Growing strawberries in bags is a relatively new, original and profitable way to compactly cultivate high-value berries all year round. It is especially widespread in the southern regions, but also in central Russia it allows one to collect fairly high yields.

Growing technology

Modern, accessible to almost everyone, technology for growing garden strawberries in bags is quite simple and inexpensive. However, you can get a good harvest only if you follow the rules for cultivating this berry crop. In addition, a personal or garden plot must be equipped with everything necessary, including a greenhouse structure, plastic bags of optimal volume, nutritious soil substrate and high-quality planting material.

Currently, there are a great many varieties of garden strawberries.: annually on the market planting material New varieties are appearing - thanks to breeders who are actively developing improved and highly productive forms. However, preference should be given to those that are suitable for year-round cultivation, such as "Honey", "Marshal" And "Albion".

Advantages and disadvantages of the method

Year-round cultivation of strawberries has become popular in our country relatively recently, but now you can see all the advantages and disadvantages of this method of cultivation. Advantages of the method:

• year-round production of marketable berries;
• the ability to satisfy consumer demand for berries during the off-season;
• attracting a significant number of potential wholesale buyers throughout the year;
• high profitability, allowing you to achieve payback in a maximum of a year.

Disadvantages of the method:

• limited choice only of varieties suitable for year-round cultivation;
• the need to carry out artificial pollination of plants;
• high starting costs for structures, soil and planting material;
• need for careful care.

Any technology for growing garden strawberries all year round is based on the fact that the plants receive additional lighting - usually using fluorescent lamps. This implies higher energy costs.

Growing strawberries in plastic bags is possible in almost any room where conditions favorable for this berry crop can be created. Greenhouses are most often used for this purpose, so the cost of such structures should be added to the costs.

How to plant strawberries in a bag (video)

Features of bag preparation

Sacks made from flour, cereals or mixed feed are well suited for planting: they have the optimal combination of density and volume. The small diameter and significant height of the bags allow the seedling material to be placed in the most compact area possible.

To make bags yourself, it is recommended to take the most dense greenhouse or reinforced film: it must be cut into identical rectangles 2 m high and 80-100 cm wide. The two sides of each rectangle must be soldered or carefully sewn. The finished bags should be filled fairly tightly with a soil mixture, slightly acidic or neutral. You can use ready-made soil suitable for cultivating garden plants, but the most economical option is considered to be a soil mixture made independently from equal parts of peat and perlite, as well as a composition based on turf soil, sand, sawdust and humus soil.

Landing rules

Approximately 10 cm of medium-fraction gravel or expanded clay should be poured into prepared clean bags as drainage, and then filled to the top with disinfected or heat-treated soil substrate. After filling and compacting, it is necessary to make vertical cuts 6-8 cm long on all sides in the bags. It is better to place them in a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of 23-25 ​​cm from each other.

You need to very carefully, in compliance with all standard requirements, plant strawberry bushes in the holes - without excessive deepening, and place two or three plants in the upper, open part of the planting container. Containers can be placed both on the floor and on racks or special shelves. The main condition for growing is sufficient lighting of all bags.

After planting in bags, garden strawberries require proper care, which will determine the quantity and quality of the harvest, especially if you plan to produce highly marketable berries all year round.

In the autumn-winter period, it is very important to monitor the microclimatic conditions in the room where strawberries are grown. Sharp fluctuations in temperature and reduction in illumination of plants should not be allowed.

In bags it is carried out using Dutch technology, in vertical and horizontal arrangement of unusual beds. For such methods of planting strawberries, open ground, greenhouses, and home conditions using garages and utility rooms are suitable.

What is the advantage of the method?

Growing strawberries in bags in Lately It is not by chance that it became widespread. This method has several advantages:

• During the year, the berry bears fruit up to five times or more.
• Strawberry bushes are much less likely to be exposed to various diseases and pest damage.
• Growing strawberries in bags takes up little space, regardless of where they grow. But this is especially true for greenhouses, where every square meter of area is painted down to the centimeter.
• With this method of growing strawberries, there are no weeds.
• Growing strawberries in bags all year round is very profitable, as fresh berries provide seven vitamins. With a good harvest, there is always a surplus that can be sold.
• A business built on growing berries in this way always brings profit.

