserves, jams. But you can't handle this alone.

Additionally, small quantities can be delivered to grocery stores, fruit traders. Also sold through advertising in newspapers, on the Internet in social networks and on bulletin boards. Over time, word of mouth will begin to work.

Be sure to conclude supply agreements so that there are no problems with the sale of the entire batch of goods throughout the season.

There are 3 registration options in the case:

1. Private subsidiary plot or personal subsidiary plot. If you have your own household, you do not need to deal with quality certificates. But it will be possible to work only as a family - without hiring workers. There are also restrictions on the sale of berries - large quantities can only be handed over to resellers. Legal entities rarely work with private household plots.
2. Individual entrepreneur or individual entrepreneur. If you would like to work with legal entities. In this case, the case is registered and all documentation is maintained. IP is suitable for farming whose area does not exceed 1 hectare. A single agricultural tax is paid in the amount of 6% of the declared income. When registering, select the OKVED code 01.13.21 - “growing fruit and berry crops.”
3. Peasant farm or peasant farm. Peasant farms are chosen by farmers whose areas exceed 1 hectare. They, like individual entrepreneurs, pay the Unified Agricultural Tax in the amount of 6% of income.

In our case, if you have 30 acres of land, choose private household plots or individual entrepreneurs. If the matter becomes official, you will need to certify the products by receiving a declaration of conformity and a phytosanitary certificate. You can learn more about this from specialists of the State Agricultural Surveillance Service.

Registration of a case: 10,000 rubles. Annual tax payment is 50,000 rubles.

Expenses and income - we calculate the profit from open ground

Cost chart for starting a business:

The initial investment will be in the purchase of planting material and field preparation. This may also include the cost of purchasing land.

Annual costs:

We count profits

From 1 bush we will have an average of 0.5 kilograms of harvest per season. As a result, 5 tons of strawberries come out. Sales are priced from 100 to 250 rubles. In our case, the batches will be large, so the price will be 150 rubles per kilogram. The income will be 5,000 * 150 = 750,000 rubles. And this is with a successful season and a good price per kilogram of berries. Most likely, things will reach such yields only in the second year.

The strawberry yield from 1 hundred square meters is 167 kilograms, and the income is 25,000 rubles.

Additionally, you can make good money from seedlings. By selling at least 1,000 seedlings per season for 50 rubles, you will increase your income to 800,000 rubles.

Annual profit will be 800,000 – 140,000 = 660,000 rubles. The profitability of a business growing strawberries in open ground is 80%, payback is 2 years.

The strawberry business is profitable, but there will be a lot of work. You can also grow other berries as a business - strawberries, currants, raspberries in greenhouses, blueberries, blackberries, even watermelons. You can combine ideas if you choose exactly what you can grow with what.

Strawberries are certainly loved by many, but there is one problem - the seasonal ripening of the berries. The harvest takes place in June - July, then it can be eaten only in preparations (jam, preserves, frozen) or you can buy an imported product, which does not always have good quality due to long transportation and a huge amount of chemicals introduced into the berries to increase shelf life.

Is it possible to provide yourself with fresh strawberries all year round?

Yes, you can! And not only provide for yourself, but also make good money at the same time.

In order to make significant profits, you don’t need much - work out a business plan, decide on a growing location, choose the best seeds or seedlings, grow a crop and, of course, sell it.

So, let's open a strawberry business.

Business plan or calculating the costs and profitability of growing strawberries

First, you need to decide how and where the plants will be grown; the level of costs directly depends on this point.

There are two options:

1. Open ground.
2. Greenhouse.

An open ground business is the least expensive option, but it is only suitable for traditional summer berry harvesting and is not suitable for achieving stable, year-round income.

It is believed that growing strawberries at home is not as profitable a business as, for example, in open areas or in a greenhouse. This opinion is not entirely correct, it all depends on individual conditions, the availability of free space for planting, as well as the choice of the right varieties.

Costs for greenhouse cultivation

If you don't want to grow strawberries in traditional ways - in boxes, containers or beds, try growing them in large plastic bags. This method does not require large areas, which increases the profitability of growing strawberries, and it is much easier to care for the plants.

