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

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

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

Growing strawberries in open ground

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

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

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

The disadvantages of open ground are obvious:

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

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

Video about a successful farm growing strawberries in open ground:

Hydroponic strawberries

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

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

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

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

Trukars - growing strawberries vertically

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

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

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

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

Step-by-step opening plan

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

How much can you earn

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

How much money do you need to start a business?

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

Which equipment to choose

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

At first glance, it seems that everyone loves strawberries and organizing such a business is a great idea. And this is true, because what can you build a profitable business on if not food. But, before doing any business, you need to find out all its features - pros, cons and known problems (as well as, of course, ways to solve them).

Perhaps you should start your journey at home (for example, in bags using the Dutch method) - and if the room is warm, you will also receive fruits all year round. Of course, growing strawberries at home will not be a million-dollar business, but rather an additional income or hobby. But you can try different methods, varieties, and then move on to the greenhouse.

Why do you need a strawberry business?

Usually the strawberry picking season is in early summer - competition is strong and it is difficult to enter the market. During the rest of the year, if you find garden strawberries anywhere, they cost fabulous money.

So why not try to harness your entrepreneurial flair and start growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round? This is such a high profitability! But don't think it will be easy! Strawberries are a proud berry, and they need a lot of attention. And for growing all year round, you will need to create special conditions - but everything is possible if you pay attention to the issue (and not just read forums, blogs, social networks and watch videos about business ideas and motivation on the Internet).

Learn from the advice there, but choose only useful information. But information without practice is nothing!

Advantages and disadvantages of growing in a greenhouse

If you grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round, you can get the following competitive advantages:

• year-round fruitfulness of strawberries;
• high demand during off-season;
• a large number of wholesale buyers (remember winter and supermarkets?);
• When grown in open ground, the likelihood of the crop rotting/shrinking/deteriorating is higher than in a hydroponic greenhouse.
• extremely high profitability – payback in one season.

However, there are also difficulties and disadvantages:

• the need for artificial pollination of strawberries;
• 7-8 times more investment compared to growing in open ground not all year round.
• “broiler” increase in daylight hours is a big expense.
• strawberries will be slightly different from those grown in the village.

Your experience in working with soil in general and berries in particular is also very important. If your experience is minimal, but you still want to do everything yourself, it’s better to look for information, watch a video on YouTube, look through our resource or any other forum - collect information. You shouldn't step on the old rusty rake of other people's mistakes, right?

Primary costs

Buying seedlings

Strawberries are plants that reproduce by “whiskers” - healthy, beautiful and fertile plants from “whiskers” of the 1st and 2nd orders are suitable for your seedlings. When choosing, you should pay attention to the development and tortuosity of the root system of the sprout. An important point is the choice of the variety(s) you intend to grow. The best varieties are Glima, Cambridge, Elsanta, Volya, Kama, Red Capulet, Vigee or anything else.

Carefully study the information about these (or others that you have chosen) varieties, read forums, blogs, ask friends who grow strawberries in their country house or village. It may even be worth doing a little market research - buying different varieties of strawberries and asking different people you know which ones they like best - this way you will get the best and adequate ratios of one variety to another for your greenhouse.

Greenhouse construction

If you are going to grow strawberries in a greenhouse all year round, the kind you have probably seen many times in the countryside - it has a frame covered with plastic film - this is one of the cheapest options. Such greenhouses are scattered in abundance throughout the land and are used not only for strawberries, but also for many other plants. However, remember that the film is a poor thermal insulator - if it freezes, the crop may suffer.

There is also an option to make a glass greenhouse - this option is more expensive, but it can be heated.

There are also more modern greenhouses made from polycarbonate materials - the most expensive of greenhouses, but they last longer, are more reliable and have many other comparative advantages.

When starting a business, you don’t have to take into account the costs of workers - you can work independently, but carefully evaluate your own free time and qualifications.

Dutch growing method

It will help you save on growing strawberries during the off-season, i.e. in winter. The Dutch method can be applied even at home, and it will also generate significant income. This is a way to grow strawberries “in bags”. Yes, yes, don’t laugh, it’s true - strawberries are grown “in bags” - in this situation, the bag acts as a mini-greenhouse and, as experience shows, this is an effective method.