Planting bags

To grow berries, you need to stock up on bags. You can buy them or make them yourself. To do this, you will need polyethylene reinforced fabric. Usually the diameter of the bags is 20 cm, the length is no more than two meters. A long side seam and one short seam, which will be the bottom, are soldered together. The bags are filled with soil and tied at the top with rope. Cross-shaped holes up to 10 cm are made across their entire area, the distance between them should be at least 20 cm. Then drain holes are made through which excess water will drain. Prepared bags are a kind of beds for plants. They are placed in a designated area vertically or horizontally.

Priming

How successful growing strawberries in bags will be depends largely on the soil. In order for crop seedlings to grow and develop fully, the soil mixture must be of high quality. Strawberries prefer neutral or slightly acidic soil. You can fill bags with purchased soil, or you can prepare it yourself. To do this, you will need garden soil, to which you need to add humus, sand and sawdust in equal quantities. Before filling the bags, the ground should be treated (that is, spilled well) with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to destroy pathogenic microbes and insects.

Selection of seedlings

The survival of plants in a new place and their further development and fruiting depend on the planting material. Therefore, you should consider some recommendations:

• You should not choose tall bushes, otherwise they will shade other plants.
• It is better to buy seedlings of different varieties of strawberries, which will ripen at different periods. This will significantly extend fruiting time.
• If bagged strawberries are grown in greenhouse conditions, plants of self-pollinating varieties should be planted so that the flowers are not artificially pollinated later.

Technology for growing strawberries in bags

This method is especially relevant in the absence of significant areas. The technological process of growing berries using such a growing location does not cause difficulties, but on the contrary, it facilitates the gardener’s work in caring for the crop, thereby increasing productivity. It is very important to consider the following recommendations:

• If the bags are placed vertically, expanded clay is first poured onto their bottom. With this arrangement, the holes through which the seedlings are planted in the ground are made across the entire area of ​​the bag according to the chessboard principle. Bags of soil are placed on top of each other (up to about three pieces) or hung on stable supports or hooks.
• If strawberries are grown in bags in a greenhouse using vertical placement, then lighting is a very important indicator for normal growth. To do this, from time to time the bags should be turned towards the sun so that the plants are illuminated evenly. Strawberries need air. In order for its access to be free, you need to place three bags, no more, on one square meter of the greenhouse area.
• According to the recommendations of experts, the lower bags should be placed on a short distance from the floor surface to avoid damage to seedlings by slugs.
• When placing the bags horizontally, the plants are watered in the same way as when grown in the usual way. If they are hung on hooks or stand one on top of the other, drip irrigation is indispensable.
• In regions with cold climates, growing strawberries in bags open ground associated with additional hassle. For the winter, the original beds should be moved indoors. Of course, they can be left outside if they are reliably protected from frost.
• When caring for strawberries, there is no need to mulch, since the soil is in a bag, the surface of which copes well with this. There is also no need for weeding and loosening.
• When planting seedlings, the growing point is not buried; it should be located at the same level with the ground.
• When the berry ripening period begins, the soil should be enriched with fertilizer once every seven days. You can use potassium supplements or chicken manure.
• In order for new plants to develop better, old foliage should be removed after harvesting.
• The soil in the bags and the plants in them are used for two years, then everything changes.

How to plant seedlings correctly?

Bags are an unusual growing medium for plants. Therefore, it is important that the strawberries feel comfortable. To do this, the following rules must be observed:

• Before planting, the seedlings are first immersed in hot water for 15 minutes, and then in cold water for the same time. This is necessary in order to prevent pathogens and pests from getting into the bag along with the strawberry bushes.
• Holes are made in the slits on the bags. Their size should be such that the roots can fit freely. For ease of planting, vertically positioned bags are tilted. As a garden tool, you can take an ordinary spoon or a small scoop.
• The roots should not curl up when planting. First you need to straighten them, and then sprinkle them with soil on top and compact them.

