And don’t complain that there is no money: we grew more than 40,000 tulips in the greenhouse - now this is our main income. Sharing my experience of running a simple business

Beginners in a business such as growing flowers in a greenhouse for sale most often pay attention to tulips. Indeed, tulips are considered the most profitable product, since with small investments they can produce a “harvest” three to four times a year. They are unpretentious, maximally satisfy the customer's needs in terms of price and quality (a beautiful flower for a small fee), and are great for floral arrangements and original bouquets. To start this business from scratch, a beginner will need a plot of land and two hundred thousand rubles.

Features of the tulip growing business

Of course, in order to obtain constant and high profits from such an undertaking, an entrepreneur must take into account a number of nuances.

• Firstly, he should know that the demand for tulips varies seasonally. The highest level of sales can be expected in March, on the eve of such a holiday as International Women's Day on March 8th.
• Secondly, it is important to carefully study the technology for growing these flowers and the requirements for the greenhouse. It should transmit sunlight well, be equipped with an irrigation system and temperature control.

Such a structure must be heated with electricity, which will require certain financial costs (about 8-10 thousand rubles per month).

Selection of the required variety

Before starting production, it is necessary to decide on the type of flower on the basis of which the business will be developed. It is optimal to start growing tulips in a greenhouse with the following varieties:

• Liliaceae;
• Fringed;
• Triumph;
• Terry;
• Simple early;
• Simple late;
• Darwin's tulip.

Since this flower is mainly intended for spring holidays, the buyer prefers bright, saturated colors, which means that the most optimal shade ratio will be as follows:

• Red – 40%;
• Yellow – 20%;
• White – 20%;
• Lilac – 10%.

How to start your own tulip growing business

At the initial stage, a businessman can purchase a small greenhouse. Its cost is approximately 10 thousand rubles.

The success of such an undertaking depends on the quality of the bulbs that the businessman purchases.

Planting material must be of high quality; only in this case can you count on a stable profit.

Experienced flower growers claim that about 3% of bulbs turn out to be defective in any case.

This risk should be taken into account when drawing up a financial plan for a business project.

The cost of one bulb can vary from 5 to 20 rubles.

If an entrepreneur plans to purchase planting material abroad, he should take into account the cost of delivery.

Before planting purchased bulbs in the ground, they must be cooled. To do this, you need to purchase a refrigeration chamber, the cost of which is about 14 thousand rubles.

Two workers can take care of flowers in a greenhouse. At the initial stage, this can be done by the businessman himself and his family members.

If all conditions for growing tulips are met, an entrepreneur can collect 200-300 flowers per square meter.

Business plan

Before you start building a greenhouse complex, growing tulips and selling them, you need to officially register your business. To do this, you need to determine the organizational and legal form of interest, submit a corresponding application to the authorized body (tax service at your place of residence), pay the state duty and select the type of activity and taxation system. A greenhouse business does not pose any serious risks for a businessman, so opening a separate legal entity (for example, an LLC) does not seem advisable. This will entail many associated costs (more expensive duties, authorized capital, a full-fledged accountant in-house or outsourced), and will complicate the withdrawal of profits. It is much easier and cheaper to register yourself as an individual entrepreneur. The state duty in this case will cost only 800 rubles. OKVED codes can be specified as 01.19 – Growing other annual crops (this includes growing flowers).

As already mentioned above, the optimal place for the construction of a greenhouse complex will be your own summer cottage. Considering the owner’s obligation to pay taxes for the use of land, it would be incorrect to take amounts into account to determine the profitability of the business. However, due to the need for regular watering and heating of plants, utility costs will increase significantly. It is expected that you will have to pay at least 5,000 rubles monthly.

The greenhouse complex consists of 5 greenhouses, each of which occupies an area of ​​30 sq.m. The cost of consumables (metal structures, polycarbonate, fastening materials), as well as the work of a specialized team for the construction of each greenhouse, will be about 20,000 rubles. Accordingly, a complete greenhouse complex will cost the owner approximately 100,000 rubles.

To set up the complex you will need the following equipment:

1) Refrigeration chambers. Necessary for cooling bulbs and storing flowers. Cost – 40,000 rubles.

2) Automatic watering system. Programmed watering will allow you to moisten the soil without direct human intervention. Price – 15,000 rubles.

3) Plant heating system. Designed to increase the temperature inside the greenhouse during cold periods. Cost – 30,000 rubles.

4) Ventilation system. Classic natural exhaust is not suitable for growing tulips, so it is recommended to install a fan in every greenhouse. The price of the set is 25,000 rubles.

5) A set of boxes. Bulbs will be planted in them. Cost – 5,000 rubles.

