Strawberry? No, strawberries!

Part two.

Greetings to all who are now looking at the monitor and reading these lines. Since the release of my first article, Strawberry? No, strawberry ”more than eight years have passed.

Several times in recent years, I began to write a sequel. And for various reasons, postponed. Did not work. Sometimes there was no inspiration. It happened that I myself had no answer to any questions, and then there was simply nothing to write about. The narrative should be positive. Not only according to the law of the genre. In my case, it should be positive in fact. There must be some kind of result. Development. A dream come true. Here, they say, from what started, and what came.

But the dream did not want to be carried out in accordance with my desires. It came true, but not as fast as desired. She demanded time, perseverance, and labor. For myself, I decided that the construction and launching of the greenhouse will be the very material and positive point about which it will be necessary to write in the sequel. But it was she who was not built as quickly as desired, and the appearance of the second part of the article was inhibited. Today it is made and launched. And I will tell you about it. But there was something else. Something important. Great. Meaningful. Strong Indeed, this is what you want and need to share. Now not even the greenhouse is the main motivator. And the time has come. Yes, and saying: "A", we must say, and "B." And many asked about the sequel. Yes, and Frederick promised long ago.

It will probably not be a sequel at all. That is not the case. Continuing, but at the same time - it will be self-sufficient material, with full information that I want to convey. And even if for some reason, you will not be able to read the first part, it does not matter. In terms of information, you won't lose anything. All the main and most important information is presented in this part.

I would like of course to make it all quick. Still, eight years is a considerable time. But it is not necessary to choose. Yes, and knowledge, experience ... Faster, they would hardly have given me. In fact, (and there are quite a few such examples) if I had other starting opportunities, for example, the same greenhouse, it is not yet known what the result would be and whether there was anything to write about now. I know people who, having decided that growing strawberries is a very profitable business, immediately invested large sums of money with which they naively thought that this was the main condition and solution to the problem. As a rule, they also quickly burned. We, at one time, started from practically nothing. No knowledge, no money. Suffice it to say that in order to purchase plots we took a consumer loan from a bank. Not on the car. Not the apartment. Not for repair. And not even for the purchase of villas, in the usual sense. Because to call a dacha that abandoned wasteland with a garbage bin along the contour, the language will not turn. We went to something that no sane person would have done. At least of those, I know. But we took the chance. And every year, even not very successful and lean, giving knowledge, answers, and experience. Failures and mistakes, of course, darkened the mood, but behind them, as a rule, the answers and solutions were visible. And it was even more inspiring. This is not replaced by any instructions, any instructions, any Internet, and advice of experts. It is necessary to do and see for yourself. This knowledge was formed, accumulated, sorted, and systematized. And now ... now we can talk. But it would not be right to write about the final result right away. About technology "in the bag" without background. Because I came to her not immediately. I went to her, all these years. And also through the greenhouse.

the year 2013.

In general, our acquaintance with Rubinstein began with a conversation about greenhouses. That is, if you seriously deal with strawberries, it is better in the greenhouse. But in the absence of such, it is possible in the open field. Despite the fact that many years have passed, I remember this conversation well. Somehow, without saying a word, they came to the conclusion that if you grow strawberries in a greenhouse right away, you can earn it later. Again, growing strawberries. Only in open ground. This topic and began to develop and implement. Still need knowledge, experience. We must at least try what it is - growing strawberries.

But the greenhouse itself, implicitly, sitting somewhere in the subconscious, continued to periodically remind of itself. That is, then, later ... As the opportunity arises. That is the means. Saw in dreams at least the industrial greenhouse "TEDEN 500" of Israeli production. Or something like that. At that time I was working in a factory. There it was possible, at the cost of incredible efforts, to write out some metal from the second-hand category. Began to look after. But for a serious greenhouse to collect the required amount of pipe did not work.

Friedrich Filippovich sent me many photographs. Hundreds. Various greenhouses. Israeli and American. Detailed description and drawings. Components and individual components. For me, there were no such questions: "what is it, how, where, and for what."

