Business idea: growing sea buckthorn for sale. Magazine "Drinks. Technologies and Innovations”. How to create a successful berry business? The experience of the nursery and garden center "Brusvyana" Technology and innovation
Business in the countryside has many advantages, but is only suitable for those who are not afraid of physical work. One of the new directions in crop production is the cultivation of sea buckthorn as a business. This is very useful berry, which has many uses besides being consumed as food. Therefore, you can safely start planting a garden.
One of the features of the business is that you do not need to hire staff if you are good at planting and maintaining the garden yourself. If you don’t have enough hands to grow the garden, you can make the business a family business. Also you will need to buy special equipment care garden.
- 1. Benefits and uses of sea buckthorn
- 2. Features of landing
- 3. Potential clients
- 4. We calculate the costs
- 5. Calculate profit
- 6. Ideas for a profitable garden
Sea buckthorn is small tree or shrub, has more than 40 varieties.
Be prepared for the fact that you can earn only after at least 4 years, only after this time the tree begins to bear fruit.
Is very useful product. Application can be found not only for berries, but for any part of the shrub, such as bark, leaves.
Sea buckthorn is applied:
- some varieties are consumed raw, adding sugar, sour cream, etc.;
- processed - jams, jams, compotes;
- as a spicy additive (for example, for flavoring wine).
Based on this, you can find many ways to market sea buckthorn, not only as a tasty berry, but also as a useful plant.
To receive good harvest many years, it is necessary to properly plant the plant.
Business plan workflows:
- planting seedlings;
- care, growing bushes;
- picking berries;
- freezing berries;
- sending to the buyer;
- processing of bark and leaves.
Sea buckthorn is planted in the spring from annual seedlings or woody cuttings.
Diameter landing pit- 40 cm.
The depth of the landing pit is 40 cm.
The distance between the rows of plants is 200 - 250 cm.
The garden should have seedlings of male and female specimens of sea buckthorn for successful wind pollination.
Compliance with these rules is the key to a good harvest!
Each of the varieties of sea buckthorn has its own characteristics:
| augustine | 4.1 | 0.6 | 7.8 |
| botanical fragrant | 4.1 | 0.33 | 5.6 |
| Giant | 4.9 | 0.7 | 6.8 |
| Krasnoplodnaya | 3.9 | 0.35 | 7.2 |
| Lomonosovskaya | 4.3 | 0.46 | 9.2 |
| News of Altai | 4.3 | 0.35 | 4.5 |
| Omskaya 27 | 4.2 | 0.38 | 5.2 |
| excellent | 4.4 | 0.45 | 4.5 |
| Nugget | 4.7 | 0.5 | 6.1 |
| Trofimovskaya | 4.8 | 0.58 | 7.4 |
| amber berry | 3.9 | 0.7 | 7.4 |
If you choose a variety according to taste, pay attention to the following: Augustinka, Fragrant, Botanical, Vorobyovskaya, Pepper Hybrid, Moskvichka, Moscow Pineapple.
If in terms of yield, then choose Botanical Fragrant, Botanical Amateur, Pepper Hybrid, Moscow Beauty, Nivelena and Finnish.
Immediately decide what scale your business will have. If you plant only a few trees, then focus your earnings on retail.
If you are planting an entire garden, you will not be able to retail the entire crop before it starts to spoil, you need to look for wholesale buyers.
Sell products simultaneously for several very different buyers:
- retail buyers in the market (subject to combination with other types of sales);
- wholesalers or retailers (but already at a price below the market);
- patisseries or bakeries;
- supermarkets or other shops;
- restaurants and cafes;
- producers of yoghurts, fruit juices, jams, syrups;
- natural cosmetics manufacturers
It will be more difficult to establish sales for medical purposes to pharmaceutical companies, but this is quite realistic.
Again it all depends on whether you are doing sea buckthorn cultivation as a business on a grand scale or a modest one.
For example, consider a 1 hectare garden.
Investments in business:
- land - about 1,000,000 rubles;
- plowing the land - 30,000 rubles;
- fertilizers - 50,000 rubles;
- fence (from a tree) - 20,000 - 150,000 rubles;
- seedlings for 500 rubles. (900 pieces are needed for 1 ha) - 450,000 rubles;
- payment to assistants during landing - 90,000 rubles;
- purchase of containers for transportation, storage (600 boxes are enough) - 60,000 rubles.