Landing Features

Depending on how the bags of soil are placed, planting strawberries differs. If their location is vertical, the roots of the plants are well buried, and if they are horizontal, they are buried to a shallow depth. Strawberry roots should not remain exposed for more than 10 minutes, so seedlings should be kept in moist soil before planting. Depending on the size of the bag, the planting density can be from 9 to 25 plants. After planting, the bag beds should be watered. In about a week, the strawberries will be ready. During this period, it needs foliar feeding.

The Dutch method of growing strawberries in bags

Distinctive feature This berry breeding technology involves frequent planting of seedlings (every two months), thanks to which strawberries bear fruit all year round. The bags contain weed-free, enriched soil useful substances. Peat and perlite are added to it. The Dutch system is used when growing strawberries only in a greenhouse or on a loggia. Strawberry seedlings for mass cultivation are bought in the store. To make the bushes grow faster, they should be soaked in water for a couple of hours. Growing berries using this system is not difficult, it is important to follow some recommendations:

• Strawberries are a light-loving crop, so daylight hours can be extended with the help of fluorescent lamps that are installed above each bag.
• To maintain optimal temperature, the greenhouse must be heated in winter.
• Plants must be ventilated regularly, so powerful ventilation should be installed.
• To get a good harvest, strawberries are planted in portions all year round.
• In a greenhouse or other adapted room, maintaining the temperature regime is a prerequisite. Strawberries develop normally at 21-23 o C.
• It is necessary to provide proper care, which consists of watering and harvesting. The irrigation system must be arranged in advance. To do this, five or six tubes are removed from a large plastic bottle, each of them is lowered into a bag after 50 cm. Water must be constantly poured into the bottle. For one bag of seedlings, two liters of liquid per day is enough.

Horizontal placement of strawberries

You can grow berries in bags using this principle on the street, and not just in a greenhouse. This method is suitable for large rooms or open ground. The bags are placed directly on the ground or on racks placed in several rows horizontally. As for open ground, if the area of ​​the plot allows, you can make many long rows, leaving row spacing the width of a person’s passage. When it rains in open ground, the plants are covered with film so that excess moisture does not get into the bags and the roots do not begin to rot. The horizontal method is very convenient, since the bushes in polyethylene do not need to be mulched, and the ground does not need to be weeded and loosened.

Vertical growing method

In bags, it significantly saves space both in the greenhouse and in the beds in the garden. When growing strawberries outdoors, the bags can be installed near the fence, which will serve as a reliable support. Only in this case, unusual beds will have to be rotated periodically to provide the plants with uniform lighting. If you arrange special supports in the middle of the garden, this is not necessary. Planting vertically in open ground is not always convenient, since it can only be used in the summer. In a greenhouse, this method is used year-round.

An example of growing strawberries in bags step by step:

1. First you need to prepare the bags and fill them with soil enriched with fertilizers.
2. Then the containers should be tied with a rope and placed vertically or hung on hooks. You can install bags in two or three tiers.
3. After this, you need to make holes for planting strawberry bushes at a distance of 20 cm from each other.
4. The final stage is the arrangement of an irrigation system, heating and additional lighting if the strawberries are growing in a greenhouse.

Growing strawberries in bags using Dutch technology is one of the popular, widely promoted business ideas. But its popularity is well founded. The essence of the idea is in general terms: plastic bags with seedlings are placed in a heated and illuminated room - the berries are harvested and sold all year round.

How profitable is it to grow strawberries at home and how to effectively organize a berry business using a greenhouse? Let's analyze the profitability and all the features of this business idea.

Strawberry growing business all year round

Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round as a business has attractive investment benefits. Let's consider this berry as a healthy product.

From an entrepreneur's point of view:

1. Strawberries will always be in high demand and at a decent price. The berry is tasty, healthy, loved by adults and children - it won’t go stale.
2. When grown in bags, the crop can be harvested all year round. Profit does not depend on the season. And during the colder months, strawberries are very expensive.
3. The business does not require the constant participation of a businessman. It is enough at the initial stage to competently create conditions for the development of strawberry bushes.