And here I was very lucky. Really good luck, which happens only once. The plant began to carry out a major renovation, under which our workshop was entire, as it was planned to be leased to another company. The tenant required only walls from our workshop. Full dismantling of all equipment. I. ... and kilometers and tons of various pipes. This chance I could not miss in any way. And I began to harvest metal. Not at once. With a huge nerve-rag and the removal of the brain to everyone, in total, I wrote out fourteen tons of a different pipe. And naturally paid to the cashier of the plant. And again, for payment, I had to get into a loan. That is, once again, to better comprehend. - Take a bank loan to buy ... scrap metal! Informational pumping, on greenhouses, has already reached a critical mass. The logical continuation was to be the manufacture and installation of such a greenhouse on my site. But also, the rules of law required to see firsthand and touch the real greenhouse with their own hands. One such greenhouse (TEDEN 500) is located in the city of Gelendzhik, our common friend Fedor. I knew literally everything from the photos. I saw it at all angles and in detail. From the construction of the foundation from scratch, and to the installation of equipment in the already finished greenhouse. To put a logical point, it was necessary only to go to the place. And then the case presented itself. And touch the greenhouse and see Friedrich. He was going to Gelendzhik at the end of February for the launch of this greenhouse. I did not have to persuade them for a long time. And two months before the trip, I’m probably already fed up with Rubinstein with endless questions, on coordinating the departure date to Gelendzhik.

Gelendzhik

I stood and smoked in the vestibule of the last pasture, looking out the window at the runaway rails, Saratov, and the dull winter landscape. And once again he was convinced of the almost absolute fidelity of the words that real, sincere, and strong desires eventually materialize. Indeed, even now I cannot imagine the force that could stop me then. Everyone knew that I was going to Gelendzhik at the end of February. The family itself, but knowing about my "headache", took it like a trip to a sanatorium for a cure. At work, I just said in the tone of an ultimatum that at the end of February I was going to the south on urgent matters. On weekends, or on business, off time or on vacation ... Another, or at their own expense. Ban or not, punish or dismiss ... It does not matter. But on the appointed day I will board the train. When they realized that trying to stop me was also pointless, as in our factory, not trolleybuses, but for example, say, American Apache helicopters, are behind me.

In fact, in February, they are either going to work or round idiots to Gelendzhik, I said to myself, trying to at least somehow think objectively and trying to dream and euphoria, to oppose a sober assessment of what is happening. All normal people go south in the summer. In fact, all the neighbors in the compartment, and the passengers of the entire carriage, mostly went to work at the Olympic venues. I didn’t want to look like an idiot at all, even in my own eyes, not to mention others, and therefore, trying to find an excuse for my not quite logical actions, I convinced myself that I was also going to work, as it were. On business. Do not sunbathe. On a meeting, on acquaintance with the greenhouse, with new technologies ... On affairs. And therefore, I'm not an idiot. Well, maybe quite a bit. So ... just a little. But from the side, it is almost imperceptible, but I myself will not tell anyone. In general, such thoughts periodically come to mind. Well, maybe a normal person, in his right mind, take a loan to buy a country house dump? From which then some KamAZ debris brought out only twenty-five pieces. Also for the money. And then he brought twenty KamAZ land. And also for the money. And then take a loan to buy rusty pipes? And then in February to wave in Gelendzhik? Normal can never. 

The landscape outside the carriage window was changing. Winter was far behind and somewhere in the past. In the middle of the way the fields were already open, and the snow was only in some places, in ravines. A day later, I arrived in Krasnodar, where there was no trace of winter, got on the bus and went to the destination of my trip. The bus, winding through the city between high-rise buildings, went to the outskirts occupied by the private sector, and I saw ... greenhouses. Big, real. Just such photos which Rubinstein showed me. Not toy country greenhouses, but at least self-made, but the most real greenhouses. Twenty-five meters to thirty meters long. And a width of six to eight. They were in the private sector for many. And then, all the way to Gelendzhik, they occasionally came across. Looks like I got it right. When the bus drove into the mountains, and then, the rest of the way, my heart sank. I don’t know how I would perceive my surroundings if this were my first trip to the Caucasus. But in fact, I went back to where I had been to several times. But a very, very long time. Last thirty-six years ago. And several times before, from early childhood. My father regularly went on vacation to his homeland. In the village of Timashevskaya (now the city of Timashevsk) of the Krasnodar Territory. And, of course, he took me with his brother. And of course, taking this opportunity, they did not miss the opportunity to go to the sea. And in February 2013, I came back. Returned to childhood and youth. In the mountains, on which I loved to climb and catch rock lizards and snakes. To the sea, in which I became addicted to underwater hunting, and this passion remained with me for life.

