Home Farming in Russia and the USA

How do people grow vegetables in greenhouses?

In winter, many localities in Russia are forced to buy foreign vegetables, such as tomatoes and cucumbers in Turkey, China, Poland ... In order to provide domestic vegetables, in Kuban, many farmers conducting cultivation of necessary vegetables in winter and spring in greenhouses.

For example, today in Krasnodar region, large enterprises, farms as well as households grow vegetables in greenhouses. The state finances about 300 rubles / m2 for everyone, regardless of whether the industrial greenhouses are modern or rudimentary. The main thing is how many Kuban vegetables appear on the family's winter rice trays.

As a result, according to Kuban Department of Agriculture data, in the last 2 years, more than 30ha of modern winter greenhouses have been put into use in the region. As a result of 2012, the total area of ​​greenhouses in agricultural production facilities and farm owners accounted for 142.3ha. By the end of 2013, there will be another 18ha. In the last 3 years, more than 3,000 households have received State funding to grow greenhouses. Currently, their total greenhouse area amounts to 314 hectares.

Greenhouse experience

Mr. Mikhail Orlov, a businessman in the village of Starovelichkov, has built a greenhouse with a 1,400m2 polycarbonate roofing shingle on his land. The first year was a successful year for him, and now he intends to set up a fireplace system for his greenhouse with state funding, adding extra rooms. “I made my own greenhouse mainly from Israeli synthetic resin. Nylon roofs have the disadvantage that after 2-3 years they have to replace their roofs. Under these conditions, making greenhouses made of synthetic materials is more beneficial ”- Mr. Mikhail Orlov explained.

Mr. Mikhail Orlov continued: “I cost about 1.5 million rubles, but only receive 420,000 rubles from the State. This money I used to buy boilers and heat convection equipment to heat the greenhouse on icy days. As a result, it is now possible to grow vegetables year round. ”

The motivator and first teacher who taught Mikhail how to grow vegetables was his mother. Once, she asked him to make her a small greenhouse to grow vegetables. Mikhail pondered over and over, eventually because he had an area, he built a large greenhouse, he hired 60 dump trucks, drilled a well to get water; installation of irrigation systems. Then tried growing cucumbers and succeeded. Consumption, according to Mikhail, is not difficult because he can sell vegetables at Kalininsk village market through a shopping shop.

“Currently the main thing is to install a heater and will no longer be dependent on the erratic weather. From growing vegetables on the ground, I want to switch to non-soil farming to make better use of the available area. In addition, in winter, when it is icy, it is necessary to heat the soil and change the soil every 2 years or plow deeply ”- Mikhail shared.

Growing greenhouses is not the only type of business for Mikhail Orlov; He also hires 203ha ponds to raise fish. “In the past, this area of ​​the pond belonged to a farm. When I was young, I used to come and fish. Later it was abandoned, and the fish were no more. So when I rented and stocked fish here, people were very excited. Indeed, recently, due to lack of water, the pond dried up, and raising fish here was very difficult ”- Mikhail Orlov explained.

Italian strawberries

Mr. Roman Lapaev also has a greenhouse made of polycarbonate roofing with the same area. Here he grows strawberries. The seedling he brought back from Italy.

In 1998, Roman and his wife went abroad to find work. He has worked in Spain, Portugal, and France: Growing grapes, installing gas and water pipes, driving cars. For the past 5 years, he has worked at a large fruit and vegetable supply factory in Italy. From there Roman brought 3 types of strawberry seedlings back to the country. “My son was born there, studying for a year in an Italian high school. We live in the city of Turin, where the 2006 Olympic Games took place. I traveled all over Italy, "Roman said. The life on that side was fine, but still homesick anyway. Every year the mind will return. And finally I returned to Russia.

Roman did not immediately begin farming. First he was a driver. He then tried growing Italian strawberries in his garden. “This is my first experimental plot of land - he pointed to a vat of vegetables in his greenhouse - My old house is here, I moved to make a greenhouse, dumped 100 dirt cars here. . I made my own greenhouse, hiring polycarbonate roofers only. I also plant my own nursery on peat bought in Novotitarovsk village. Last year, I planted 80,000 seedlings for sale. ”

Growing strawberries all year round

The strawberry technician is the representative of a Spanish company working in Russia. Before making the greenhouse, Roman rented 2 hectares of land and the first crop he planted himself. Each hectare harvests nearly 25 tons. Currently, he is trying to plant strawberries using non-soil techniques. The money granted by the State, Roman Lapaev, is spent on installing greenhouses, buying boilers and ventilation fans.