6) Agricultural implements. Required for caring for plants and soil. Includes rakes, gloves, buckets, etc. Price – 5,000 rubles.

In total, it will take about 120,000 rubles to purchase all the necessary equipment.

Regularly purchased materials will be mainly fertilizers applied to the soil to saturate it with necessary microelements, as well as pest control. This will require at least 3,000 rubles every month.

There is no need to hire any personnel to care for the plants. The entrepreneur himself can easily handle all gardening work. Considering the timing of the work, the blooming of tulips, and organizational issues will not require as much time as with any other type of business. In this case, only the initial purchase of bulbs will be required and the subsequent sale of flowers to retail chains at wholesale prices or sale to individuals at retail prices. Accordingly, no labor costs are provided. However, do not forget that an individual entrepreneur is obliged to pay contributions to pension and medical funds for himself personally. Their size for the current year is a fixed amount - 32,385 rubles. Taking into account the monthly breakdown, it turns out to be 2,699 rubles per month.

Thus, the cost structure for organizing and running a business for growing tulips in greenhouses is as follows.

Initial investment:

1. Business registration – 800 rubles.
2. Construction of greenhouses – 100,000 rubles.
3. Purchase of equipment and inventory – 120,000 rubles.

Total: 220,800 rubles. However, you should not rely on this amount when planning start-up expenses. She does not take into account the most important thing - the purchase of seed materials. Considering the scale of the sown area, the initial investment can be safely tripled.

Monthly expenses:

1. Utility bills – 5,000 rubles.
2. Fertilizers and chemicals – 3,000 rubles.
3. Individual entrepreneurs’ contributions for themselves are 2,699 rubles.

Total: 10,699 rubles every month.

Now let's start calculating the costs and income from growing flowers. The total area of ​​the greenhouses is 150 sq.m. Taking into account the need for free space to carry out work, the planting area will be about 100 sq.m. Every sq.m. soil can hold about 300 bulbs. Accordingly, it will take about 30,000 bulbs to fill all the boxes with soil. In order to purchase the specified volume of bulbs at a price of 15 rubles/piece, you will need at least 450,000 thousand rubles.

When calculating profits from growing flowers, the proportion of ungerminated and damaged bulbs should be taken into account. Usually it is at least 10% of the total landing volume. Thus, under comfortable conditions, at least 27,000 flowers can be grown by the end of the season. With wholesale sales at 40 rubles/piece, revenue will be 1,080,000 rubles. Considering the seasonality of this business, this will be the entrepreneur’s annual income. If we subtract the amount of monthly expenses (128,388 rubles), the cost of purchasing bulbs (450,000 rubles), as well as income tax (in this case it is advisable to use the simplified tax system model 6% “income”), the net profit will be 436,812 rubles per year or 36 401 rubles per month. The initial investment pays off within the first season. Taking into account the duration of growing tulips (preparing bulbs, planting, germination, formation of buds, etc.), as well as expansion prospects, it is possible to divide the greenhouse complex into several sectors in order to grow flowers throughout the year and make regular deliveries to flower shops.

How to choose equipment

To build a greenhouse you will need to purchase polycarbonate, metal structures, etc. In the greenhouse itself, it is necessary to create the proper conditions for growing tulips. To do this you need to purchase:

• Irrigation systems.
• Ventilation system.
• Lighting.
• Electric heaters that allow you to regulate the temperature.

Also, since before planting tulips, their bulbs require maintenance at a temperature of 5-10 degrees, you will need to purchase industrial refrigeration chambers. Separately, you need to purchase equipment for cultivating the land and caring for flowers, as well as sprayers against harmful insects.

Sales of tulips

As has already been noted here, the domestic flower market is literally oversaturated with imported flowers. But this does not mean that they are swept away from store windows. Therefore, those who sell such flowers, due to their high cost, are quite often forced to reduce supplies and increase them only during the holidays. But how many times has it happened that suppliers could not cope with a large number of orders, and customers had to deal with the fact of long queues at flower shops and not enough flowers for everyone? It is precisely in such situations that a domestic producer who grows tulips, or other equally popular flowers, gets a chance to earn the authority of a reliable partner who will never let you down. Actually, this is also proof that the flower business is always profitable, provided that the entrepreneur competently plans the process of selling the goods.

How to do it?

To achieve success in growing tulips for sale, the methods of selling the goods do not matter (after all, in the end, the result is important). Therefore, many entrepreneurs sell flowers traditionally to wholesalers, opening their own flower shop (this can be an excellent business in a residential area of ​​a big city), organizing a retail outlet (or several) in the market, and using some original techniques or additional services. For example, using the Internet. After all, the low price of fresh tulips delivered to the customer in the shortest possible time can make such bouquets the best-selling products on the Internet during the 2020 crisis. Of course, such business tricks will require additional investments, a good advertising campaign and several assistants. But this, at the same time, makes the company recognizable and increases its competitiveness.