Profitability

According to statistics, every year the demand for strawberries increases by an average of 40%. In this regard, the profitability of its cultivation, especially in autumn, spring and winter periods, can be 100 percent or more.

For example, let’s consider the profitability of a small farm, i.e. there is 1 heifer with an area of ​​80 m². In such an area, 65 m² of shelving can be freely placed, each m² of usable area with fruit-bearing plants produces about 5 kg of berries per month - 65x5x400 rubles. (cost of berries in the off-season) = 130,000 rub. - profit.

From such simple example it is clearly seen that even taking into account all necessary expenses When growing strawberries in a greenhouse, this business is very profitable.

According to experts, the payback of the primary costs of the strawberry business, when growing berries in a greenhouse, is no more than 3 months, to this it is necessary to add another 3 months for plant growth, ovary and ripening of berries. As a result, it turns out that within six months you can get a net profit.

Business – strawberries all year round. Agrotechnics of cultivation

Choosing a greenhouse

The soil

To ensure intensive and continuous fruiting, ordinary garden or vegetable soil is not suitable; it is necessary to use only an enriched, highly nutritious substrate. To independently prepare 500 kg of suitable soil, you will need:

• Straw (wheat or oats) – 300 kg.
• Mullein or chicken droppings – 190 kg.
• Ground chalk – 7 kg.
• Urea – 3 kg.

After preparing all components, composting is carried out. To do this, they are laid out in a pile in layers: 20 cm straw, 12 cm dung or mullein, urea. Lay out layers until a pile is formed with a height of about 1.8–2 m; its width can be arbitrary, but it is more convenient if it is 1.5 m. When forming a pile, each layer is poured with warm (not hot) water. water. On average, the fermentation process begins within a week. In order for fermentation to proceed evenly, the components are mixed every 10 days, adding chalk in equal doses. After completing the composting process, the nutrient soil (substrate) should have:

• color – dark brown;
• structure – homogeneous, light;
• There is no ammonia smell.

While creating home business, strawberries are grown under the same conditions as in a greenhouse: light level, preparation of a nutrient medium, watering. The only thing that agricultural technicians recommend changing is the containers for planting seedlings. There is no need to install racks with bulky boxes in a room, garage or on a balcony. Instead, you can propagate plants using the Dutch method in bags or grow them in some kind of hanging compact container.

Watering

It is optimal to use the drip irrigation method for irrigating strawberries. Such a system consists of simple structures:

• flexible, rubber hoses with pre-drilled holes;
• dropper;
• the source of water is an ordinary tap or watering container.

With drip irrigation, water flows directly under the plant, to the root system, nourishing it without waterlogging the soil.

How to make money on strawberries - implementation

Don't know how to make money from strawberries? Before starting a business, you need to think in advance about how and where to subsequently sell your products. Considering the properties of strawberries (a delicate berry that cannot be stored without special equipment), this question is very relevant.

Marketing methods

• Independent sale.
  The method is quite problematic because, firstly, you need to rent retail space, at least some kind of stall, secondly, purchase equipment for storing and cooling berries and, thirdly, have a lot of free time for trading.
• Sales of berries to retail chains - supermarkets, private sellers, mini-stores.
  This option is not bad. After concluding a supply agreement, providing a product quality certificate and a document on the fertilizers used during cultivation, you can supply the berries to trading network and receive your legal income without worrying about anything.
• Supply of berries to processing plants.
  As a rule, such enterprises pay significantly less for the products provided than what can be received from sellers of fresh berries, but there is also a positive aspect here - volumes. For those with large areas of strawberry planting, this option can be extremely profitable if you sign a long-term agreement with the company with regular supplies of raw materials.

Video about strawberry business for beginners

Growing fresh berries - good business. Especially when it comes to strawberries. But those who believe that this is only possible in the summer are deeply mistaken. Modern technologies allow us to produce tasty goods all year round. So the strawberry growing business can generate income constantly.

There are no competitors!

It must be said that fresh berries are in demand at any time of the year. Another question is that in winter there are only imported products of unknown origin on the shelves (these berries don’t even smell like strawberries) at incredible prices. And many people want to buy fragrant and high-quality strawberries. So if you decide to grow strawberries for sale, you will have virtually no competitors. It is enough just to set a real price for it, and the strawberry aroma of natural berries will speak for itself.