Gelendzhik was not the final destination of the trip. Fedor, the owner of the greenhouse, and his family, actually live in the village of Aderbiyevka, which is located on the other side of the mountain, at the foot of which stands the resort town itself. It turned out that I arrived the very first of all the participants and guests, and no matter how I rushed to see the greenhouse as quickly as possible, I was lodged in a hotel in the very center of the city, twenty steps from the sea. I spent the whole day in anxious waiting, walking along the embankment, photographing objects I liked. And in the morning of the next day, Nikolai, the son of Fyodor, drove by. He said that everyone had already arrived, and in half an hour I was already in Aderbiyevka.

Going around the house, I saw a greenhouse. I saw from the same angle as in the photo. How long ago everything is already familiar! I after all really, only did not touch this greenhouse. And before that, he knew almost everything about her. Every centimeter! All the guests were already inside the greenhouse. I saw and identified Rubinstein from the others immediately, without having yet entered the greenhouse. There ... gray head looming through a matte film. Well, we met each other ... The meeting was warm, but they did not let me relax. Friedrich Filippovich immediately, two minutes later, “bent” me to work, instructing me to assemble and install water fittings. In point hit the profile. Just two days ago I was doing the same thing at my factory. There were no random people at all. Everybody did something. Georgy from Ukraine was engaged in debugging automation. Nikolai, Fedor’s son as an operational duty officer, quickly get to the city if necessary and buy something. And so help at any time. And the landing of seedlings later he got. On Irina Kolmykova fixing events in the photo and video. Fedor got the role of the host (to receive and accommodate guests) and the supplier, and the organizer of the whole process, and the performer of specific tasks. Well, the hassle as a consequence. Tomorrow the journalists will come, but this is not ready, it has not been done there, here “the horse did not roll” ... Some should be met, others should be held, and these should be talked with. All buy, bring, get, and collect. And do not offend anyone, and everything is on time, before the arrival of television. But the main role as an organizer in the greenhouse, of course, was behind Rubinstein.

While working, communicating, gradually everyone became acquainted. It was then that it turned out that everyone there already knew me. Know the article on the site. Fedor himself and his family. Victor and Yuri from Stavropol. Know how to communicate on the forum. Leonid Petrovich Troshin, Kazbek from Dagestan, George from Ukraine ... They are members of the forum too. That's when the forum and "shot." Having carved out a free moment, I decided to completely go around the greenhouse and remove some dimensions. To tell you the truth, I arrived there with a full "spy" set. Caliper, tape measure, pencil, notepad, and camera with me. Aderbiyivka village is located in the gorge between the mountains, and the constant strong wind, as in a wind tunnel there is a common thing. And that day was just a hurricane. The film between the arcs of the greenhouse swelled and clapped loudly. It was even scary at first, but Fedor said that this was not the first time and without consequences. But all of us, without saying a word, independently of each other, came to the conclusion that the greenhouse for central Russia should be more durable. On the "TEDEN 500" in the standard version, the arched frame arches are located three meters apart. For the Krasnodar region, it would be good in two. And for the breadth and weather conditions of the Saratov region, it would be good, not more than one and a half.

And in the greenhouse itself was quite warm. On the street, plus ten. Not frost, but in the autumn jacket somehow cozier. In the greenhouse, the jacket had to be removed. Then Nikolay and I installed an electric drive on the curtains of the greenhouse, for which I, with the grinder, ruthlessly cut off the manual Cardan drive. We turned on the engines, and the curtains of the greenhouse began to slowly rise over its entire length (36 meters). And in about a minute, the greenhouses ... was gone. Rather, she was. The greenhouse itself is not gone anywhere. But the heat was gone. The effect and sensation of the greenhouse were no longer there. In seconds, the temperature inside the greenhouse, equal to the temperature of the street. The effect, seen firsthand, and literally felt by the skin. Immediately. We lowered the curtains, because it became really cold, and I remembered how the ventilation is arranged on the old, and also on modern domestic greenhouses. Vents, windows ... From the sides, from the ends, from above. Surely some kind of justification of experts, in favor of such ventilation. Some kind of scientific arguments and arguments. It is immediately obvious that those who produce such greenhouses are theorists who only grew flowers on their windowsill. With a window overhead.

