Did you know that grapes, raspberries, cherries, lemons and other fruits can be served a couple of months earlier, provided that you planted them under the film.
Moving away from the open ground
That’s the news! It turns out that even fruits can be grown in greenhouses. For me, I admit, this is a novelty. No, of course, I have heard that more and more farmers are switching from ground to greenhouse production in order to avoid the consequences of powdery mildew and poisonous rains. But to grow fruit under a film… I am looking with interest at the vineyard of my familiar farmers from the village of Natukhaevskaya – Olga and Vladimir Kovrigin.
– At first we also grew tomatoes in greenhouses, but one day an agronomist friend who has been engaged in viticulture for many years said that our greenhouses are ideal for this crop. Indeed, my husband immediately erected large–scale structures – 3.7–4.2 meters high, 6 meters wide,” Olga says.
But such high greenhouses were built, as it turns out, not in order to break a garden in them, but with a special purpose – so that warm air rises to the ceiling and the plants were not so hot in late spring and summer, so that they do not “burn”.
And three years ago, the family ventured into an experiment – on the advice of a friend, they planted grapes in a greenhouse. And last year we already received the first harvest.
– Do you remember how difficult last year was for the winegrowers? Olga Kovrigina asks. – The berry was all bruised and sick from frequent downpours. Many producers could not harvest at all, because there was nothing to harvest. And we did everything perfectly! Because the grapes were hidden from the weather troubles under the film. Already at the beginning of August, there was kishmish on our table. Whereas in the open air this variety ripens only in September.
You can forget about diseases
In the Kovrigin greenhouses at this time, in mid-April, the grapes of the Rochefort variety are blooming, while all the other villagers have not even released their buds yet. The owners of LPH made a bet on table grapes, planting several of the most popular varieties of kishmish – “radiant”, “century”, “attica”.
– The greenhouse has another advantage – the grapes do not get sick in it, which means that they do not need to be processed so often, unlike bushes planted in the open air. For example, this year we have treated our vineyard with copper sulfate only once. And that’s it!
You may ask, why does this family need early grapes? The answer is simple: Kovrigins live by subsistence farming. They produce absolutely everything for the table in their garden. Moreover, the owners of private households feed not only themselves, their products are bought by acquaintances and friends. This is not so much a business as a desire to eat products grown with your own hands, on clean land. In addition, early grapes give the villagers a slight advantage in the market – the opportunity to earn a little more. Not in order to become richer: the farmer is forced to invest a lot of money in production. And now the Kovrigins are building another greenhouse for raspberries.
Raspberries were blown away by the wind
– Last year, our raspberries, which grew in the open air, were blown away by the wind. Now we have decided to build a greenhouse for her. For those who preferred greenhouse production to ground production, raspberries are already gaining color in April, and in May it will be possible to pick berries. Under the film, raspberries are less sick, they are not spoiled by pests, they do not need to be processed. And the berry is more tender in the greenhouse,” Olga lists the advantages of this method of cultivation.
It turns out that dwarf pears and early cherries can be cultivated in greenhouses. Friends of the Kovrigins grow lemons in greenhouses. The Kovrigins have a total of five acres of land under the film today.
Does the state help?
Of course, I asked if the owners of the acres use state support programs. Yes, the villagers are compensated for part of the costs of building greenhouses. The money is small for our times, considering that the metal has doubled in price. But agricultural producers are also glad of this help.
Here is what the head of the Department of Agriculture of the city administration Nikolay Plahotin told about the forms of assistance to the owners of private farms and farmers:
– Novorossiysk residents can count on two types of assistance – from the regional budget and from the city treasury. The region will support subsidies for the reimbursement of part of the costs that went to the purchase of agricultural animals, the construction of greenhouses for growing vegetables, for the purchase of drip irrigation systems, for the purchase of young rabbits, geese, chickens. And the city will support private subsidiary farms and entrepreneurs who will build greenhouses for growing berries, grapes and vegetables, will return part of the funds spent on the purchase of chickens, quails, ducks and turkeys, for the purchase of feed.
By the way, Nikolai Gennadievich said that the law on state support is being amended: financial assistance is planned from the regional treasury and producers who are going to grow berry crops in greenhouses. So Kovrigins hit the spot and will be able to qualify for subsidies.