You will need large bags that are filled with perlite and peat moss. Make holes in them in a checkerboard pattern - like a checkered sheet, with a diameter of 70-80 mm. Also, the bags must have an irrigation system.

To better understand the system, you should watch a video on the Internet describing Dutch greenhouses and read a place for delayed communication on the Internet - the forum. There are a lot of videos on the Internet about growing strawberries and wild strawberries in hydroponics - also a worthy option, much cheaper compared to growing in open ground.

However, not every variety of strawberry can be grown in hydroponics - find out the characteristics of the chosen variety.

Strawberry care

At first, your seedlings can be kept almost at home, but not on an open balcony, of course. Keep the seedlings in peat soil (available at garden stores). If you take soil from the garden or in the nearest village, you should fertilize it additionally - watch for the presence of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Your young seedlings need to be watered with clean warm water right to the roots, while avoiding drops of water getting on the leaves and berries. It may be worth looking towards drip irrigation. Think about the temperature in your greenhouse, as it is cold outside for strawberries. It is worth maintaining the temperature around 19 degrees.

Don't forget about lighting, pollination and regular fertilizer additions.

Product marketing problems

In order for your business to generate maximum income, you need to apply the best practices from the network (video) and do not hesitate to ask advice from experts - after all, only the wise learn from the mistakes of others, without making their own - do not be afraid to go to the forum and ask someone who has already grew strawberries at home, whether in bags, in hydroponics, or just at your grandmother’s in the village - you will not lose anything, but you can save money (sometimes significant) on the mistakes of others - which will only increase the profitability of your business.

So, if we talk about sales, then people running blogs and forums on the strawberry business advise following three different paths:

• Winter - sales through large stores.
• Summer - sale at the market (hire a seller).
• All year round - sale of berries to processors (strawberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, etc. - their interest is usually wide and constant).

The best sellers and businessmen will tell you that business security lies in diversification - so try to expand the circle of your clients so as not to lose income due to a broken contract or any other force majeure circumstances. Remember that your profit is in growing strawberries all year round, continuously, because your income in summer will be less than in winter, this is normal. Competition is your engine in winter, but also your brake in summer - after all, strawberries are grown in every village (sometimes even in a greenhouse, but quite rarely).

Profitability + Video

Profitability is a general economic term that characterizes the relationship between profit and cost (production costs) of products. The essence of the profitability of growing strawberries in a greenhouse (in hydroponics, soil or “bags” - it doesn’t matter) is to work all year round.

If we take into account all prices, including the purchase of seedlings in the nearest village, where the best (or almost the best) prices, rent, labor costs, taxes, fertilizers and maintenance - the average cost per 1 kg was 150 cents in 2012 (now about twice as much). If you grow in hydroponics, the costs are lower than if you grow in open ground. Accordingly, if you grow in bags using the Dutch method, the costs are lower than in hydroponics and open soil.

Take into account all costs when calculating profitability, be sure to take into account the error of calculations - what if you didn’t take something into account, what if everything goes a little differently.

Strawberries are a tasty and healthy berry that is eaten fresh and actively used in cooking. Its only drawback is seasonality. You can treat yourself to fragrant juicy strawberries only a couple of months a year. Supermarkets sell imported berries, but they cannot be compared with the exquisite summer delicacy from your own summer cottage. Growing delicious, fragrant strawberries can become a very promising business that brings a stable income.

Growing strawberries has many benefits:

• the berry has excellent taste;
• strawberries are undemanding to care and have high yields;
• the berries can be sold fresh and used for homemade preparations and semi-finished products;
• different cultivation options are possible;
• the business does not require large investments and quickly generates income.

You can grow strawberries in different ways. Many hobbyists start with mini-plantations located in their own apartment. A seasonal business can be organized by growing berries in open ground, on a country plot or on a specially organized farm.

A larger harvest will be provided by our own greenhouses, which are often combined with open plantations. Each method has its pros and cons; entrepreneurs planning to grow strawberries on an industrial scale should weigh the pros and cons in advance.