From a potential buyer's point of view:

This is not a complete list useful properties. And man's desire to healthy eating good for businessman.

Strawberry varieties for growing indoors

The best strawberry varieties for growing in a greenhouse:

Photo of the variety	Name	Description
	Queen Elizabeth 2	Large-fruited berry with high taste and medium density. It has good transportability. Requires annual updating.
	Honey	The variety is resistant to diseases and temperature changes. The berry retains its shape and density for a long time. The weight of one strawberry sometimes reaches 45 g. Harvesting is carried out only after the strawberries are fully ripened.
	Marshal	The berries are very sweet. The plant tolerates periods of drought well. The leaves of this variety are large, so it is recommended to place the bushes at a greater distance from each other.
	Albion	It has a long fruiting period and is resistant to climate change and disease.
	Gigantella	The more you water these strawberries, the larger the berries will be. Their weight is up to 100 g. Diameter is up to 9 cm.
	Elan F1	Recently bred remontant variety, which is neutral to the photoperiod of the day. This variety has a long fruiting period: from June to October. The fruits are large, but transportable, weighing 40-60 g.

Helpful advice! When choosing a strawberry variety for growing in bags, we buy seedlings from trusted nurseries. If we take bushes from our garden, then we choose tendrils from last season’s plants (from two-year-olds).

The Dutch method of growing strawberries indoors

The Dutch technology for growing strawberries indoors allows you to get the maximum yield from a minimum greenhouse area. To run a strawberry business all year round, you will need a heated room. A barn, garage, storage room, etc. will do. High humidity inside is unacceptable: berries develop poorly in constant dampness, but pathogens thrive.

The growing process takes place in bags. Evaporation of moisture from which is slowed down. Therefore, it is important that the room is well ventilated.

Learn more about optimal conditions for rich harvests.

Growing strawberries in bags and at home:

1. The best option is to take plastic bags made of white film up to 0.2 mm thick. In such bags, strawberries will not overheat and rot.
2. The recommended bag diameter is 16 cm. Height is 210 cm. Small dimensions allow you to make the most efficient use of the usable space in the room.
3. Ready-made plastic bags are sold in gardening stores. You can save on this expense item if you make the bags yourself by sealing them on one side. Good substitutes are sugar or flour packets.
4. Along the bag, cuts are made in a checkerboard pattern 8 cm long at a distance of 23-25 ​​cm.

Substrate preparation

The root system will be in a closed space. It is unacceptable for pests or weeds to appear inside. Therefore, any soil must be steamed before use.

Substrate options for filling bags:

• peat + perlite;
• turf soil + humus (no more than 3%) + fine sawdust + fine sand;
• fertile soil from the garden + sand/perlite.

Organic fertilizer is added to the soil for planting berries. Better than mullein. But no more than 3% of the total volume.

Temperature and light conditions:

1. It is advisable that the strawberries get sunlight in the summer. And for every bush.
2. Artificial lighting is used in autumn, winter and spring. Regular fluorescent lamps will do. It is enough to illuminate the berries 8 hours a day.
3. Strawberries need room temperature in any season. This is 20-22 degrees. Any heating devices are installed in the room.

Technology for growing strawberries in bags all year round:

1. A layer of expanded clay or gravel is poured onto the bottom of the bags for drainage. Next is the nutrient substrate.
2. The bushes are planted in the slots so that the growing point is level with the ground.
3. The bags are placed on the floor. For 1 sq. m – 3 packages. If the height of the room allows, you can build shelves and place bags in 2-3 tiers.
4. Strawberries are watered every day. Or using a hose, bringing it one by one to all the cuts. Or through a drip irrigation system. It is more convenient to run the water pipe over the bags. There are 3 tubes connected to the bags - top, bottom, middle. Another way is to hang two-liter bottles with droppers. Holes are made in the plugs, from which tubes come out to the bushes. For one bag, two liters of water per day is enough.
5. After the first harvest, the strawberry bushes are fed with potassium fertilizers. It is good to use chicken manure.

Strawberries in bags will have to be renewed every 2 years (in open ground - after 3-4 years).

