this tag is to bring the people together who are into floriculture. There are lots of things that are very different in floriculture crops comparing to vegetable and fruits. from production to marketing, lot of things differ.
this is a small approach to join hands, work together, tackle the problems, experiment more crops and market it together.
Unity is the key here, from my experience till now i have learnt that if all the producers unite than only sky is the limit.
i have been involved into gerbera cultivation from quit a long time, i had my ups and downs and frankly this crop taught me a lot about farming and specially protected cultivation.
It feels very good to learn about your initiative. I am about to set up my polyhouse/greenhouse 2-3 months down the line near Pune (1 acre). My initial crop will be Gerbera (3yrs) as suggested by experts in the field. I had the same idea as yours, to bring people together, after i have a years experience or so. And it makes most of us very happy to to hear of such initiative. I wont be much help right now as it will take me some time to get my production started. But i will surely be looking for such unions where all the farmers can benefit.
Like you mentioned in your post, could you tell us about your experience with gerbera crop and polyhouse business? both sides of the coin (positive and negative).
be regular with the forum, keep posting your developments. do some writings, post some pictures. We all can share our experiences, comments, suggestions.
loads of activities brother.
lets get started.
so, what’s your professional back ground ? (only if you dont mind sharing)
where are you planing to start your polyhouse/greenhouse ?
what are the soil,water and electricity conditions at our site ?
how is the weather, throughout the year ?
what experience or readings have you done about this crop ?
why choosing protected cultivation over open field cultivation, considering its set up cost etc ?
its a beautiful flower, generally used in bouquets. Has got a worldwide demand because of its keeping quality.
I opted for gerbera in the starting because it was my first crop in protected cultivation and i didn’t really wanted to go for typical crops in the starting because their were loads of things to learn in the starting and even now.
gerbera is a hardy crop comparing to all the other floriculture crops, it can resist extreme weathers but not grown in open because the produce won’t be marketable,
it requires daily fertigation and hence drip + venturi plays a major role here.
average rate per flower is 2 rs/flower and in an acre you get 3000-3500 flowers per day, i.e 3 months after plantation the plant starts giving you flowers.
we have got 4500 flowers per day as well, but thats something when you have learnt the crop and its management completely.
I completed my education from Symbiosis Institute of design, Pune. I am a Product Designer. I got a decent job at a company but left it 3 months after because i want to be an entrepreneur. I studied many business ideas for a year after that. Went places. Talked to people. Then I came across polyhouse business through a relative of mine.
I am planning to start my polyhouse near pune. I am searching for land right now (3 to 5 acres) on nagar road (if anybody knows about some specific land, pls do not hesitate to reply). This should be done in 1 and half months. I am planning to build on 1 acre initially.
I am yet to buy the land. And I know the importance of water, electricity and labors. So, I will keep that in mind when choosing the land.
It rains for around 3 months here. On winter nights the temperature drops to 7 to 8 degrees. While on hot summer days temperature go up to around 40 degrees. Air is neither very dry nor very humid.
When I got to know about polyhouse, I searched and found a family friend who runs one. I worked there for a week with labors and did everything they did. I got to know what and how things work at a polyhouse. It wasn’t the best managed polyhouse but I learnt quite a few things.
Then I went to Horticulture Training Center in pune itself for a week long training in polyhouse management. That cleared many doubts and questions I had. Teachers over there were very knowledgeable and encouraging.
Then I went to Talegaon Floriculture Park which is an MIDC specifically for polyhouses as most of us already know. I entered a random polyhouse and asked the owner weather I could work there for some time for experience without any pay. And he agreed to letting me watch everything and do nothing for 8 days as he did not want to incur any loss because of me. He had 3 and half acre under polyhouses. He had pretty big thing going there. There was cold storage, cold transport vehicle and everything else needed. I discussed almost everything I could think of with the two supervisors while I was there. And now I am looking for a piece of land to begin my operations.
I have chosen protected cultivation because I don’t see this as farming. I see it as a business. And I researched it like any other business ideas I did. I have met people who have recovered Capital Cost (excluding land cost) in a 13 to 14 months. And that’s HUGE!
In no other projects did I find such Return on Investment. And also this project fits the idea I have about how my lifestyle should be.
I think I wasn’t very elaborate while writing this. So, ask if you have questions.