You can find out what kind of business you can open with minimal investment and get a guaranteed profit

The most popular ways to grow strawberries

How to grow strawberries all year round at home - technology and secrets.

How to grow strawberries all year round at home?

In a city apartment, you can organize a miniature plantation by installing shelving on an insulated loggia. This option could be An excellent training ground for the budding entrepreneur.

The productivity of a mini-greenhouse is quite comparable to industrial options; the only limitation can be its small area. You can plant strawberry bushes in pots or plastic bags. Early ripening remontant varieties that bear fruit several times a year are suitable for cultivation.

For successful fruiting you need good lighting, properly organized watering and fertilizing. It is recommended to alternate complex and organic fertilizers. At home, you can grow not only adult fruit-bearing bushes, but also replacement seedlings. It is cheaper to grow your own young bushes from seeds than to buy them from greenhouse owners.

The productivity of a home greenhouse is quite high. With the right varieties, it will be up to 4 kg of berries per 1 sq. m. m.

Promising and cost-effective and interesting proposals in the article at the link.

How to grow strawberries in open ground: step-by-step instructions

To grow strawberries in an open way, you can use a summer cottage or rent land from the countryside. Strawberries ripened outdoors have a particularly vibrant taste and aroma.

In addition, you can save on the construction of greenhouses, lighting and heating. One of the disadvantages of this method is the seasonality of the business. In open ground, strawberries will bear fruit only 2 months a year.

For open plantations, classic and remontant varieties of domestic and foreign selection are suitable: Korona, Tribute, Pineapple, Queen Elizabeth, Sakhalinskaya, etc. It is worth choosing varieties suitable for dense planting, this can significantly increase the profitability of the plantation.

You can read how to grow sturgeon yourself at home and what you will need for this

The production process is simple. The land is plowed up and divided into high ridges, the space between them is covered with film. Fertilizers are applied to the soil.

Strawberries can be grown in one place for no more than 2 years, after which the plantation will have to be moved and other crops planted on the vacated lands.

Strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business: where to start?

Those who have decided to get seriously involved in the strawberry business should organize greenhouses that significantly extend the strawberry fruiting season. In greenhouses, berries can be obtained until October, and they are also ideal for growing seedlings.

They can be combined with open plantations, this will make it possible to increase production per season without spending extra money on additional greenhouses.

Strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business require significant investment. The premises are built from a metal frame or other suitable materials, and welded shelving is placed along the walls.

Strawberries can be grown in the ground, but hanging Dutch technologies will help save space and increase profit per square meter.

In this case, pots or bags are filled with a light soil mixture with a large amount of sand and peat, and a strawberry bush is planted in each. Hanging technologies will protect plants from pests, gray rot and other diseases characteristic of this crop.

After the construction of greenhouses, it is necessary to equip them with lighting, organize an irrigation and ventilation system. Self-pollinating remontant varieties are suitable for growing in a greenhouse; classic varieties can be grown in open ground. For successful growth, nitrogen fertilizers are added to the soil, which can be alternated with organic matter.

By indicating the production of agricultural products as your main activity, you will receive significant tax benefits and the opportunity to obtain very profitable loans necessary for business development.

Business plan for growing strawberries with calculations

As an example, consider the following step-by-step strawberry growing business plan for a small strawberry greenhouse. The size of the future plantation is 120 square meters. m. For its equipment you will need:

• metal profile;
• film for greenhouses;
• tubes and containers for installing a drip irrigation system;
• incandescent lamps;
• containers for planting plants;
• planting material.

Equipment for a greenhouse will cost 50,000 – 60,000 rubles. It is worth considering that the useful area occupied by the racks will be about 80 square meters. m.

Monthly maintenance of the greenhouse (watering, heating, lighting, fertilizers) – 15,000 – 17,000 rubles. One person can handle the work on the plantation quite well. Most often, the maintenance of one small greenhouse is carried out by the business owner.

Productivity per 1 sq. m – 4.5 kg of berries per month. From 80 sq. m of usable area per month you can get 360 kg of berries. At an average price of 600 rubles per kilogram, the profit will be 216,000 rubles per month.