The initial cost of growing sea buckthorn as a business is about 1,780,000 rubles.
Regular expenses:
- land tax - depends on the location of the garden, but is about 5,000 rubles;
- purchase of fertilizers and chemicals - 10,000 rubles. in year;
- fare- 40,000 rubles;
- rent of a refrigerated warehouse before shipment - 30,000 rubles per month.
Also, if there is a need for this, hiring workers to help with the harvest - 100,000 rubles. for the season.
The average yield from 1 ha of land is 130 centners of sea buckthorn.
The average cost of sea buckthorn is 100 rubles. per kg.
Revenue from 1 ha is 1,300,000 rubles.
Keep in mind that the first 3-4 years are allotted only for growing trees, and only in the 4-5th year they will begin to bear fruit, but the cost of taxes and fertilizers will be every year.
Revenue for 3 years of cultivation and 6 years of harvest (1 ha) is 7,800,000 rubles.
Costs for 9 years (initial + regular) - 5,100,000 rubles.
Profit for 9 years - 2,700,000 rubles.
Experts report that sea buckthorn as a business will be highly profitable if planted on 10 hectares of land. It is better to achieve such scales gradually, establishing wholesale sales. Also keep in mind that the average yield of berries is taken as an example.
The cherry orchard is an interesting and tasty business option. If you choose the right varieties, you will get a crop for 6 months. In addition, berries are in great demand.
We grow strawberries - the most delicious and popular berry, as well as quite expensive. At the same time, in planting or care, it is quite unpretentious plant. For an initial investment, only about 200,000 rubles is enough.
The apple orchard as a business is gaining momentum, because you no longer need to wait several years before the harvest. Modern varieties, as well as growing methods, will allow you to make a profit already on next year.
How to create a sea buckthorn plantation that can provide a profit of 1,000 euros per hectare?
Not every farmer can grow sea buckthorn, but if you have some free money, a piece of land and time, you can start a business in agriculture, which will be profitable three years after planting. The cost of planting and cultivating one hectare of sea buckthorn will be 1500 - 3500 euros. The investment will quickly pay off in three years. From one hectare you can collect from 15 tons of sea buckthorn, the average price of which is 150 rubles per kilogram.
Sea buckthorn cultivation
1.
Sea buckthorn is unpretentious and grows at 900-1000 meters above sea level, preferably on flat, hilly terrain, or with a slight slope to the south. Almost any well-drained soil is suitable for it with two exceptions: they are not suitable for sea buckthorn too acidic soils with a pH below 5.5 and marshy, with excess moisture. If sea buckthorn is planted in clay soil or greasy black soil, you need to add sand or small pebbles to the planting soil.
2.
A very good harvest can be expected when planted in meadows where ground water located at a depth of 1.5 meters and below. For all its "dislike" to dampness, sea buckthorn tolerates 7-10 days without problems. heavy rains. For good development, sea buckthorn requires a maximum of light, so shrubs are planted in places where there is no shade.
Sea buckthorn perfectly tolerates temperatures from -40 ° C to + 40 ° C. A sea buckthorn plantation can withstand 2-3 of the most severe droughts, but the cost of an irrigation system will be absolutely justified, as it can significantly increase yields.
Planting sea buckthorn
1.
Land for planting should be fertilized at least half a year before planting. It is better if sea buckthorn is planted in a field previously sown with cereals (for example, wheat), which, thanks to cultivation, will be freed from perennial weeds.
Soil preparation for planting consists of: deep loosening (scarification) up to 60-70 cm in spring, and 35-40 cm in autumn. If the soil is well prepared, shrubs can be planted in late autumn. If not, then postpone until spring, the result will be just as good, subject to irrigation and fertilization.
2.
Planting sea buckthorn - mechanical or manual?
Planting seedlings can be done using specialized machines, or manually, traditional way. Rows of shrubs should be oriented in a north-south direction. Bushes are planted at a distance of 3-3.5 meters between rows and 1.5-2 meters between plants.
3.
Don't forget, sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant.
Sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant. In nature, two types of shrubs grow, with female and male flowers, so you need to plant shrubs of both houses, alternating them with each other. A "male" tree can pollinate several "female" trees, so they can be planted in fewer, 1/8 to 1/12, for example, 1 row of male plants and 8 rows of female plants. This planting is especially useful if the crop is harvested mechanically. In this case, in the "male" row, the interval between the trees will be 0.5 meters.
4.
crown formation
From landing in early spring and until autumn, the plant acquires a beautiful crown of 3-7 shoots, 50-80 cm long and 8-12 mm in diameter. After the first winter, radical pruning is practiced, leaving 3-5 of the most beautiful and strongest branches, the rest are removed. Pruning and care, especially in the second year, consists in maintaining the crown of the shrub in good condition. By autumn, the plants form a strong crown, with shoots from 15-20 to 140-170 cm long, ready for fruiting.
First harvest
Harvesting takes place from mid-August to the end of September. The harvesting method used on commercial plantations is a compromise, with an obvious loss of production, but the only one that is practically possible and feasible. Harvesting is carried out by removing 2-year-old branches with secateurs.
With this approach, the berries are harvested in a year (since the next year the bush does not bear fruit), but the overall yield does not fall. It is recommended to divide the plantation into two parts and harvest the fruits alternately, one year from one site, the next from the other. So you can harvest annually and generally increase productivity, getting 22-24 tons of sea buckthorn berries per hectare.
The harvested berries are frozen right with the branches, and only then are they picked, which reduces crop losses. Also, sea buckthorn on branches can be stored longer and transported over long distances without damage. Sea buckthorn plantation bears fruit for an average of 25 years.
Sales
1.
Healing, "wild" crops are becoming more and more in demand on the market. And it must be said that the average buyer today understands much better that the products of their native regions are much better for a person than exotic innovations. Therefore, people are happy to buy sea buckthorn and products with it.
As mentioned above, sea buckthorn is not whimsical, and quite productive. How can you sell the harvested rich harvest?
2.
You can sell the following sea buckthorn products:
+ Fresh sea buckthorn
+ Frozen fruits
+Dried fruits
+Syrup
+ Jam
+Juice
+Tinctures
+ Sea buckthorn oil
+Teas
It is worth saying that not only berries, but also leaves are useful for sea buckthorn. They can be dried and added to herbal teas, or sold as a standalone product packaged and packaged in bags.
3.
Internet sales
It is not easy to find sea buckthorn and other medicinal products on the market, so consumers are trying to buy them via the Internet. By creating your own online store (on your own or ordering it from a specialist), you can sell your products online. On the pages of the site you can tell potential buyers about healing properties sea buckthorn and the usefulness of your products. Also, it will not be superfluous to periodically arrange promotions for customers, and create a system of cumulative discounts for regular customers.
Project concept:
The berry market in Ukraine is in its infancy. Today, berry crops, which were previously considered uncommon, are gaining popularity. One of these berries is sea buckthorn - a culture familiar to Ukraine, the demand for which has been returning in recent years.
The demand for sea buckthorn berries in the international market has been increasing for several years. Thus, over the past 5 years, the sea buckthorn market has grown by 40% and this moment is estimated at $ 1 billion. At the same time, the international market for sea buckthorn products is estimated at $ 17 billion.
Figure 1. Domestic consumption and demand for sea buckthorn berries in the international market in 2017
Sea buckthorn is gaining popularity due to its multifunctional use in many areas, such as: medicine (used as a medicinal plant in tinctures and syrups), food industry (used as an additive, for the production of jams, preserves, etc.), cosmetology (sea buckthorn oils are produced) , as well as to decorate the site. In addition, you can sell not only dried, fresh or frozen sea buckthorn berries, but also leaves that are dried and added to herbal teas.
Figure 2. Export and import of plants for perfumery and medicine, thousand tons. (Ukraine)
This business plan provides a business case for the effectiveness of a project to grow sea buckthorn on an area of 10 hectares and sell it fresh and frozen to the domestic market.