Also I wanted to know something. Is there any specific problem you encountered while your operations that we could avoid? As someone said, Its not always wise to learn from your own mistakes.
their were loads of problems one has to face when we start cultivating a totally new crop, it has its own fertilizer patterns, different pests and diseases. Plus in my region, their was nothing called “polyhouse”, i was kind of the first one to get it started here, so naturally i couldn’t actually get any trained labour, everything was to be taught to them by me… that was one challenge,
their are few things that i would suggest,
Never ever believe on any turnkey basis company, i.e if a company tries to convince you that it will construct polyhouse, install drip, soil preparation, planting, consultancy and it will do marketing for you, don’t buy that because nothing comes for free in this world and nothing comes so easy.
Gerbera crop requires 30 cm DRIP line, if more or less you will start facing fungal problems or stunted growth.
pay attention to drip design and drainage pattern of your field, its a very important part.
Fumigation of the soil is absolutely necessary, otherwise you will spend a lot later in controlling soil borne diseases.
Never go for a natural ventilated polyhouse bigger than 2000 sqmt. you will have air circulation problem throughout and your crop will be affected considerably.
their are lot more things which are not coming in my mind as of now.
Hi Aman, Does that mean you would not recommend multi-span structures? I am planning to install a naturally ventilated polyhouse next year and was thinking I would go for a multi-span structure for 2 acres as it would be cheaper than single-span option for the same area.
What is your max temperature in the summer outside and inside the polyhouse? Do you have side ventilation as well as top ventilation?
Hi,
I have bought my farm land now, it is in Tamilnadu, about 50km from Hosur. It is plain land where some cultivation of Ragi and Horsegram has been going on. The Land looks fertile, I need to do the soil testing. I have checked for the water availablity. I need to get the borewell done.
My Plan to do a polyhouse and not decided on what kind of crop. I want suggestions from you all on what I should be doing and what not. I know that there are few ployhouse growing Flowers and Colour Capsium. I am planing for a polyhouse for about 2 acres. Aman, can you suggest what kind air circulation I should have.
yes we do have side as well as top ventilation.
look, it all depends on your research, if you find that a multispan polyhouse of 2 acre has good ventilation than i dont see a reason why you should go for it, if its costing you less.
but ventilation inside the polyhouse is my major concern, if their remains humidity and suffocation for plants inside the polyhouse than your crop will suffer drastically.
check on that and let know.
by the way, how much rate has he quoted you for 2 acre multi span polyhouse? and what all services is he providing you ?
research on different crops, find out whats suitable for your regions climate and soil. Also, do enquire in the market. 2 acres sounds great, but your returns depend on your crop management and marketing skills.
don’s stress much brother, just follow your instincts, do what you want to do. Do some studies before that because its a huge lot of investment.
Which crop do you think, YOU should go for/what’s in your mind ?
Hi Aman, I am not going for turnkey arrangement as no satisfactory supplier exists in my area. I will go with design used by a few farms I have visited. The GI pipes will from one supplier, the plastic from another, insect net another, etc. It is cumbersome but as long as the design is right, it should be fine as I have previous experience with the different suppliers. The farms I have visited have side ventilation only or if they have top ventilation, they do not have side ventilation. I want to have both options so will design it accordingly first and then go with a good fabricator to put it together. The cost I am budgeting is about $25,000 per acre.
if you dont mind, could you please share the cost break up ? films specifications, make, material used, thickness of GI pipes, grade of your GI material etc.
its great that you are designing all of this your own, it saves lot of excess cost plus we can custom design it as per our own need.
Posting some pictures of naturally ventilated greenhouse, the one that i prefer at the moment. it has side as well as top ventilation.
Is that cost very low? Unfortunately, I do not have any detailed budget breakdown yet since I based that estimate on what a local farm manager told me for the structure on his farm. I am attaching a picture of the structure. He said this cost him $20,000 per acre. As his structure does not have top ventilation, I bumped up my estimate to $25,000. But keep in mind that the polythene covering he uses is cheap (60 micron, not UV stabilized so does not last more than 1 season). The estimate does not include drip irrigation either. It includes GI structure, polythene covering, insect net.
Your response is making me think that maybe he did not give me accurate cost. How much would budget for a polyhouse with top and side natural ventilation? Thanks.
hi the cost may come to abt rs 6 to 8 lakhs per 25 cents [ by turnkey fabricators] excluding drip system. the cost may be 20 percent les if u do allthe works yourself —