The greenhouse will fully pay for itself in the third month of operation and will achieve a stable profit.

How to sell strawberry products?

The main problem of the strawberry business is the sale of finished products. Grown strawberries need to be sold as soon as possible; the delicate berry quickly loses its attractive appearance. Most often, novice entrepreneurs sell their crops at the market. If you have all the necessary certificates, you will be able to rent a place or get your own permanent counter.

Another option is to hand over products for sale to already working sellers. The advantage will be saving time, the disadvantage is the need to share profits with the seller. In addition, when put up for sale, unsold products will return to you, and it will no longer be possible to sell them.

It is possible to sell berries through stationary stores. They are ready to consume large volumes of products, but the low purchase price greatly reduces the profitability of the enterprise.

A much more profitable project is selling the harvest to restaurateurs. By concluding or, you will provide yourself with permanent sales channels. Correct sorting of products is very important.

Catering needs berries of different varieties, from small and fragrant, used for mousses, creams and sauces, to large and dense, suitable for decorating desserts and garnishing. Do not limit yourself to restaurants in your locality; if there is good demand, you can organize delivery of products to neighboring cities.

A promising option is to organize the processing of our own products. You can freeze the berries and sell them all year round under your own brand, make jams, jellies, marmalades, and marshmallows.

Finished products can be delivered to stores, sold on the market or at specialized fairs. Many entrepreneurs sell homemade products through social networks and their own online stores.

You can find out how to open an online store from scratch for free and what documents are required for this

As an additional business, you can sell seedlings of your own production. Strawberries are one of the most popular and favorite berries. Grown bushes of promising varieties are in constant demand among summer residents and gardeners.

Growing strawberries as a business is best started with a small greenhouse or open beds. After making sure that investments and expenses are in line with the business plan, you can think about expansion and processing production. At this stage, you will need hired personnel who will not burden the enterprise’s budget, but will contribute to its prosperity and profitability.

You can get more information on how to grow strawberries in various ways for sale in the following video instructions:

The agricultural production business has found a second wind due to the introduction of economic sanctions against our country. Domestic fruits and vegetables began to appear more and more often on the shelves of large retail chains, and the profits of private farms increased significantly. The well-known saying “strike while the iron is hot” perfectly reflects the situation that has now developed in the Russian agricultural market. Of course, in the segment of growing potatoes and other popular crops, competition goes beyond all reasonable limits. But the production of ripe and juicy strawberries has not yet been mastered by entrepreneurs. We present to your attention a business plan for growing strawberries with calculations, which is best implemented in a small Russian city.

To organize your own subsidiary farm for growing this berry crop, you will not need astronomical financial investments - 450 thousand rubles will be enough. A novice entrepreneur can easily solve the issue of initial investments by taking a loan from a bank or using his own savings.

Concept Summary

Beginning businessmen in the field of agricultural production have a reasonable question: is it necessary to put this type of activity on the official “rails” at all? Answer: absolutely necessary! Otherwise, certain problems may arise with the tax service and with finding reliable distribution channels.

The example of a business plan for growing strawberries presented here requires registration of an individual entrepreneur. Choosing a tax system should also not cause much thought. The fact is that there is state support for domestic agricultural producers, and a special taxation system has even been developed for them - the Unified Agricultural Tax (USAT). The tax rate in this system is only 6% of the difference between income and expenses, which cannot but please owners of personal subsidiary plots. It is not difficult to keep books, and it is also easy to fill out tax returns. So, it is quite possible to periodically use the services of a third-party accountant, rather than hiring one on a permanent basis.

In the process of registering this business, you should select the following OKVED codes:

• 01.25 “Growing other fruit trees, shrubs and nuts.”
• 01.25.1 “Growing of other fruit and berry crops.”

In order to consistently obtain high yields of tasty and visually attractive strawberries, you need to choose the right varieties for planting. By the way, there are a great many varieties, and you should definitely consult with a professional agronomist before purchasing the first batch of planting material. Some general tips for choosing the best varieties are presented below:

• The formation of fruit ovaries in the variety should proceed without interruption.
• The shape of the berries should be as geometrically correct as possible, and the size should not be too small.
• The color of ripe strawberries should be uniform and bright, without green or white “islands”.
• Ripe berries should have a pronounced rich taste and pleasant aroma.