Well, if the business plan does not provide for assistants, and you are ready to sell products yourself, then you definitely need to provide for two possibilities:

1. Sale of cut tulips;
2. Sale of bulbs.

In addition, to obtain maximum profit, you can take advantage of the opportunity to grow and sell tulips in different color palettes.

Growing technology

In order to effectively run a business, you must adhere to the following rules:

• Choose the right varieties of tulips. You can grow several varieties at once, for example Terry and Darwin tulips.
• Use a quality substrate.
• Follow the rules of planting and watering.
• Fertilize the soil.
• Care for plants as they grow.

It should be noted that tulips can be grown using two main technologies: Traditional - with the ability to control the temperature in the greenhouse and Dutch - more complex, but allowing you to get a larger number of flowers from 1 square meter.

Diseases and pests of tulips

When growing tulips at home in winter, it is difficult to avoid the risk of spreading diseases. To reduce the risk, you need to treat the soil and planting material, and also spray the shoots with fungicides in a timely manner. Among the three dozen known flower diseases, the most common are:

• Gray rot. Infects stems, leaves, and bulbs. Brown spots covered with gray fluff form on them. The shoots become twisted, the flowers become ugly;
• Soft rot. The bulbs turn pink, become covered with red spots, and emit a pungent rotting smell. The plant dies from lack of nutrients;
• Root rot. The top of the bulb becomes brown, and the roots become watery and brittle. The plant lags behind in development and soon dies;
• Tyfulosis. The tulip grows curled, limp leaves of a pink hue. The buds do not set, and after the roots turn yellow, the plant dies;
• Fusarium. Whitish ulcers covered with mycelium fluff appear on the bulbs. Further, they become brown and begin to rot, emitting an unpleasant odor;
• Trichoderma. It mainly affects the roots. They become glassy and begin to rot. A dry gray border appears at the ends of the leaves;
• Variegation. Flower petals are covered with chaotic spots and stripes of a different shade. The virus does not destroy the plant, but causes degeneration of the variety;
• August disease. Leaves and stems become covered with brown spots, within which the tissue withers. Depressed brown areas appear on the bulb.

Tulips have fewer pests, but in the absence of regular treatment of plants with complex preparations, they can cause serious damage to the crop:

• Onion root mite. An insect 1 mm long with a transparent green or brown body. It gnaws passages in the soft tissues of the bulb, causing it to rot;
• Greenhouse aphid. A green insect up to 2 mm long with a rounded body. It feeds on the juice of soft tissues, causing the flower to lag in development and wilt;
• Onion hoverfly. Black shiny fly up to 8 mm long. Its larvae gnaw through the bottom of the bulb, which leads to the plant drying out;
• Purple owl. A 3 cm long butterfly with beige spotted wings. It lays eggs at the base of the stem, from which caterpillars emerge and gnaw tunnels in the tissue;
• Wireworm. The larva of the click beetle is yellow in color, up to 3 cm long. It feeds on soft roots and bulbs, causing their death;
• Slug. In damp weather or high humidity, it feeds on young shoots and tender leaves, gnawing holes in the bulbs.

Planting before forcing

Planting can begin at the end of August. Before planting in boxes, the bulbs are kept for 2 weeks at 9°C. At this time, you need to prepare the substrate for planting by mixing sawdust and river sand, steaming the mixture at 80°C and treating it with a fungicide. Acidity should be close to neutral.

The bulbs are taken out of the refrigerator and disinfected in water heated to 40°, or a decoction of celandine, or in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The substrate is poured into containers in a layer of 10 cm, the bulbs are buried 3 or 4 cm and topped with substrate. Per 1 m2 the number of bulbs should be:

• 200-300 for cultivation using traditional technology;
• 325-375 using Dutch technology.

Acquisition and preparation of bulbs

Today, almost all technologies for growing tulips are based on forcing flowers from bulbs. But planting from seeds remains relevant only for summer residents who buy them for personal needs.

You can purchase planting material in Holland at relevant exhibitions or directly from green farms. Since fresh flowers are often supplied from abroad, it is better to focus on growing varieties that cannot be transported for a long time in finished form. Then you can offer customers unique items.

Seedlings can also be purchased in New Zealand, the Baltic states, and on the American market, but the cost of such planting material will increase significantly. Remember that you need to buy tulip bulbs for forcing with a small margin. Even with good performance and compliance with all the rules, about 3% of flowers do not germinate and remain defective.