Time flew by pretty quickly. In the work you want to do, in an interesting conversation, time flies. I found new friends there and learned a lot. For this product in Russia, there is a demand, and not a small one. There are people who are ready to invest money and buy dozens of greenhouses. And it makes sense to produce such greenhouses in Russia. And it needs to be done! I still managed to catch the guests from the Kuban Agricultural University and the arrival of local television. The result was a rather positive seminar, during which many agricultural producers and potential customers could see for themselves the latest achievements in agricultural technology. Fully automated greenhouse, hydroponics ... Not a demonstration model, but a real one. And not abroad. In Russia. So in conclusion, as in all such events, a group photo for memory.

But I have to go. "To the village, to my aunt, in the wilderness, to Saratov." Parted as good old friends. Galina, Fedor's wife, even collected food for the journey. And as I did not refuse, I could not but accept this warm and hospitable attitude. Fedor, Galina, and all your family ... Thank you, dear friends. And a low bow to the ground. Returning to Engels, I noted several times in the evening on the forum, because emotions were overwhelming and went to work. Before the opening of the summer season, there was still a month left.

Crop failure. Who, like an old-fashioned kid, poked my nose into the harsh reality. This happens. Like some kind of success, a small victory. You begin to perceive this as a permanent and proper state and ascend, considering yourself an experienced and knowledgeable specialist. This is where life lands you, and it’s very targeted and accurate to point you to your place, in a topic in which you think of yourself as someone there.

Now describe all these failures in detail makes no sense. It is long, tedious, and will not be interesting to the reader. They, these failures, will still be in the coming years. This is normal, especially in the process of learning and cognition. Then, in 2013, it became clear that the agricultural technology of strawberries in the open ground, for us, can only be the initial and transitional stage. For two pairs of hands, and in the absence of technology, it is very difficult. The need for a crop rotation splits the plot into parts, not allowing you to land a large amount immediately. Not enough time, effort, and hands. It has long been clear that this is a dead-end and a limit. It was necessary for something else. Other agricultural technology.

Cottages

Well, how could I get around this topic ?! Same not only sites in some hundred parts, with small houses, tanks for water, gardens, kitchen gardens, and baths. For me, it is also my ridge with strawberries, and the house, because from May to October we live in a country house. This is also my work for the fifth year as the chair of gardening. Childhood and adolescence spent right there at the cottage. A whole stratum of life that shaped both psychology, attitude, and perception of the surrounding reality. And this attitude to dachas was not always unequivocal. Once there was no relationship at all. Yes, and there was no problem before. And those who did not have them, of course, envied the lucky ones who have five or six hundred parts of the land outside the city. Because they had a completely different life, filled with some meaning to go somewhere and do something. And they returned from the country houses with shopping bags, buckets, and baskets, filled to the brim with fruits and vegetables, to the envy of those around them. And yet, said the neighbor boy, they have a house there. Wooden. And they are there to go swimming in the river. And already caught today. And there are plenty of lizards. There was something to envy the ten-year-old boys. The seventies ...

The second wave of the intervention of citizens in the suburbs. Because then there was the third wave, in the eighties, and the fourth in the nineties. In the early seventies, businesses began to give dacha plots again. And my father took a plot of five acres from production. Here it is. It is finished! I remember well my first visit to the country. We were already driving along the dacha massif, immersed in the verdure of gardens, among which, here and there, looked through the roofing-roofed roofs of the country houses. Often came across the houses themselves. And I was looking forward to when we come to our cottage. But the summer massif with gardens and houses ended, and we arrived in a plowed open field, broken by pegs and white polypropylene twine into large rectangles. In some of the rectangles were already wooden toilets, and in one, someone even managed to put a wooden house, measuring three meters by four meters. Lucky ... And already in many areas where people came two or three weeks before us, there were a half meter tall saplings of fruit trees. My father led us to a completely empty area, without a house, a toilet, or any saplings. “This is our dacha,” he said.