Business profitability analysis

It is difficult to show exact numbers. Since the development of any agricultural business depends on many factors (climate in the region, weather conditions in a particular month, quality of planting material, etc.).

Let's calculate the approximate profit from a business idea:

1. From 1 sq. m harvest from 16 kg of berries.
2. If grown garden strawberries in a room 10 x 10 m, you can collect 1600 kg.
3. Year-round care produces up to 5 harvests within 12 months. That is 8000 kg of fruits.
4. The price depends on the season. In January-December – $4. In April – $2. And during the strawberry season – from $1.5. On average – $2.5 per 1 kg.
5. For the entire harvest, the entrepreneur will earn approximately $20,000.
6. Let's take into account the costs of maintaining and maintaining the greenhouse. The cost of 1 kg is $0.75. 8000 kg * $0.75 = $6000.
7. Let's calculate net profit. (20,000 – 6000) / 12 = $1167/month.

Delicious strawberries will grow in your dacha if you master the technology of growing strawberries in bags. It is necessary to prepare a place for seedlings, put them in bags, provide watering, lighting and the required temperature. Let’s take a closer look at how to organize everything correctly and get an excellent result!

How to grow strawberries in bags

There are a huge variety of different tricks and wisdom that are used by experienced gardeners on their plots to achieve the highest quality and largest harvest. Gradually, these methods led to the emergence of a new cultivation of strawberries.

Almost everyone who has tried this method of growing strawberries does not return to traditional methods, but only experiments with different types of a unique method:

• bags installed on the floor;
• bags on racks;
• suspended bags above the ground.

But the technology is the same for all these species.

To get a good harvest of strawberries, it is better to grow them in greenhouses, although in the summer, if the weather is good, the harvest will delight you in the open air.

And of course, as is already clear from the name of the technology, you need to prepare bags for seedlings, as well as the seedlings themselves and the soil.

Let's list everything you need to harvest strawberries in bags:

Planting strawberries in bags

We take pre-prepared bags and fill them to the top with a special substrate. But before doing this, don’t forget to pour expanded clay onto the bottom. This is necessary to ensure good drainage, because strawberries do not like excess moisture. Next, we make slits in the bags on four sides, arranging them in a checkerboard pattern. We cut vertically, the length of the slot is approximately 8 cm, and the distance between the slots should be 20-25 cm.

We plant one strawberry bush in the holes. You can also place several bushes on the upper, open part of the bag. We place bags of seedlings in certain places: on the floor, on special racks, or hang them on hooks. No more than three bags can be placed on one square meter. This is where the planting ends; then you just need to water, ventilate and wait for the harvest.

Watering system for strawberries in bags

To grow strawberries in bags, it is better to use irrigation technology. This system will make your work easier and will also be most useful for strawberries, which do not like a lot of moisture. A drip irrigation system looks like a pipeline supplying water. From it, tubes are connected to all bags, at the ends of which droppers are installed. To make such a system at home, an ordinary hospital dropper is suitable.

The pipeline itself is attached above the rows of bags. Their number depends on the height of the bag and can vary from two to four pieces. One is installed at the very top, and the rest are located half a meter down to the end. The supplied volume of water should be such that there is about 2 liters of water per day per bag (30 liters). You can also add fertilizers and other fertilizers to the water.

Strawberries on the table all year round

This method of growing strawberries is capable of organizing a strawberry harvest all year round. In the summer season, strawberries will grow in open ground, on the balcony, and even on the window. But the rest of the time you need to make sure that the strawberries receive a sufficient amount of heat and. Heated greenhouses are used for this purpose. But the seedlings also need to be prepared in advance so that they are hardened and available in stock. It is needed so that you can replace the old one every time after harvesting.

When creating spare bushes, young bushes are placed in a special microclimate, where they are preserved but do not develop.

Such storage is organized in a regular cellar or basement, as well as in a refrigerator. The main thing is that the temperature is always 0+2°C, and the humidity is around 90%. For such storage of seedlings, it is better to place them in plastic bags.

Growing strawberries all year round - video