1. Project summary
2. Description of the project
3. Characteristics of the target market
3.1 general characteristics berry market and medicinal plants in the world and in Ukraine
3.2 Analysis of the competitive environment in the sea buckthorn cultivation and sea buckthorn oil production market
3.3. Forecasts for the development of the market for berries and medicinal plants
4. Production plan of the Project
4.1 Location of the project implementation site
4.2. Description of the growing process
4.3. Required equipment and other project assets
5. Organizational plan
5.1. Network schedule for project implementation
5.2. Required personnel and personnel policy for the Project.
6. Investment plan
7. Financial plan of the project
7.1. Business parameters
7.2. Initial data for calculation and their reasoning
7.3. Sales forecast for the project
7.4. Formation of profit on the project
7.5. Movement forecast cash flows project
8. Analysis of the effectiveness of the project
8.1. Analysis of project profitability
8.2. Indicators of investment attractiveness and profitability of the Project
8.3. Project Development Scenarios
9. Risk analysis
9.1. Factor analysis of project risks
9.2. Risk Mitigation Strategy
9.3. SWOT analysis
10. Conclusions
List of tables:
Table 1. Ukrainian companies that grow and trade sea buckthorn
Table 2. Companies producing oils (including sea buckthorn)
Table 3. Technology of growing sea buckthorn
Table 4. Calendar for the care of sea buckthorn
Table 5. Required Equipment for the Project
Table 6. Project Implementation and Financing Schedule (1 year)
Table 7. Project staffing
Table 8. Investment costs of the project
Table 9. General parameters for the Project
Table 10. Parameters of the enterprise
Table 11. Taxation parameters
Table 12. Utility costs
Table 13. The cost of bushes for planting per 1 ha
Table 14. Cost of fertilizers per 1 ha
Table 15. Expenses for mulching sea buckthorn
Table 16. Calculation of depreciation charges for the Project as a whole
Table 17. Profit and loss statement for the project
Table 18. Capital costs of the project
Table 19. Project operating costs
Table 20. Profit generation for the project
Table 21. Project effectiveness
Table 22. Performance indicators
Table 23. Break-even volume of the enterprise under the project
Table 24. Minimum selling price and financial safety margin
List of graphs and diagrams:
Figure 1. Project objectives
Figure 2. Export and import of plants for perfumery and medicine, Ukraine, thousand tons. Leading countries producers of aromatic and medicinal plants in Europe in 2016, thousand tons
Figure 3. Suppliers of sea buckthorn in the European market, %
Figure 4. Dynamics of production of fruit and berry crops in Ukraine, thousand tons
Figure 5. Dynamics of areas planted with fruit and berry crops at a fruitful age (thousand hectares) and their yield (c/ha)
Figure 6. Leading regions of Ukraine in terms of consumption of fruits, berries and grapes in 2016, thousand tons
Figure 7. Export / import of edible fruits and nuts, million dollars
Figure 8. Directions for the implementation of sea buckthorn
Figure 9. Main suppliers of frozen berries in the EU, 2016, thousand euros
Figure 10. Pros and cons of growing sea buckthorn
Figure 11. Project location
Figure 12. Project organigram
Figure 13. Structure of capital investments for the Project
Figure 14. Forecast sales plan for fresh blackberries
Figure 15. Dynamics of project profitability
Figure 16. Structure of operating expenses
Figure 17. Profit generation for the project
Figure 18. Gross revenue and gross profit margin
Figure 19. Dynamics of net profit and return on sales
Figure 20. Internal rate of return
Figure 21. Payback period of the project (since the beginning of the project)
Figure 22. Break-even chart by years
Figure 23. Directions of investment
Figure 24. Project profitability indicators
Figure 25. Profitability indicators (total for 7 years)
In Berry business: sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn is very useful and in demand berry culture, the plant itself is a small tree or tree-like bush, and begins to bear fruit for 4-5 years. In addition to the fact that at present there are many varieties that are not very sour in taste (even closer to sweet) and are a delicacy. Sea buckthorn is delicious as a main dessert dish in fresh(sugar, cream, sour cream, etc. can be added to taste), and in processed form as various mousses, jams, compotes, jams, kissels, drinks, ice cream. There is also a wide range of applications of this berry as additives to other food products.
In addition to the recognized taste properties, sea buckthorn berries have a wide range of useful therapeutic and prophylactic qualities, and can be used: to reduce pain symptoms in inflammatory processes, as a wound healing agent, in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, with burns and some skin diseases, with eye diseases, with beriberi.
Except berries useful properties Sea buckthorn leaves also possess, a decoction of which can be used in diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
In a word, we can say that this product is well known to consumers and proper organization distribution channels will be in demand by consumers.