By the way, you can experiment with selecting the best varieties of strawberries throughout the entire period of business development. In the end, a persistent entrepreneur will find several “his” varieties that will consistently produce a high-quality harvest.

How much do you need to invest in opening?

The initial costs of organizing a personal subsidiary farm for growing strawberries are relatively small and will include the following expense items:

The main part of the initial costs is the purchase of a plot with a country house on the outskirts of a provincial town. You can, of course, rent the land, but subsequently this step will reduce the profitability of the business. Agricultural land is relatively inexpensive (especially in the provinces), and a small country house will be used exclusively to house refrigeration equipment and tools. As for PVC greenhouses, it is better to give preference to domestic manufacturers - their quality is not inferior to their foreign counterparts, and the cost is an order of magnitude lower.

Marketing plan

Growing strawberries is one of those types of businesses that do not require a deep marketing plan. Often, it’s enough just to spend a few weeks searching for distribution channels in the region - traveling, talking with the owners of retail chains and, if possible, concluding appropriate agreements with them. As for business advertising methods, most known types of promotion will not be suitable or will be ineffective. The usefulness of advertising in the media and social networks will be close to zero, and creating your own website is more of a luxury than a necessity. So it’s better to pay close attention to one-on-one communication with potential buyers - the benefits will be much greater than from advertising modules in the printed press.

The planned average volume of strawberries that can be collected monthly from a plantation with a total area of ​​150 square meters is 300 kilograms. That is, one square meter of land occupied by strawberry bushes will produce an average of up to 2 kg of harvest per month. With an average wholesale cost of a kilogram of these berries of 500 rubles, the annual income from a personal subsidiary plot of this type will be about 1.8 million rubles.

Production plan

To create a plantation for growing strawberries from 6 standard “acres” of land, you will need to allocate 150 square meters. meters. Of these, 50 “squares” will be occupied by greenhouses, and on the remaining area, berries will be grown in open ground. The premises of the country house need to be “given away” for refrigeration chambers, and a sleeping place for the watchman should be organized there. Growing strawberries in a greenhouse requires the installation of soil heating and automatic watering systems. It would also be a good idea to install inexpensive reclamation systems among open ground plantings.

To maintain strawberry plantings you will not need a large number of workers. However, you should take care in advance to protect the site from hunters to profit from sweet berries:

№	Job title	Number of people	Salary, rub.	Monthly payment fund, rub.	Payment per year, rub.
1	Watchman	1	10 000	10 000	120 000
2	Helper worker	2	15 000	30 000	360 000
TOTAL				40 000	480 000

Calculations of income and expenses

This part of the business plan is devoted to calculating indicators of current expenses and income from the work of a personal subsidiary farm for growing strawberries. In the first table you can see the items of monthly household expenses:

The profitability of a personal subsidiary plot for growing strawberries is calculated in the following table:

Growing strawberries in provincial regions will bring a good profit of about 1 million rubles per year, if you strictly follow the appropriate plantation cultivation technologies. This is partly a seasonal business, although berries can be grown in greenhouses all year round. However, in the summer it means growing strawberries in open ground, so in winter the production volume will still be lower. Average monthly figures for “dirty” income will be around 80,000 thousand rubles, and business profitability will be 55%, which is an excellent indicator for any type of business activity. Investments in organizing a personal subsidiary farm for growing strawberries will pay off in just 3-4 “seasonal” months.

Possible risks

If we talk about risks that can harm the development of a strawberry growing business, many of them stem from typical mistakes of inexperienced farmers. However, there are other risks that pose a certain danger. Namely:

• Crop failures due to improper cultivation, pest infestation or unfavorable weather conditions.
• Violation of storage conditions for ripe berries, and, as a result, loss of large quantities of goods.
• Negative state policy in the field of supporting private agricultural producers.
• Increasing level of competition in this area of ​​agricultural production and loss of sales channels.

