Features and efficiency of growing strawberries in bags

In recent years, the cultivation of strawberries in bags, or, as gardeners say, according to Dutch technology, has been gaining wide popularity. Since there is always a demand for this delicious berry, many organize, in this way, a truly profitable home business. Moreover, in order to grow the first crop, you only need a dense plastic bag, a special substrate that can be purchased in the store, and adherence to simple rules in care.

Bag preparation

Ideal conditions for the growth of large berries are provided not only by the observance of greenhouse conditions, but also by the correct preparation of bags for planting. For these purposes, dense, polyethylene bags are used, preferably made of white film, the thickness of which should not exceed 0.25-0.35 mm, since it allows maintaining the light regime for the plant, or, less often, industrial bags made of flour or sugar. The diameter of the container is 13-16 cm, the length is 200-215 cm.

The bags are filled with peat and perlite substrate and sealed on one side. At the same time, it is not necessary to build such a container yourself; you can purchase ready-made ones in special stores or agricultural firms. In this case, you should choose with the largest diameter. This will not affect the yield in any way, and the use of the working area will be more efficient.

You should also pay attention to the system for attaching containers to the wall or ceiling of the greenhouse. For these purposes, either hooks are fixed on the vaults of the frame, or trellises are organized, on which improvised beds are subsequently hung. If the substrate is being prepared independently, preference should be given to slightly acidic, neutral, light soils. As a rule, a mixture of sod land, small-sized sawdust and sand in equal proportions is used for filling. Organic fertilizers are necessarily added - humus and cow dung, but not more than 2.5-3.5% per container.

Mix the substrate thoroughly. The bottom of the container is filled with a small amount of expanded clay, this will provide good drainage, prevent moisture stagnation and rotting of strawberry roots. Then, on top of the drainage layer, a wet substrate with fertilizers is tightly laid and the bag is closed.

Microclimate creation

Home, living quarters are not particularly suitable for growing strawberries in bags, since the technology implies the creation of constant greenhouse conditions - maintaining the temperature regime at around 22-26 C, high air humidity and, most importantly, proper lighting. The most economical and efficient option is to place the plastic bags vertically. In this case, the natural light effect will be maximized. However, if strawberries are grown in a cramped garage, hut or shed, it is advisable to place the container with seedlings horizontally.

In order for the harvest to be all year round, and the berries are juicy, new seedlings should be planted every 1.5-2.5 months, which are thrown away after harvesting the fruits. For this, only frigo seedlings are suitable, they can be purchased in many agricultural firms, or grown independently at their summer cottage.

Air temperature and humidity

Successful ripening of berries is possible only if the temperature is constantly maintained at a level of 20-26C. Decrease and drops of more than 5-7 C are not allowed, drafts are also excluded. For temperature control, as a rule, automatic settings are used.However, you can adjust the temperature mode yourself, using a thermometer and short-term, daily airing of the room.

Air humidity should be relatively high - at least 70-75%. To do this, every day or every 2-2.5 days, depending on the number of bushes and temperature, air and the bottom of the bags are sprayed in the greenhouse. You can also maintain such humidity using a special device. It is also recommended to keep the content of carbon dioxide in the air at the level of 0.15-0.22% in the greenhouse, which helps to increase yields. This is achieved by lighting a simple candle for a long time.

Lighting and watering

Strawberries are light-loving plants. Full ripening of berries is possible only when maintaining natural light with a long day of light. That is why the main difficulty in growing strawberries in bags at home or in the garage will be to equip the proper lighting. It should be powerful, with a predominance in the red spectrum. As an artificial backlight for a greenhouse, lamps such as DNAT or metal halide are best suited. Additional lighting should work for about 10-12 hours to simulate the natural process of day and night. In a home or garage, it is better to use high power fluorescent lamps. At the same time, they should be turned on strictly according to the schedule, at the same time. In greenhouse conditions, supplementary lighting is turned on as needed. It is quite easy to determine the lack of lighting - the plant begins to stretch upwards.

Watering strawberries should be regular and always drip, while watering on the plant itself is not allowed. To organize such an irrigation system, as a rule, drip tubes are used. When growing berries on a larger scale, special equipment is used that works automatically without human intervention.

The scheme of planting strawberries in bags

Planting and leaving

4-5 vertical rows are marked along the bag, small cuts of 6-9 cm are made in a checkerboard pattern, into which the sockets will be planted, at a distance of 22-26 cm from each other. The holes are made oblong oval or diamond-shaped. If the containers are placed vertically, then the root of the seedlings is planted as deep as possible. To make the landing pits, a triangular blade or large diameter tube is used. When placing containers horizontally, the cutout is made slightly smaller, and the roots are not deeply buried.

Seedlings are planted only in well-moistened, loosened soil. During planting, it is better to keep the rosettes in a box with wet soil; the roots are not allowed to open for more than 7-10 minutes. The density of bushes per container, depending on its size, is 9-25 bushes. After that, the beds are watered. After 5-7 days, when the bushes adapt to a new place, foliar fertilization is applied, which allows you to quickly put down additional roots.

If special equipment for irrigation is not used, immediately after planting, a 2-3 liter plastic bottle with three thin tubes, usually from a dropper, is reinforced above the bag. Three power sources are recommended per bag - bottom, middle and top. Each container should receive at least 2-2.5 liters of introductory and nutritional liquid per day

Is it profitable to grow bagged strawberries?

How profitable it is to grow strawberries in bags can be roughly calculated in advance. For example, in one bag you can plant 15-25 bushes, collect up to 6-12 kg of berries with proper care. Since the bags for growing are rather narrow, no more than 12-16 cm in diameter, you can place up to 8-10 pieces per square meter, installing in two tiers. In this case, you can collect about 65-95 kg of ripe berries from one meter and, depending on the season, sell them for $ 2.5-8.5.

Thus, with a constantly active demand for strawberries throughout the year, its cultivation will always have a decent level of profitability. Planting berries in bags, at a relatively low cost, allows you to organize a fairly profitable home business.

Video "Technology of growing strawberries in bags"

The video tells how to equip the cultivation of strawberries in horizontal bags in greenhouse conditions, about the technological features of this planting method.