Legal factor

If you decide to grow strawberries and sell them through a retail chain, you will have to register as individual entrepreneur. So, to legalize your activities and be able to trade your own harvest, you need:

1. Pass the state registration And .
2. Select OKVED code: 01.13.21. Growing fruit and berry crops.
   This group includes the cultivation of apples, plums, cherries, citrus fruits, apricots, peaches, currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries (strawberries) and other fruit crops.
3. Choose a tax system. Although in this case you will be classified as a producer of agricultural products (even if you do not own or lease garden plot, having an agricultural purpose) and will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to pay the Unified Agricultural Tax at a rate of 6% on net profit.

Features of the technology and necessary equipment

Let's try to draw up a business plan for growing strawberries and start with technology and necessary equipment. Many will be surprised, but growing strawberries in garden beds is a thing of the past. Today, to cultivate this berry, you do not need to plant a garden and fertilize it with manure. You can grow strawberries right in your city apartment! The main thing is to approach the issue correctly.

Let's start with the fact that the fruiting period for strawberries indoors is September - May. In summer there is no way to grow berries this way. economic sense. But in order to get fresh strawberries already in September, and then trade them in the winter, you will need to create a mother plantation (the preparatory period for a strawberry business is about four months). To do this, you need to plant either ready-made seedlings or seeds (this option is preferable) in small growing boxes. The germination rate of strawberry seeds is quite low, so at best, half of what you sow will germinate. The main thing is to moisten the soil well and illuminate the plants (they need light 12 hours a day). When the seedlings have more or less taken root, you should carry out the first picking, planting them in a checkerboard pattern, and after a month and a half you need to repeat the procedure, but plant the seedlings in ready-made containers for strawberries. After this, your plantation is ready to bloom and bear fruit. However, do not forget that strawberry bushes need to be renewed every couple of years. This can be done using your own rosette seedlings that will appear on the mother bushes. Thus, it turns out that you will receive new planting material completely free of charge from your own strawberry plantation, as a by-product of production.

If you start a plantation at the end of spring, then by autumn the strawberries will be ready to bear fruit, which means that you will receive your first income in October. As soon as the season ends (this will be at the end of May), the emerging flower stalks will need to be removed, preventing the strawberries from bearing fruit. This tactic promotes the production of new planting material, as the bushes will begin to grow mustaches, on which young rosettes will appear. It is these that can later be used to update the plantation.

• Climatic conditions. The room must have the appropriate temperature - +22*C, humidity - 75%, good ventilation and special three-row shelving that will serve as beds. Both light and the required temperature will be provided by sodium lamps, but only on condition that their power is at least 400 W.
• Plantation shelving. The height of the rack is 1.5 meters, the width is 1 meter, but the length can be any, as long as the room allows. Each rack should be divided into three rows and containers 20 centimeters high should be placed on them. The containers must be filled with a special substrate with the addition of humus, into which the strawberry bushes will then be planted.

• Irrigation system. To grow strawberries at home, you must use a drip irrigation system, which is installed before planting. You can purchase a ready-made system (today they are sold in specialized stores), or you can install it yourself by reading the manual on the Internet. In the latter case, you will only have to spend money on Consumables: water containers and plastic tubes through which watering will be carried out.

Choosing the right variety

• the selected varieties must be remontant strawberries (this means that the plant blooms several times a year)
• the formation of ovaries and berries must occur continuously
• the berries of the selected varieties should be large, as well as brightly and evenly colored
• strawberries should have a strong aroma and pronounced taste

Based on these criteria, you can choose one or several different varieties and start growing them.

How to sell the harvest?

If you have planted, grown and harvested strawberries, then a new question arises: where and how to sell them. First of all, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with this information. Although it is worth thinking about how to sell a product at the business planning stage. Today there are several options:

But before you start trading, enter into an agreement with a supermarket or wholesale company, you need to take care of obtaining documents, without which trading strawberries will be illegal. This is about:

• GOST R declaration of conformity (to obtain it from the certification bodies, you will have to contact the SES and special laboratories and prove that your strawberries meet the requirements for similar products);
• phytosanitary certificate (issued by Rosselkhoznadzor for all products of plant origin).