As they say: you learn from mistakes, but it is best to learn from the mistakes of others. A reasonable entrepreneur will not rely entirely on his own strengths and will definitely consult with experienced specialists in the field of agriculture more than once in order to reach a decent level of production in the shortest possible time and receive a decent profit from the strawberry growing business.

Everyone talks about super-profits, about the strawberry business - if you listen, only the lazy don’t do it, and missed opportunities. They famously calculate the wild profitability and blatant profit of 144% from 1 hundred square meters. But do you know the ins and outs of beautiful numbers, do you have an idea of ​​all the expense items? Pseudo business plans won’t tell you about them. You can guess about unexpected expenses - it’s easy to go into the minus, easier than to get out of them - much easier than I imagined.

Do you believe in the possibility of making money so easily and simply from a peasant farmstead, but at the same time you have a hard time guessing where strawberry mustaches grow? Then I will try to dissuade you, save your money, energy and time. And also nerves - you will need them if you decide to seriously start growing strawberries for sale.

Strawberry business: why don’t the numbers work?

Why don’t business plans for making money on strawberries work in most cases? And because the figures given are average-ceiling. Many expense items are not taken into account - hence the profitability 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. This means that from our 10 acres we will get about 2000 kg with 3000-3500 in an average year on average varieties and up to 450-500 on the most productive ones - the calculations are correct for early, for remontant - completely different figures.

First, let’s estimate the scale of strawberry production: without them, all calculations of profitability are water, suitable only for dropout students of agricultural universities. It’s simple: with a larger gross harvest, the cost per unit 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, and 1.5 times cheaper than a small-scale producer who buys a couple of hundred. The same situation is with the wholesale of mineral fertilizers, organic matter 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 area being treated.
• Costs of fertilizers: most agricultural enterprises do not recognize how much and what fertilizers are applied. Trade secret, you know. And the articles will contain only general recommendations for amateur gardeners. You will have to delve into the art of agrochemistry yourself, look for economical and effective options.
• Costs of transportation, transportation and storage - no one knows how far a person starting his own business will have to transport goods: where can there be exact figures for transportation costs?

Unforeseen circumstances in the form of weather conditions, the human factor - they did not find sales, product damage, etc. are not taken into account.

I'll tell you about the expense items first. I will give the figures in conventional units, cu. that is, for the respected Internet community, living in different countries and measuring goods in different countries. I will not describe industrial cultivation - by the way, the expression is not correct: industrial means mechanized collection. Manual - simply producing berries, in my case - small-scale production.

Our wild market is wild, but there is plenty of variability

There are many ideas for industrial cultivation of strawberries - growing in a greenhouse, hydroponically, in bags - we will not touch on these topics. Our grandmothers also started their business of growing Dutch strawberries on their 6 acres; the grandchildren who remained behind the 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, indoor soil provides many advantages - but we are not talking about greenhouse farming, but about growing in a private backyard, in the field, so to speak.

About varieties - if you buy seedlings from famous nurseries, you are a wealthy person, but if you buy seedlings 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 bother with the queen cell, but to make a profit from turnover by purchasing frigo seedlings. However, if there is something to buy for. And if not, we buy expensive ones in trusted nurseries, from well-known sellers, in trusted stores - and grow our own seedlings.

As for the best, they are a separate matter. The main thing is that it is suitable for its purpose - industrial, productive, transportable and tasty - there are many main things - but, alas, this is not what we are talking about.

Cost calculation: both as a joke, but seriously

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

Let’s imagine a small cozy plot of land – a plantation of 10 acres. For every hundred square meters there are on average 500 bushes, 10 x 500 = 5000 pieces.
We further calculate: the price of planting material, each ZKS strawberry bush, is up to 0.2-0.5 USD. depending on the variety, class and type of seedlings - I take frigo class A, A+, A++ - it costs more if we take from 500 pieces. Total – 2500 USD (according to today’s exchange rate CU to UAH – 1:25).

If we want frigo, we will have frigo. And even better, the seedlings are clean, free from all kinds of bacteria, viral and fungal spores, have not seen pests, from nurseries - A class, the highest. This one 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, is rising, and the pocket is scared from such expenses, isn’t it - after all, we were promised a strawberry business with almost zero costs - were we really deceived? No, they simply kept silent about its real side - the real cost.