“After I master the strawberry cultivation in the greenhouse, I will expand production. I would find a delivery company that built me ​​a "complete" greenhouse, Roman Lapaev said. The main thing is that I see my strawberries popular and profitable. That means I made the right choice. "

Mikhail Orlov and Roman Lapaev draw conclusions on different ways. One on the shoulder is the business experience and support of a relative, the other has over 13 years of working abroad. They all built greenhouses to grow vegetables and had successes. Believe they know the next steps. Then other people follow in their footsteps, which means that on their winter platter there will be Kuban vegetables.

Indoor farming in New York (USA)

Inside a large parking lot in the middle of New York City (USA), which belongs to a residential area in Brooklyn that famous rapper Jay-Z spent his childhood, no one could imagine there was a nursery there. a breakthrough direction in agricultural production.

Ten containers of the largest size were lined in a corner of the yard. An advanced temperature and air control system is installed in each box, where coriander trees are grown for high economic value and sold to local supermarkets by bicycle.

It is an urban agriculture model that is favored by the owner. It is part of Square Roots' rapidly expanding system of America, bringing together technology businesses to share the idea of ​​vertical farming.

The best quality basil in the world is obviously recognized as grown in Genoa (Italy). But here, Square Roots also has an equally fragrant basil, thanks to the technology system that creates daylight, humidity, CO2 level, standard hydroponic and nutrient-rich irrigation water.

"Instead of waiting for cargo to move between the two ends of the globe, we" transport "data from Genoa to create the environment and similar products here," said Tobias Peggs, co-founder of Square Roots.

A smart agricultural expert, Peggs and Kimball Musk met about a new idea two years ago. Backed by the largest distributor of Gordon Food Service in the United States, they poured money to set up container farms at 200 Gordon's warehouses nationwide and set a common set of criteria: Planting on site, near stalls, fresh, sources. year-round, no chemical medicine, no weather.

"In-house farming can answer many issues of traditional agriculture, from the origin of seeds and products, safety, sustainability to nutrition," Peggs said.

Jeffrey Landau, director of agricultural consultancy Agritecture, estimates that agricultural models like Square Roots will generate $ 6.4 billion in 2023 compared to $ 403 million recorded in 2013. Half of revenues That is in America. In 2016, revenue reached about 1.5 billion USD and in 2020 is forecast to increase to 2 billion USD.

Despite the high production costs and complex technological requirements, the potential of this agricultural production direction remains promising. This is reflected in the ability to mobilize capital from investors. AeroFarms - a producer of cabbage and green leafy plants, has just raised $ 100 million from Ingka Corporation.

Bowery Farming raised $ 95 million from Google and Uber in 2018 to raise the total capital to $ 122.5 million. Plenty has pledges from Softbank banker and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt for the vertical garden network project in China. In the UK, robotics and food technology firm Ocado has begun to get involved.

Planting trees by floors requires high investment and technology, especially with lighting and irrigation systems. Peggs chose to use the container because of its flexibility.

 Tobias Peggs in his container growing vegetables:

"We calculated that it took US $ 500,000 to open an coriander farm in the city and it would take only two months for the product," Peggs said. The technology allows him to simply press the "hung cinnamon" button, or "mint smell", or "aromatic tarragon" ... as the system will activate the mode to promote the seed of each of the respective germination types and Grows in ideal conditions.

Bowery Farming goes in the same direction but the approach is different. A 5-year-old enterprise operates a farm scale production model. Plants were grown in piles of piles stacked on top of the ceiling. From sowing to producing, all stages are controlled by Bowery own software.

“Each tree will collect up to millions of data points, based on which our artificial intelligence software will analyze to give the best nutritional solution for the tree to grow for the highest yield, quality best quality, ”said Irving Fain - CEO of Bowery Farming.

Bowery employees are responsible for monitoring daily parameters via computers or iPads and making useful adjustments. "Our operating system interacts like a human nervous system," Fain said confidently. According to Fain, robots and smart devices decide the success of Bowery and "365 days of the year no farm stops operating to ensure 100% success".

There are many other home gardening options in the US that you may not know about - Backyard Miracle Farm: https://diyhome-garden.blogspot.com/p/backyard-miracle-farm.html - "The Holy Grail Of Self Sufficiency"