They made the toilet with their dacha neighbor on the same day. Hard to cope. Still standing. In general, the toilet in the country is always more than the toilet. The first time is the shed for shovels and rakes, and shelter from the rain. And we began to settle down. I began to run with the boys on the river, and beyond the river, and in general, God knows where. To catch fish and crayfish, snakes and lizards, and tried to spend the holidays so that later it was not a shame ... to write an essay at school on the theme “how I spent this summer”. After some time, fences appeared on the borders of the plots instead of twine, which clearly marked the streets, roads, driveways, and the plots themselves, in which by that time there were houses. And gardening has found contours that have not changed to this day. Only the cottages themselves are now completely different. My father bought a motorcycle "Minsk", and we gained autonomy and independence in movement. This was especially important because the regular bus to the Children's Sanatorium area was only allowed in the eighties. I didn’t have any kind of reverent attitude to a dacha as an acquisition or possession of it. I very quickly began to perceive this phenomenon as a natural course of things. Like many. Yes, and the dacha was not with me, snotty kid, but with my parents. And adults have their own troubles. But to work on the ground, I definitely did not like it. Therefore, digging, weeding, or watering has always been an unpleasant duty, either a punishment or a deal, in order to then run away to the river. The father could not manage to build at least a small house. Before my call to the army, in 1977, we laid the foundation of the future home, casting the wreckage of piles into the trenches. What kind of house it will be, and from what, I had no idea then. And then, in the early seventies, in our country house, there was only a toilet and a cellar. Before the appearance of the Strawberry Dad at the Children's Sanatorium, as friends call me jokingly, it remained forty years.

Addiction to the cottage, not indifference, some interest I had ... in the army. Once in the construction, I learned to be a bricklayer. I always liked to create something, but here I had the opportunity to do it not a handicraft, but professionally. And the school was good. New buildings in the Baltic States and Karelia. Even in the midst of the Cold War, on the one hand, (when everything Western is bad) and full of stale times of stagnant times, on the other, European accuracy, accuracy and punctuality were still felt there, which was reflected in the quality requirements. In cities remote from the western borders, it was possible to build “anyhow” and “anyhow”.

 And when at the age of 19 I was entrusted with erecting the front side of a 14-story residential building with facing bricks, which I did with pride and pleasure, I already knew exactly who would build the dacha and which one. For almost a year, until the moment of demobilization, in the evenings in the barracks, I did nothing but draw plans and sketches for the future home. Now it causes a smile, but then, at 19, it was a goal, a desire, a thought. And strong, true desires ultimately materialize. The boy said - the boy did! The first floor of the country house, I built in 20 years, immediately came from the army. And even made a real English fireplace! The truth had to seriously adjust their ambitions. “What a half bricks, son, what are you ?! - laughed father. - This head will be removed. In a half-brick building, everything is built. Well, the maximum in the brick. And then what did you think? How many wanted, and wrote so much? Hold your pocket wider. A brick at a timber trading base for beneficiaries, yes to veterans, in turn, yes by appointment. Yes, and it will be very expensive. We won't pull. ”(What a country they lost!) I bought the missing brick from my employee. Old, but very high quality. German yet. Somewhere dismantled the old house, so the employee and did not miss the moment. A year later, there was a second floor. I am twenty-one years old.

Now I remember this time as probably the happiest. And I understand that today I could not. On Friday after work, on the slats, from Saratov to Engels, and then to the country. And he managed to put three rows of masonry in parallel, moving the irrigation hose from the garden to the garden in parallel. All run. And on Saturday morning, all of them came. And until Sunday until the evening, we all worked. Of course, to say that I built the cottage myself would be completely wrong. All this is conditional and very relative. The main supplier of the construction was my mother. And the whole family helped. But I had the first violin at the construction site. My project and my execution. I knew quite clearly what I wanted, how to do it, and what would happen. Older men neighbors tried once, to teach me how to build. Like, here you have, this corner is kind of littered. When the wall went up another five rows, all questions and doubts disappeared.