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

Workshop

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

Saplings are exclusively ZKS. Or transplant with a clod of earth. The later we plant, the more soil there is.
There should be no heat that kills the seedlings - this is the main thing. And watering and mulching must be organized.

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

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

But the economical option is often not the best. Organic mulch, humus + peat on top of straw, will cost more, 30-35 USD. it will work 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 you can plant. Its price - can you handle it? If not, let’s remember about straw and forget about agrofibre and film.

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

So this roll may not be enough, you know. And without it, you can’t cover it with a newspaper. Tea, not in grandma’s garden, when you can mulch the bed with straw and litter: it’ll be covered with snow and everything will overwinter. Once you have decided to seriously engage in the industrial cultivation of strawberries, please, cover them correctly - icing of the roots with subsequent attacks is expensive nowadays.

Without water - not there or the cost of watering

Drip irrigation will cost us about 200 green tugriks, depending on the amount of drip tape. There is no need to be stingy: there is root watering, water saving, fertigation, and optional fog installation - any whim for your money.

Let's feed and feed: how much does garden and field chemicals cost?

Let's draw up our business plan for growing strawberries next. The next cost item is organic matter and mineral fertilizers.
Organics - manure in our style: per 1 hectare there are up to 100-120 tons for planting, i.e. per 1 hundred square meters - up to 10 kg, per 100 - hundred, centner. How much good is there in your places - you know, then enter the number yourself. In Nashensky, for the delivery and for scattering honey with a mechanical cultivator - it cost only 50 USD. – it’s cheap, very cheap – my friends helped in a friendly way. And organic production is good, of course, but it is a costly business - mineral fertilizers are cheaper, and many times cheaper.
Mineral fertilizers - we will calculate the application in the year of planting, and the next year - in the phase before flowering, budding and ripening - we will reach another 55-60 USD. This is also expensive - industrialists, due to wholesale, get sweet berries cheaper, as evil tongues say - or maybe good ones - who knows.

Everything in the shade!

And also, due to the heat and drought, not only in the south, shading nets have become fashionable. It’s a brilliant invention, you know – the berries don’t bake, the leaves don’t burn: the strawberries stand vigorous and fresh, the berries are filled with juice and sugar.

Protect yourself!

And they haven’t yet calculated the main thing: not only we love sweets, but also pests: beetleworm and strawberry mites, etc. And also diseases - spotting, Alternaria and others like them. What to do - stock up on preventative means so as not to overpay for means of control. The pleasure of using the achievements of agrochemistry will cost 30-35 USD. for our site – not too much, not too little – just right. We will add it to fertigation systems, the newfangled way, but it’s not worth it the old fashioned way - it’s ineffective, and why would a drop sit idle.

Tired of cleaning up the economy? No - then we’ll move on externally to next year - we’ll harvest the harvest. Enjoy your profits early, gentlemen, young ladies, ladies and gentlemen: new expenses await us, and at the same time we will finally calculate the income and profitability of growing strawberries.

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

We talked about household chemicals - sorry, we talked about fertilizers and protective equipment above. We won't take it into account.
About the covering material - is there enough, is it worn out - even if it is enough for 2-3 years, but 2 rolls are needed. We’ll buy one in the year of planting to differentiate costs and minimize risks - in case we change our minds about suffering with agribusiness, the second - in the second year. We will cover with this material both in winter and spring. And on the third, when you have to arrange the sockets, you will still need it, don’t worry.
Pots for seedlings - in case you want to continue a good cause, for starting your own planting material and saving hard-earned money. 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

Are you 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 made of simple veneer - only they are more expensive than plastic. You shouldn’t skimp on capacity: the less containers we fill for the fresh market, the more intact the product, the less losses. Europeans are smart: they pack almost 100 g for supermarkets. And we are baskets and baskets, broad is the Slavic soul!
Jokes aside: the collection container should not exceed 2 kg - bring compote. Delicious, but only you need it. Or maybe it’s not even necessary - because it’s tasteless.