The business of growing and processing berries is, of course, long term project and the return from it will appear no earlier than after 3 years, until the plants begin to fully bear fruit.
Planting sea buckthorn is carried out by seedlings, the cost of a seedling is about 500 rubles. for a bush
For one of the most sought after and famous varieties"Chuisky" harvest averages 20 kg per bush, the berries of this variety are large 0.9 g and, most importantly, have a sweet-sour taste and a long stem (2-3 mm), which facilitates the collection of berries.
It is proposed to consider the option of organizing a business within the following technological chain: planting and growing sea buckthorn, harvesting sea buckthorn, freezing and shipping to a wholesale consumer.
Investments in this business will be:
- a plot of land with an area of 1-1.2 hectares - in the regions, such a plot (this is not a plot for individual housing construction) will cost about 1 million rubles;
- erection wooden fence plot (without a transverse picket fence) - 100 thousand rubles: 5-6 cubic meters. meters of unedged boards - 20 thousand rubles, 100 metal fence posts - 30 thousand rubles, work (installation of poles, fixing the board) - 50 thousand rubles.
- sea buckthorn seedlings - 900 pieces (distance between seedlings 3 meters) - 450 thousand rubles.
- high-quality plowing of the site - 30 thousand rubles.
- fertilization and soil preparation - 50 thousand rubles.
- payment for mass planting of seedlings - 90 thousand rubles.
- returnable packaging for storage and transportation of sea buckthorn (berry box 600 pieces) - 60 thousand rubles.
Total: initial costs will amount to 1.78 million rubles.
Current expenses:
- land tax (may vary greatly depending on the location of the site), let's take about 5 thousand rubles;
- Salary for an employee caring for sea buckthorn with taxes 20 thousand rubles. (for the village, this is real money);
- the cost of chemicals - 10 thousand rubles. in year.
- payment to temporary staff during the harvest period, for the amount of work 1-100 thousand rubles. per season
- transportation costs for transportation to a refrigerated warehouse - 40 thousand rubles. for the season.
- temporary storage in a refrigerated warehouse before shipment - 30 thousand per month (everything must be sold during this period)
Revenue at a price of 100 rubles. per kg of berries and yields of 130 centners per hectare - 1.3 million per season (fruiting period - 6 years)
Revenue for the cycle - 3 years of cultivation + 6 years of fruiting - will amount to 7.8 million rubles. from one hectare
Full costs initial investment+ current costs for 9 years will be: 1.78 million rubles + 45 thousand rubles. land tax + 2.16 million employee salary + 90 thousand rubles. chemicals + 1.02 million rubles. harvesting and storage costs. Total costs 5.1 million rubles.
The profit from one hectare will be 2.7 million rubles. for 9 years or 300 thousand rubles. in year
Net profit per hectare - 2.3 million rubles. for 9 years or 255 thousand rubles. in year.
As can be seen from the calculations, serious amounts from such a business can be obtained if the cultivation and harvesting of sea buckthorn is carried out on an area of 10 or more hectares, which is possible only with the organization of stable wholesale distribution channels.
The yield in the calculations is taken average, but it can be higher with favorable conditions.
Subsequent cycles will not require investments in the purchase land plot, the acquisition of seedlings (they can be reproduced independently). And this is almost 1.5 million rubles.
This business possible only for a stable economic situation, as a family business, similar to the business of growing grapes in France, Italy, Spain.
Sea buckthorn belongs to the goat family. Sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant, that is, it has male plants, in the flowers of which only stamens are formed, giving a lot of pollen, and female plants, in which only pistils are formed and fruits are tied. Pollen from male plants to female plants is carried by wind (up to 100 m). Insects are not involved. One male plant can pollinate 10-12 female plants. At a young age in seedlings, it is very difficult to distinguish a male plant from a female one. These differences appear at the beginning of fruiting. In male plants, the buds are large, as if swollen, somewhat removed from the shoot, covered on top with three to four scales. In female plants, the buds are small, covered with only two scales, pressed against the shoot.
Sea buckthorn grown in our gardens is a tree 3-4 m high. Plants usually bloom in mid-May. The flowering of sea buckthorn lasts for several days. Flowers, both male and female, are very small and can only be seen with very close examination. The fruit is a drupe, yellow, orange, red in color with various shades, round or oval in shape, weighing from 0.3 to 1.0 g. The fruits are attached to the shoot with a short stalk and completely stick around it.