To increase your chances of success, you should learn to choose quality bulbs. The one that has reached 3.5 cm in diameter, has brown scales and a round shape is considered good. For example, when forcing bulbs yourself, they are dug up as soon as the upper leaves of the flowers wither and the lower ones turn yellow. Remember, only healthy and strong specimens are capable of producing a high yield.

It is important to store the bulbs properly before they need to be planted in the greenhouse. So, the tubers are kept at a temperature of about 18°. Monitor the humidity in the room. It should fluctuate between 70-75%. Next, the seedlings are prepared in a certain way. To do this, the following steps go through:

• After 6 weeks of keeping the bulb in cool air, a pistil appears and at this moment it is necessary to correctly form the parts of the flower; for this, the temperature is increased to 32° for 7 days.
• Then reduce it to 17°, as this will help reduce the duration of forcing.
• Ready bulbs must be cooled before planting.

How much can you earn?

According to estimates by experienced flower growers, the cost of a tulip grown in a greenhouse is approximately 20 rubles. From one square meter you can get from 200 to 310 plants. And if you apply Dutch planting technology, the yield can reach 350 pieces. A small greenhouse area of ​​12 square meters will allow you to collect at least 2400 flowers. On holidays, the retail price varies from 50 to 70 rubles, and the wholesale price ranges from 40 rubles. By selling flowers wholesale, you can get 96,000 rubles. Taking into account the cost of production, the income will be 48,000 rubles. Obviously, growing tulips is a very profitable business.

How to equip a greenhouse?

Flowers are very demanding on quality lighting.

, soil moisture and nutritional levels. But the most important issue is heating the greenhouse. This can be solved by built-in mini-boiler rooms, but small structures are often heated with conventional air heaters or potbelly stoves.

Heating using fires and biofuel is also possible. Sheets of roofing felt, which are laid out around the entire perimeter, will help to retain heat.

Even the simplest greenhouses need a ventilation system

and curtains for shading during the summer heat. The design can be supplemented with a system of drip irrigation, fogging, temperature and humidity control.

All these functions can be

. This approach will help save on hired personnel to maintain greenhouses, but the initial investment will increase significantly.

Flowers can be planted directly in the ground, in containers hanging or mounted on racks. In industrial conditions, flowers are grown in bags filled with substrates made of perlite, coconut fiber, mineral wool, etc.

The prepared mats are laid out in special gutters with drainage holes; plants pre-rooted in seedling cubes are planted in the substrate

. This technology allows you to significantly save space in the greenhouse; up to 7 rose bushes can be placed on one linear meter.

Methods of growing flowers in greenhouses

There are two main ways to grow flowers. The simplest of them is traditional. In this case, the bulbs are immersed in the ground, watered and stored in a dark place at a temperature not exceeding 12°C. Planting is carried out in boxes 70x40x7cm, which cost about 70 rubles per piece. This box can hold up to 115 bulbs. When they have sprouted about 10 cm, the boxes can be taken to the greenhouse, where the temperature gradually rises to 18°C. At the same time, ensure regular watering. To make flowers bloom longer, you can keep the temperature at 12°C. It is very important to provide the plant with artificial light when sprouts appear. They should be well lit for at least six hours a day.

The Dutch cultivation technology is more complex, since it requires strict adherence to temperature conditions. Before planting, the bulbs are cooled for 12 weeks at 5°C or 22 weeks at 9°C. Then the bulbs are planted and also kept in a cool room, constantly sprayed so that the humidity reaches at least 90%. For rooting, the ideal air temperature is 11-13°C, and the soil temperature is 10-11°C. The boxes are then placed in a greenhouse, where the tulips grow at a temperature of about 18°C.

When the bulbs are cooled at 5°C, the yield reaches 375 buds per square meter. When a sprout of 10 cm appears, unsprouted bulbs must be removed so that gray rot does not appear in the box.

When is the best time to plant?

The preferred planting time is from the second half of September to the second half of December. Most species typically plant in October-November. To collect flowers by March 8, planting is carried out in November. Carry out an accurate calculation of planting dates as follows: flowering date - growing time of the variety - time of cold treatment = planting date.

The exact planting period is always adjusted taking into account the following points:

• the planned date of delivery of the trays to the greenhouse;
• To root the bulb it will take about 2 months after planting (minimum 6 weeks);
• the maximum period from planting to flowering is no more than 17 weeks;
• temperature in the room during rooting or in a permanent place;
• plant varieties.

Never plant bulbs when temperatures exceed +9°C. This can cause developmental abnormalities and provoke a number of diseases. Avoid planting too early because a prolonged period of cold will result in weak and fragile flower stalks.