Growing strawberries in mini-greenhouses

A producer from the Odessa region has switched to growing early varieties of garden strawberries in mini-greenhouses. The technology was borrowed from Italy, where local farmers often use such a simple and inexpensive design to protect plantings from hail and bird damage. Unlike Italian producers, who usually choose netting as a protective material, a farmer from the Odessa region decided to use agrofiber, which also provided protection from spring frosts and earlier crop ripening.

According to the representative of the company, this story began two years ago, when a local producer decided to plant garden strawberry plantations with early varieties and ordered virus-free Frigo planting material from the Italian nursery Mazzoni. When choosing varieties, the manufacturer first of all wanted to take advantage of the geographical location of its own field, which is located in the south of the Odessa region, that is, to get an early harvest for sale in fresh form. Therefore, the producer stopped his choice on three main varieties. Of course, it was well known and widespread variety Clery, as well as two new varieties – Quickie and Lofty (Ami). These varieties have tasty, transportable and, as the grower himself would later point out – “elite” berries.
Last year, all produce was harvested during May.
The earlier picking period, combined with the high quality of the produce, resulted in a good profit for the grower. Among all the varieties, the grower highlighted the new ultra-early variety Kwiki, which started harvesting 6 days earlier than the Clery and Lofty (Ami) varieties, as well as the Lofty (Ami) variety, and its very high yield. According to him, the berries of both these varieties have excellent transportability and shelf life, which allowed the berries to be stored, transported and marketed for 5 days even without refrigeration!

The grower plans to further expand the area under this crop, as during the harvesting and selling season the demand for his berries significantly exceeded the supply.
This is a good example of the right approach and management, when the emphasis was placed primarily on quality and technology, rather than on quantity and large areas.
Source: https://www.ft.ua