 How long ago it was ... Childhood and youth. More green grass, bluer sky, and more delicious strawberries, watermelons, apples, and cherries. The river, in which fish and crayfish were found, and which has now become a miserable stream. A time when our moms and dads, who are no longer there, were younger than we are today.

the year 2014.

The Strawberry harvest is not much different from last year. The second wave of neutrals does not give any normal yield. In the heat, all problems are exacerbated. A lot of attacks. Strawberry is sick. And the disease is all there is, and all at once. There and a whole spectrum of spots. And really baked in the heat. Even the roots are "cooked." And root rot. I remember on the forum we all argued. Wither from what happens. Fusarium or heat? As shown by my observations, one provokes another. The roots are dying from the heat because even under the silver film mulch, the temperature in the root zone reaches up to fifty degrees. And this is not a short pulse leap. This is a few days for several hours. And the roots are dying. Rot begins. Rotting in a humid and heated environment, without sufficient air access. This is also the most favorable environment for most fungal diseases.

We then coped with this problem quite successfully when we drew the ridges with strawberries with white agro fiber tunnels, and began using sprinkling. But there were plenty of others. But there was an incentive. I already knew exactly what tools I would need in the winter, and how I would make certain parts of the greenhouse. In the same year, I retired from the plant, resigned from the post of chairman, and settled down as a security guard in a nearby gardening area. Five minutes' walk from my station. And at the end of the berry season, he began to make tooling. Made a press. And he's a pipe bender. A very useful fifty-ton jack, which for twenty years was lying in the garage.

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Also independently made a machine with a pendulum saw. Later on this machine, I cut, butt-cut, dock, and weld the pipes.

Also independently made a machine with a pendulum saw. Later on this machine, I cut, butt-cut, dock, and weld the pipes. These were the first devices I started working on. In addition to them, still small fixtures, conductors, and other fines, for working in the garage. Subsequently, for bending pipes along a large radius, I had to make a whole building berth. That is a huge table the size of the floor arc of a thick channel. I did not have a pipe bender for such operations. Then, on this slipway, on the stops, I curved the pipes with winches. What a thrill it was! To do the work of which I thought, represented, and saw in my thoughts for two years. Bend the arc had to open air. And periodically fight the snow, which is completely covered my stocks. Not everything went smoothly. Something is just perfect, but something had to be adjusted in the process. The matter was very seriously complicated by the fact that the pipes for half an arc, I had to weld two to three meters of pieces. And in the process of bending, in these places, the pipes broke. It was necessary in such places to strengthen the seam and additionally insure this place with another winch. In the end, the snow won and drove me into the garage, where you could make small parts under the roof. Clamps, short profiles, and pipes. The work became routine and monotonous, and all the initial high and euphoria quickly disappeared. Who worked at the plant at the machine, perfectly understand me. One box to the right of the machine, the other to the left. From one, you take apart, insert it into the machine, make a hole, take it out, and throw it into another box. And with factory accuracy. Monotonous. Monotone Minutes. Clock. Days Weeks ...

Not every day. It was necessary to be distracted by other matters. Then I calculated. Although I started to put the frame of the greenhouse on the foundation racks only in 2016, summing up and squeezing all the time spent only on manufacturing the greenhouse ... then I alone, without helpers, spent no more than four months on it. This is a complete set. A total of hundreds of different parts. From semi-arches, slopes, and runs, to small clamps and plates. And still, it will be necessary to buy thousands of hardware. Bolts, nuts, and washers. But all this still needs to be painted. Yet one is very difficult. Highly! I really understood how much work I had to do only later when these hundreds of parts and blanks had to be packed in large wooden boxes. And then, when I completely mounted the frame of the greenhouse. Then it is ridiculous. Did I do this? And I did it? And this? And this? And that? And that? And I'm all that? Nah. Can not be! Yah!
A link of three people would have done this work, for example, upon receipt of an order and the uninterrupted availability of materials ... well, no more than a month.