The roots are closer than other plants, coming to the surface of the soil. The root system is much wider than the crown, extending from the trunk up to 4 m. The bulk of the roots lie at a depth of up to 30 cm. They have nodules the size of Walnut. They are able to convert air nitrogen into compounds that the plant absorbs, due to which the deficiency is replenished. nutrients. Adventitious buds are laid on horizontal roots, from which root suckers develop.
Sea buckthorn - photophilous plant. Wood and fruit formations are highly frost-resistant, but death is observed in severe winters. flower buds and crop decline. It grows well on light and medium loamy soils. Alkaline, highly carbonate soils are unsuitable for it. It does not thrive in acidic soils.
Sea buckthorn is moisture-loving. With a lack of moisture in the habitat of the roots, yields fall. It tolerates prolonged flooding well. running water and bad - stagnant.
Planting sea buckthorn
For planting sea buckthorn, lighted places are chosen where snow accumulates moderately so that when it melts in the spring, it does not break off the branches. Sea buckthorn prefers light soils, it is desirable to add more to heavy soils. organic fertilizers and sand (preferably coarse-grained river). The food area is at least 4-6 m 2. Plants are planted at a distance of 2x2, 2x3 m. This entire area is fertilized, 10-20 kg of organic fertilizers and up to 300 g of superphosphate are applied per 1 m 2 and dug to a depth of 25-30 cm.
Male trees are planted from the direction of the prevailing winds. If there are only 2-3 female trees on the site, then in order to save space in the crown of one of them, 2-3 branches of a male plant can be grafted. This will be enough to pollinate all plants. For planting, one- and two-year-old sea buckthorn seedlings are used with 1-2 shoots 35-50 cm high and 3-5 main roots 20 cm long. The diameter of the stem at the root collar is 6-8 mm. best term planting sea buckthorn - early spring, before bud break. But at proper conduct all work and timely (no later than October 10) planting in the fall, you can also get good results.
Planting hole size 50x50 cm; 1-2 buckets of organic fertilizers and 200-300 g of superphosphate are added to it. The seedling in the pit is placed 10-12 cm lower than it grew in the nursery in order to create conditions for the formation of a second tier of roots. When transporting seedlings, the roots are protected from drying out. If they have nodule formations, they must be preserved. When planting, the soil is pressed tightly to the roots. After planting, sea buckthorn seedlings are immediately watered - at least 1 bucket per plant. In the future, sea buckthorn is looked after in the same way as other crops, with the exception of some features. The soil is loosened no deeper than 6-8 cm, since root system located close to the surface.
There are no studies on sea buckthorn fertilizer, but practice shows that it responds well to organic and phosphate fertilizers. On a fruit-bearing plantation, it is recommended to apply 5-6 kg of organic fertilizers and 50-60 g of superphosphate per 1 m 2 of the tree trunk every 2-3 years. nitrogen fertilizers only sea buckthorn growing on poor soils is needed. Fertilizers scatter and close up to a depth of 8-10 cm, and near the trunk and smaller. It is best to fertilize in early spring.
From spring to fruit ripening, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture, if necessary, pouring at least 3-4 buckets of water per 1 m 2 of the near-stem circle.
Sea buckthorn begins to bear fruit at 3-4 years of age. Fruits are formed only on the growth of the previous year, therefore, fruiting all the time moves to the edge of the crown, and the fruit-bearing branches are exposed, so we must strive to ensure a good annual growth and lay the foundation for a high harvest next year.
On old plants, the yield falls, as the growth decreases over the years, the collection of fruits is difficult due to the high crown. To extend the life of plants, it is necessary to carry out rejuvenating pruning of 3-4-year-old branches on a side branch. It is better to cut the entire crown not in one year, but in parts in different years. In place of the cut, new, strong, well-bearing branches appear.
In sea buckthorn, part of the branches disappears annually. When forming the crown, broken and dead branches are removed, and the thickening shoots are thinned out. You can not shorten last year's shoots: this reduces the yield. At good care from one tree of zoned varieties, you can get up to 15-17 kg of berries.