Expenses and income

Home business growing strawberries is quite a profitable business. But here it is important to correctly approach the organization of the work process and optimize costs.

If you plan to grow strawberries indoors in your own apartment, then your plantation will not be more than 80 square meters (even if the containers are installed in three rows). This means that the daily harvest will not exceed 10-12 kilograms of fresh berries. Consequently, you can serve and process (including packaging in baskets) all the strawberries yourself, without involving additional labor. Therefore, the cost of renting premises or land, wages for hired workers, special equipment, work clothes and additional packaging will not break your pocket.

So, let's do the calculation necessary investments, expenses and income, taking into account that you will grow strawberries yourself in your home, without involving employees, and you will sell the berries through a wholesale company.

In order to start growing strawberries you will need 106,000 rubles.

Monthly costs for growing strawberries are minimal and only include electricity, since the lamps providing 12-hour illumination of the plants will also warm the room, raising the air temperature to the required level. As for irrigation, there is no waste of water with a drip irrigation system.

Taking into account that a strawberry plantation organized on 120 square meters of area will be 80 square meters, the average monthly harvest will be 4 kilograms of berries per square meter, that is, a total of 320 kilograms. Let's calculate income:

Taking into account monthly expenses net profit will be 130,000 rubles. The profitability of such a business is 70%, and all initial costs for equipment, planting material and electricity during the creation of a uterine plantation will be recouped in two months of selling berries.

Today Reconomica will tell the story of a persistent young woman who created an agricultural business from scratch with her own hands, having neither experience nor... Modern agriculture increasingly relies on large holding companies. However, a high percentage of vegetable and berry production still occurs on individual farms.

Agriculture, represented by small business, is a powerful foundation for improving living standards. Today, most people think about the benefits of a healthy and environmentally friendly diet. The population's transition to healthy nutrition gives entrepreneurs ample opportunities to produce high-quality, environmentally friendly products. IN agriculture there are many opportunities to start profitable business. This is exactly what our next article is about. An ordinary woman from the Ukrainian hinterland shared her story of creating a “berry kingdom” during a crisis.

Hello, I’m Svetlana Gorodnicheva. When I don’t know what to do, I do what I like. This is how the idea of ​​growing strawberries at home was born, or rather, as I called my business, the Berry Kingdom.

Kingdom is a pretentious name. Its hectare against the backdrop of hundreds of hectares farms– Monaco's military power against NATO allies. The kingdom is located in the Ukrainian outback, in a small town, a good half of which work in Russia and Poland. When I was 18, I also left – it turned out to come back.

At the start of a business: input data and the situation of farmers in the country

I was 5-10 years late with planting the berry garden. The niche is not occupied by large farms working on wholesale, supplying berries to the so-called. receiving points for freezing, drying, sublimation. It's crowded.

On the one hand, there is expansion of, in other words, Polish, Turkish, and Spanish products. On the other hand, the market found itself in a vacuum.

Bringing strawberries in March, May and even April from Turkey is more profitable than growing them in your own garden.

The road to Russia, where strawberry caravans went for decades in the spring, was blocked by “good” people at the helm of the state. For obvious reasons, the road to Donbass, which has nurtured more than one generation of “strawberry kings,” is also blocked.

The outflow of products from large players left room in the market for the “fry” of the berry business, and the lack of exports and interregional distribution became the reason for overproduction. And falling prices amid inflation made my Napoleonic plans even more Napoleonic.

Hot summer 2015: strawberry crisis

In the spring and summer of 2015, farmers cried – figuratively and not figuratively. Near Odessa there were trucks of unwanted berries, and they also cried red tears of strawberry juice. Kharkov was “inundated” with berries from Kherson: sellers sat above the darkening strawberry mountains until nightfall, even in the metro. Local farmers were gritting their teeth: those who came in large numbers drove prices down completely. Wholesalers and buyers did not rejoice for long: and they did not know what to do with the sea of ​​strawberries.

The berries went into the ground: farmers did not consider it profitable to pay for picking and give them away for pennies.