The year 2015

Almost consistently low yield, which is a ceiling with our agricultural technology and our capabilities. But there is also a positive trend. After the crop rotation, we have a plot prepared for the autumn planting of strawberries. The year before last, the plot was plowed up, rye was sown on green manure. Subsequently, it was mowed and plowed. New ridges were formed and covered with foil. For more than a year, the land rested under film mulch. I almost did not make a greenhouse, but I cleared a plot for it. What is this job? Just two days of tractor work and eighteen KamAZ trips. Old trees. Stump. Thick roots. The ruins of an old house. Boards. Rubbish. Eighteen KamAZ trucks! And four years ago, I tried to do all this work almost by hand.

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When the site was cleared, made a preliminary layout of the greenhouse.

We have grown quite good seedlings for our needs and in the second half of the summer, we planted a rested site for her. In the winter they covered with agro fiber.

Good prerequisites were created for the next season. But overall, the year was not entirely successful. Weak on the result. At C grade.

The 2016 year.

What can most worry about the spring berry? Of course. How to overwinter the seedlings. And she wintered great. With the onset of heat immediately reached for growth. And when it began to bloom ... in a good sense, it became even a bit scary. I've never seen anything like this before. A huge blooming carpet of strawberries. And hundreds of bees and bumblebees flying from flower to flower. The picture on which one could admire endlessly. 

But I also wanted to admire the berry. It was already clear that the harvest would be not just good, but excellent. Record. 

So it turned out later. When the massive gathering began, the "hell" came. After lunch, you need to collect berries. What would be tomorrow at eight - nine in the morning to be in the city. Have time to sell it all no later than two in the afternoon. Return to the cottage, have lunch. Just a little rest and wait until the heat subsides and at five o'clock again to pick berries. And collect it to half-past seven, while it is clear. And it was necessary to collect at the peak of aging in the center and even more. It is good that the children helped. I kept a strict daily record. The numbers are very pleased. But this is only the first wave.

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When the fruiting was over, a small amount of time appeared, and we finally concreted the stands for the greenhouse. Everything. The contour was marked and the surrounding area became more visible and understandable.
But my iron (arcs and everything else) is still waiting for autumn. Now there is no time for it. We are engaged in growing seedlings and are waiting for the second wave of fruiting.

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The second wave. It really was not given for three years. In the second half of June and then all of July, there is a terrible heat. From this heat and from the root rot provoked by it, the ridges faded in huge chunks. During flowering. And then, with almost ripe, but already affected berries. But this is not only your work. Time, strength, and sweat. It is also not received income. Berry of course was. In small quantities, insufficient to carry it to the city for sale. And as a result, there was no money from sales. A couple of years ago, we thought - well, at least ten kilograms. Well, at least in a day. Well, at least something would be. Crumbs of course, but that would be at least some justification for our efforts. But there was not even this. It was really hard.

But not this year. Shading and sprinkling sprinkled the heat and moistened the leaves. Against the background of open areas, strawberry shade felt and looked much more comfortable. And the berry went again. Not like the first wave. Of course less. But twenty-five - thirty kilograms, sometimes forty, we began to carry in a day in the city.

In August, we began to plant seedlings in pots. It was necessary to prepare the planting material for the greenhouse. Which still needs to be done. In the five-liter pot planted four bushes. This I once peeped from the Germans. We'll see...

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And the third wave was also this year. And until almost mid-September, we sold the berry. In total, for the entire season, we have collected more than two tons of strawberries from old and new ridges. The maximum yield fell on the new ridge. Three kilograms per square meter. The result is very worthwhile. She could be more. Variety Irma issued at four kilograms per square meter. Less gave Queen Elizabeth the second. And even less Monterrey. They leveled the total yield to three kilograms. If the entire plantation were planted by Irma, or varieties comparable to her in yield, (for example, Altes or Murano), then four kilograms per meter would be quite real. For the first time in several years, we saw a real result. The yield is not inferior and is comparable to the yield in developed countries, where agriculture is at the same developed and high level. Autumn has come. I returned to my gatehouse, which serves me as a winter dwelling for the third year. In October - November, he fenced the two sides of the site with professional flooring.