Light, water, heat and not a gram of pesticides – all this is hydroponics, the technology of the future. So far, she is just making her way to fame in the Astrakhan industrial greenhouse crop production. But the pioneers from the village of Nachalovo, Astrakhan region, harvest a fresh crop of lettuce leaves every day, and it instantly disperses to Astrakhan restaurants and cafes. Our correspondent visited the multi-storey Nachalovsky greenhouses.
– What is the main feature of hydroponics?
– In the process of growing lettuce, we only use light, here are our lamps, and water. All without the use of soil or soil. Exactly 36 days were allotted for everything. The atmosphere in the new greenhouse is wonderful, like a fresh breath of a bygone summer. And it’s freezing cold outside at 20 degrees. On the racks, a leaf lettuce ready to be harvested, similar to a fork of cabbage: transparent, bright green and very juicy. You can try directly from the bush. The product is sterile. “We started growing it this year. With the help of the Agrostartup grant, we purchased climate control equipment, water treatment equipment and other automation.
We work in shifts,” says entrepreneur Yulia Shikhaleeva. Products and, accordingly, profits went into account immediately after maturation. Fresh, vitamin-rich greens are taken daily. Each under the contract from 30 to 50 kilograms. Representatives of Astrakhan restaurants and cafes line up at the Nachalovsky greenhouse Shikhaleeva. Managed by 2 workers. All of them were trained under the guidance of an agronomist-consultant.
– The salad is wonderful, healthy, clean, without dirt, we have all the best varieties here. We are local and work in shifts.
The scale of planting and accounting for greenhouse sites has its own characteristics. Here the expansion of greenhouse areas goes up. The result is a sort of multi-storey skyscraper. Now the variety “Limeira” is cultivated here. Next in line is the famous vitamin arugula. So far, the Nachalovskaya greenhouse has an exclusive status in the Astrakhan region.
– This idea was born 5 years ago. I just wanted to create a greenhouse, which Astrakhan has not yet had, following the example of other Russian cities.
The experiment took place. The cost of production in the economy was kept at last year’s level.
Grant state support helped a lot. Hydroponics has proved to be extremely effective in the economics of greenhouse vegetable production.