Sea buckthorn fruits ripen in late August - early September. Harvesting should begin when they are fully ripe. Unripe and overripe berries have less oil than mature ones. Overripe berries are difficult to pick and burst easily. When collecting, it is convenient to use forks made of springy steel.
The shoot is clamped with a fork (it is placed in the recess on the cheeks of the clamp). Moving the fork along the shoot, they pick the berries, which fall into the canopy, suspended under the branch. It is not scary if small shoot branches come off along with the berries. They live only a year and still die in the autumn. Instead of a canopy, you can use a metal (aluminum is more convenient) or a wooden tray covered with a film with straps, which the assembler hangs around his neck. It is easy and quick to collect fruits in it, since you can approach any branch. In this way, you can collect 40-50 kg of berries or more per day.
At excellent harvest the branches sag a lot and the wind often breaks them, so it is necessary to substitute props (chatala) under them in advance. After harvesting the soil on trunk circles loosen, destroying weeds, clean the chatala.
In winter, snow should lie evenly around the trees, but the height of the cover should not exceed 50-70 cm, since high snow breaks branches when melting. If a lot of snow accumulates by spring, in March, with the onset of warm days, the branches must be freed from it.
Sea buckthorn breeding
Sea buckthorn is propagated by grafting by cuttings, by rooting green and lignified cuttings and by root shoots, if the plants are self-rooted, that is, grown from cuttings or root shoots, and not grafted. The most accessible to amateur gardeners is the method of rooting lignified cuttings. In early April, well-developed annual shoots are cut from the plants, tied into bunches and stored in the snow. Cuttings from well-ripened shoots with a diameter of 7-8 mm root better. Sliced shoots at the beginning of May are cut into cuttings 15-18 cm long, tied into a bundle so that everyone has the bottom on one side and the top on the other, they are immediately placed in water with their lower ends 1/3 of the length and kept at room temperature 5-7 days before swelling of the kidneys. After that, they are planted in the ground.
The site for planting sea buckthorn cuttings should be protected from the winds, but well lit. The soil is fertilized with humus or compost (10-15 kg per 1 m 2), if necessary, adding sand (2-3 buckets per 1 m 2), dig up and make a bed like a strawberry. The bed is best done in the fall. Cuttings are planted vertically so that 2-3 buds remain above the soil. Feeding area 10x10 cm. The soil should fit snugly against the cutting. After planting, they are watered abundantly.
Good results are obtained by planting sea buckthorn "through the film". On the bed they spread polyethylene film, sprinkling the edges with earth or pressing with boards. The cuttings are stuck into the soil through the holes made in the film and watered well. Every day (preferably in the morning) from a watering can, through a strainer with small holes, the area is watered. roots cannot form without access to air.) Even if it rains a little, it is not necessary to water.Weeds are removed as needed and the soil is loosened very shallowly.
First of all, the shoot begins to grow in the cuttings of sea buckthorn, and only then the roots, therefore, when shoots appear, daily watering should not be stopped. Roots are formed, as a rule, in 25-30 days. After that, water less often. straight proper care 70-90% of planted cuttings take root. By autumn, most of them are suitable for planting in the garden. The weak grow another year.
Sea buckthorn often gives root growth, therefore, if the plant is rooted, it is dug up with a part of the mother root and used as a seedling. If the root system is weak, the plants are grown in the garden during the year. This work is done in the spring, digging up shoots before bud break.
Useful properties of sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn is one of the few multivitamin crops. Its fruits are especially rich in vitamins C and E1, carotene. It contains a lot of vitamins K and B 9, somewhat less vitamin P, there are vitamins B 1, B 2 and trace elements: iron, magnesium, manganese, boron, sulfur, aluminum, silicon, titanium. Sea buckthorn is very rich in vitamin E (tocopherol), which prevents vascular sclerosis and muscle dystrophy. Its juice and seeds contain oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids.
Sea buckthorn fruits, thanks to high content biologically active substances (vitamins, acids, trace elements), have a therapeutic effect. Wide application found in medicine sea buckthorn oil, which is obtained in factories from fruit juice. The population of Siberia has been harvesting this berry for a long time. Previously, it was collected in the winter in wild massifs and ice cream was used as food all winter. Now, after harvesting, the berries are processed into jams, compotes, preserves.