Freezing and subsequent import helped, but the number of points is limited, they are not available in all regions, and quality requirements are a separate issue. It's been a bad year for many. But cheerful chronicles in publications devoted to agricultural business broadcast: Ukrainian products went to the European Union. I went, bought it twice or three times cheaper than from the same Polish or German farms.

When shortsightedness in business is not a vice

I realized the seriousness of the situation when things were already going well. If I had been able to read the forecasts of analysts lamenting the berry business, I would have been far-sighted - there would be no small berry farmer.

Looking ahead: short-sightedness (along with the belief that there is always a place for “babies” in a niche) helped my business survive. The local market was enough for sales. On the contrary, there was room to grow.

If earlier our small town was “occupied” by southern strawberry traders in the summer, then, out of despair, they did not come to the wilderness. The “competitors” from the villages also kept pace with the difficult times: they switched to other crops and reduced the volume of plantings.

That’s how the gates of the market, or rather the local markets, where our strawberries were snapped up in a matter of hours, swung open.

There was not enough of it: people, frightened by the shortage, swept it away, doubling reserves of canned food in honor of the crisis. And the berry was good - without false modesty.

Assets and liabilities, main costs and start-up capital

The very first bricks of the Berry Kingdom were laid by my mother - these were two beds of strawberries, planted for me, who came in the summer. They planned the kingdom together, but had to build it alone when she could only help with a word of support.

Picking strawberries from my plantation.

Assets include a hectare of land and a house, the parents' summer house. And an idea that was called wild: no knowledge, no experience, no money. The list of passive balance sheet items was also not encouraging: loans, expenses not related to income. Aggravating circumstances - the death of the husband, the serious illness of the mother, then the father. And ignorance of the hardware of a berry “startup”. Absolute. I knew nothing about working on the land. The only thing about strawberries is that I love them.

However, there was a small asset. Just don’t laugh, but he was the one who supported it. A bank loan to purchase the necessary things, a modest copywriter, plus micro-sites that together bring in the Adsense “minimum wage” for living – this is the “starting capital”.

How much money does it take to open a small berry farm?

The costs were considerable for me:

• planting material - about $550: ZKS seedlings (glasses) 6000 pcs. for 12-13 acres at a seedling price of 0.2-0.25 USD. Plus, two beds were used for the queen cell, which produced about 500 seedlings;
• fertilizers: organic matter (manure) – $50 plus $50 mineral complex (nitroammophoska, calcium nitrate, so-called humic Rostconcentrate, Humisol);
• mulching material (straw) $35-40;
• protection products (fungicides) $30;
• covering material for the winter about $300 (two rolls 3.2 × 100 m plus straw);
• containers (plastic containers, boxes, bags) $30-35 (on average $2-2.5 a pack of 50 pieces);
• transportation – from $5 daily;
• trading expenses (incidental) $5.

Total over $1000. Plus the work of assemblers: for 15 acres, except for me, 3 people per day, with sales of $4-5 per day to the seller (part-time).

12-13 acres were planted at a planting density of 5-6 pieces. per m2. If the classic density for a summer resident is 4 pcs./m2, then for the so-called. field cultivation - from 5-7 to 9 pcs/m2.

Finished product.

Were chosen best varieties of strawberries: early Alba, classic mid-early Elsanta, good old Honey, delicious Marmalade and slightly soft but beautiful Clery with late burgundy Malvina.

Apart from Alba, the varieties are not ultra-early: the emphasis was on mass fruiting later. And she was justified: there is no money in the town for early strawberries. And for wholesale – I no longer have the money for the volume that would cover the transportation costs and the film with arcs.

Mini-calculation: yield, cost and selling prices of strawberries

Many people are interested in the strawberry yield per 1 hectare in open ground. And again, looking ahead - before the bored reader runs away: how much does a kilogram of strawberries cost and how much can be harvested from one hundred square meters.

With an average bush yield of 200-220 g - per hundred square meters, the harvestability of strawberries is approximately 200-230 kg. Accordingly, from 12 acres - 2700 kg. Minus the marriage, overripe, crumpled.

The cost of growing 1 kg of strawberries is on average 0.6-0.7 USD. In my case, it is a little high due to the covering material and fertilizers purchased at retail, and even when purchasing the seedlings themselves in large quantities, the prices are lower.