The container will cost at least 20-25 USD. - this is really not enough, considering the area planted with strawberries.

Stop, whoever is coming, we protect what has been grown

As you might guess, it’s not just spider bugs that can encroach on your harvest. Moreover, if your plantation is far from the estate, or even in an open field outside the city. The latter is very risky, since even in the village there will be individuals who do not hesitate to profit from other people’s goods. 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 homemade signal and harvest our harvest with enviable speed? No, I didn’t even say anything to her - a couple of kilograms didn’t make me poor, 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 dacha village, I had to involve my father as an honored electrician in the matter: he finally got it right.

And there are also video cameras - to see and intimidate potential thieves and other delights of civilization. If we are ready to include them in the budget for commercial strawberry growing, then we add them to our list of expenses.

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

Don’t think down on implementers: when the time comes, you will go yourself. Maybe…

Sales: if you grow strawberries for the fresh market, even with 10 acres you will need lightning-fast sales speed. Lightning fast means fast: a perishable product will not wait. Do you otherwise have refrigerated, stationary circulation refrigeration units? Is a refrigerated minibus good for business - both transportation and storage - are you ready to buy it in case you expand your strawberry fields?

In any case, you will have to spend money on fuel and lubricants for your own transport or someone else’s. How much is fuel now - remember and multiply by the required distances. At a minimum, you will have to spend at least 25 USD in a season. Either toss some straws, then run away to get the film, and when the shaft starts moving - oh, how you will run into it.

If not, then again, let’s remember about the fresh market and several retail outlets where everything should be in order with the documentation, the paperwork, the so-called. sanitary and epidemiological stations - we have heard about such organizations that love to check goods, and about the patents of an honest trader - individual entrepreneurs, etc. called in different states. By the way, we also need money to officially register our activities - we are law-abiding citizens, and we don’t want to risk our goods and profits.

The surest way is to hand over the good part remaining from the market deduction to the good hands of wholesalers or supermarkets (they also take it at a favorable price for themselves). And give it away quickly - otherwise the goods will be left behind. 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 is good for processing plants for lunch, and lunch is prepared in advance.

Having managed to find all the sales points, we will not leave the chance of losing at least a large share of the harvest, which, as it turns out, costs a lot of money.

About the hands of our workers, workers with you

By the way, we forgot about the main thing. The most important expense item in the harvest year is labor. you just won't have time on your own. You won’t have time and that’s it. At a minimum, your family contract should consist of 3 people who deftly operate both gardening tools and 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 is, of course, your commercial little or big secret. Just don’t forget to subtract this amount from the profit amount and add it to the cost of strawberries for sale. And, of course, don’t forget about it when calculating strawberry profitability.

Let's sum it up

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

For beginners - how much strawberries can be harvested per hundred square meters - from 220 to 250 kg in a good situation, more often - less. From our site we will count the minimum, subtracting substandard conditions, losses during transportation, etc., 200 kg.

• The cost of early strawberries on the market fluctuates 1.2-1.7 USD - depending on the region and time: in early May - more expensive, by June it becomes cheaper. Wholesale and processing are even cheaper. Let's take the average.
• According to our business plan, the cost of strawberry production is approximately as follows: 1 kg – 0.6-0.8 USD.
• Thus, we earned, dirty, so to speak, 3,700 USD. How much did you spend? Yes, about the same, count it. If in the first year we paid for all purchases - the same planting material, drip irrigation, film, fertilizers and protective equipment - then we did well. If you make money on top, you’re a ssurkhumnitsy.

How so - you ask. But what about the profitability of the strawberry business - at least 50%, they say? This is how it will be in the following years. That is why you need to start with small volumes - if there is no free capital. Do not strive to purchase everything and everyone at once - if you are not prepared for the possibility of going into the red, not making a profit or even a payback.

Thus, to summarize the above - who said that growing strawberries as a business is 100% profitable, who talked about incredible benefits and virtually no costs? And we didn’t talk about possible losses, unexpected expenses and pitfalls awaiting the strawberry plant - the further into the forest, the more wood you can break. However, it is beneficial. This is really beneficial - if you really imagine all the expense items - I described some of them in such an unusual way.