Strawberry growing in bags. Great prospects for small business

Strawberry is a wonderful plant from the genus Strawberry of the Pink family. Its chemical composition includes many acids (quinine, apple, citric, slightly amber and glycolic, etc.), about 6-8% of sugar, vitamin C, pectins, flavonoids. It is low-calorie, tasty and extraordinarily aromatic.

In order for strawberries to grow in the open, high temperatures and plenty of sunshine are needed (15-16 hours is optimal), so harvesting in Russian latitudes with this method of cultivation is possible only in the summer months. In contrast, for example, from Spain, where thanks to a suitable climate, the crops from this plant are obtained from February to June.

However, there are technologies for year-round cultivation of strawberries, which were invented in a country with limited land resources - Holland. This, so-called, growing strawberries in bags. To implement it, take large plastic bags, fill them with soil of a certain composition. As a substratum for future plantings, coconut fiber, mineral wool, peat, perlite or a mixture of soil, manure and sand (1: 1: 3) is taken, with the first four options being preferred over the latter, and the optimum being perlite. Its only drawback is high cost.

On a stuffed bag, make a cross-shaped incision in a staggered way through 0.3 meters or in two lines with a distance between rows of 0.4-0.5 meters. In them, plants are planted, and the bag itself is placed on the rack.

To grow strawberries in bags was successful for planting it is necessary to take care of properly. First, the correct temperature regime (not lower than 18 and not more than 25 C) and humidity of about 75% (is supported by spraying, except for the flowering period) is necessary. Secondly, it is necessary to ensure the planting with a large amount of light (2-3 gas-discharge lamps with a capacity of 40-50 W for about 20 square meters of area), which allows growing strawberries in winter, autumn, spring and summer.

In the absence of natural pollinators of insect plants, pollinating activities are organized with a brush for drawing, a fan that promotes the transfer of pollen or, if industrial cultivation of strawberries is carried out in large greenhouses, they can be introduced with bees (in season).

Growing strawberries in bags provides for the organization of drip irrigation, when from a large container, located at a height through a system of tubes, water flows to each plant. To ensure that plants do not rot (which can happen in bags at high temperatures), the irrigation system must be arranged so that no more than 10-12% of water remains in the bags, the rest of the water must be removed and reused.

When strawberries are produced according to Dutch technology on an industrial scale, the entire cycle of irrigation, lighting, ventilation is organized with the help of automation, so each plant receives the necessary dose of light, the optimum temperature and a certain standard of nutrients that come through the irrigation system. Such outgrowth of a strawberry allows to receive the first fruits somewhere in 35-37 days after planting of a plant.

Note that the cultivation of strawberries in bags requires the maximum effort from plants, therefore it is necessary to update the planting more than once every 3 years, as it is done for open ground, but annually. "Spent" plants can be used to obtain seedlings, which can then be sold along with berries. It is believed that ten kilograms of strawberries a year for an adult is enough to "stock" almost all vitamins and minerals. And thirty plants that bear fruit all year round in sacks can give such a standard for a family of four.