Now selling prices. What did I earn: considering that the harvest was not early, the strawberries were sold for an average of $2,300. Why are the averages - the berries of the first harvest, at the end of May, cost 35-40 UAH. (1.2-1.4 USD), June - already at 25-30 and up to 20 UAH. (0.9-1.1 and 0.7 c.u.). Net income is about $1200-1100.

Compared to the costs, the income looks miniscule. But it turned out that the plan for the first year was fulfilled.

• The planting material, which doubled the strawberry population the following year, was paid for.
• Purchased a pump for $50 and a drip irrigation system (line, tapes, fittings, etc.) – $200 (used).
• New seedlings were purchased for future expansion.

Rumors about the yield of strawberries in the first year ranging from 500 g, or even up to 2 kg per bush, are exaggerated. There is no such productivity. There will be up to 800 g on single-fruiting varieties in the second year, the third - taking into account high agricultural technology. In the first - with a density of 5-7 pcs./m2, anything over 300-350 g per plant or 2-4 kg per m2 is a rare result.

Gardener mistakes, or when the numbers don't work

Taking this opportunity, I want to talk about the mistakes of novice gardeners. The view, I hope, is no longer that of a theorist - almost:

• Bad seedlings. The best is from separate queen cells. The best mustache is the one from June, the very first. September seedlings will not produce productivity, but are suitable for reproduction.
• Frigo - the scam of the century. Not every variety is suitable for technology, not every strawberry from the refrigerator is frigo. It is better for a beginner to buy ZKS seedlings, in glasses, multiplates (cells).
• Late planting dates: September planting will give up to 20-30% of potential productivity, July planting - over 70%. Plants need time to set fruit buds - at least two months. With a September planting, and even an August planting, this time is not enough. It is worth taking a chance with planting at the end of July or in the first ten days of August. There will be attacks, but this is nothing compared to the losses incurred by delaying the planting of seedlings. Another option is to root the seedlings in cups nearby right in the garden bed. Planting (transferring) with a clod of earth in August-early September is almost comparable to late July.
• Wrong landing pattern: depending on the variety, 5-6 or 6-7 bushes/m2. It is important to study the characteristics of the variety: if the compact Honey will tolerate a density of 900 plants per hundred square meters, then Malvina needs 50-60 cm of space between seedlings.
• Planting on agrofibre is not for everyone. If you are not ready for fungal dominance under the agro-fabric, and you are not ready to feed and water the strawberries more than usual, mulch with straw.
• Expensive fertilizers. Complex fertilizers are good for summer residents and industrialists. At the start, you will have to create a nutrition plan yourself, starting with the NPK complex, supplementing with microelements, derivatives of humic acids, or look for inexpensive preparations like Rostkontsentrat, Humisol. You can try Plantafol, Polish osmocotes or Dutch Mivena - but the pleasure is expensive.
• Tops and roots: this is what I call the method of harvesting and harvesting from one plant at the same time. It is better to keep fruiting beds and queen cells separately or cut off the tendrils during fruiting.
• Fall mowing - don't do it. Let the plants lay buds and grow hard leaves for winter - why bother them. Regular sanitary cleaning, fertilizing - and the strawberries are ready for wintering

Alpha and Omega: which variety of strawberry to choose for growing for sale

Variety requirements:

1. Productivity. In the first year up to 250-300 g, in the second up to 700-800 per bush.
2. Lifetime– time for effective fruiting without loss of varietal qualities. So, the beautiful Clery loses them in the third year, the standard Elsanta, Honey - and are good in the fourth.
3. High sugar content (according to the so-called Brix level): This is both taste and the percentage of dry matter that determines density.
4. High amount of anthocyanins: This is a bright color and its preservation when frozen. Among the suitable ones are Marmolada, Klery, Maya, Darselect, Elsanta, Arosa, etc. These same varieties, plus Alba, Arosa, Kamarosa, Marmolada, Honeoye also have low cryoresistance, i.e. low loss of juice during defrosting.
5. Marketable condition: so-called one-dimensionality - the same weight and shape, the absence of deformed fruits. The cone-shaped (cone-shaped-rounded) shape is good; varieties with elongated fruits are less “good” on the market.
6. Taste. Its basis is the power supply scheme. Sweetness and density, by the way, are provided by potassium and calcium during ovary. With low agricultural technology, with a small amount of mineral fertilizing (organic matter does not count), the taste will not be bright, sweet, the strawberries themselves will be soft and watery.
7. Transportability. Its basis is a balanced mineral diet.
8. Disease resistance– there are no absolutely resistant ones, there are moderately resistant to the lack of fungicides.

Beginner's workshop strawberries - work in the field is not easy

I was making my dream come true. It sounds strange, but I looked for seedlings on the Internet. There I found the best sellers, whom, relying on intuition and luck, I looked for on the forums of farmers, and the best varieties, and the best prices. And the weak rudiments of knowledge had to be looked for there: the services of an agricultural technician were clearly unaffordable. By the way, there are many like me.

I grew it myself.

And then there was the First Big Landing. Planted in the summer, at the beginning of August. Cultivation, application of organic matter (which is manure), planting scheme and its density - I learned a lot of new words. I found out where the strawberry root collar is and where the mustache grows from.

Now I have learned to walk 1/4 hectare a day on all fours, burying the seedlings to this very neck, to stay alive and remain optimistic. Now I know the difference between ammonium and nitrate forms of nitrogen, I can discuss the compatibility of drugs when preparing tank mixtures, the need for autumn mowing and other interesting things.

And then... God bless the agronomist of a large farm, who out of the kindness of his heart advises poor fellows like me over the phone. Ivan Ivanovich spent a lot of time with me, giving me short, clear, specific advice. He patiently helped me choose the right planting scheme, better varieties, and nutrition plan. In general, I won’t describe all the adventures of a city housewife (read: slacker) who has gotten off her heels. I'll tell you what happened next year.

Strawberry Sea

And there was the sea. Strawberry. Anyone who has seen this will understand. The suffering creeps up quietly - the calm before the storm. It’s like an explosion, like a fireworks display, like a shot at the start of a running track. And the race begins.

There are green rows - and fireworks light up scarlet.

You spin around like a squirrel, forget your name, and remember a thousand things. You collect, transport, trade and collect again. And there is also watering, fertilizing, fertilizing, rooting - there is a lot of things that need to be done, and that have been done. And there are also loved ones who need it. And then there is you - but you don’t remember yourself from fatigue, from joy and from fear that something will not work out. Yes, there was fear - in addition to the awakened responsibility for my life and loved ones. And hope.

In fact, there weren't many strawberries. But this also seemed like a miracle to me. The “miracle” was sold on the local market. For the collection we had to hire three or four people. Yes, I had to look for helpers - I couldn’t grasp the immensity. Fortunately, there were people willing to help and earn extra money. Lack of transport is a huge minus. I consoled myself with the fact that renting was more profitable than owning a rarity. A gas-powered car with a driver to help with loading was the best option. Vasily Mikhailovich, Sasha and others - so we worked with them for four seasons.

Why didn't I become Queen of the Fields

The first year was won and it provided the opportunity to expand further. Increase the planting volume to almost 30 acres, expand the assortment and finally get into the wholesale market, where there is nothing to do with a small volume. And have not entirely ridiculous incomes compared to the first year.

I did not become the Queen of the Fields, driving vans with strawberries around towns and villages. But the berries growing in the strawberry kingdom go to the Kharkov market for the next 120 km.

There was a place for it both in the shops of our town and in the markets of the region.

Looking back, I think – was it worth starting your own small business? Maybe my friends were right when they convinced me that the idea was crazy. That there is no continuation, at least on a large scale, for the Malek project. And that the fate of a heavy horse and the role of a market trader is not mine.

Don't know. On the other hand, there is no brilliant education that allows you to find yourself in some in-demand field. And there is no desire to leave the last of your health to earn money following the example of your classmates and neighbors. It’s better to leave it, building your business in agriculture brick by brick. But how reliable the building is is the question.

Alas, in the fall, for bad reasons, work stopped. The berry fields, the garden - they went into the winter almost abandoned. It happened.

And I dream of green rows stretching towards the horizon under the lid of a blue-blue sky.

And I'm waiting for spring - maybe I can revive the small kingdom again. I really hope. Very.