Greenhouse mixed three-dimensional planting doubles profits

Bright red strawberries dotted among the green leaves refused to fade, freshly emerged fresh-eating corn seedlings were verdant and dripping with freshness, and clusters of green beads on the grapevines grew freely in the sunlight, while tourists busily picked and took photos among the red and green... On May 5, in a greenhouse picking shed in Xiaomanling Village, Houjiamiao Township, Xuanhua District, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, 3 crops at different heights formed a "mixed" scene of breathtaking beauty for tourists.

Such a unique planting structure should be the work of agricultural technicians, right?

Unexpectedly, this was a three-dimensional planting model developed through the practice of Wang Liang, a migrant worker who had returned home. In earlier years, because farming income was low, Wang Liang chose to go to the city to work. In 2010, a chance opportunity gave him the idea of returning home to start a business. That day, a friend took him to a picking garden around Beijing for a visit, and strawberries in the greenhouse sold for 60 yuan per kilogram, which deeply affected him. In 2011, relying on a stubborn refusal to admit defeat, Wang Liang built the first strawberry picking garden in Xiaomanling Village.

Greenhouse strawberry cultivation is in August every year, and the picking period can last until May of the following year at the latest, with a 3-month idle period in between. Wang Liang, who loved to mull things over, wanted to do something with those 3 months. The first thing he thought of was growing grapes, because he had seen people grow grapes in greenhouses before, roughly picking them in July or August, but he was not sure what kind of grapes could be grown, nor did he know whether the grapevines would affect the growth of strawberries. For this reason, he began traveling around to investigate. Hard work paid off. After visiting many places, Wang Liang finally found this "strawberry + grape" three-dimensional planting model at a picking garden on the outskirts of Beijing. Xuanhua is located in a high-cold region. Although both use greenhouse cultivation, the macroclimate also has a considerable impact on plants, and the soil is not fertile enough. Could this kind of planting succeed? "If you do not try, how do you know whether it will work!" In 2013, Wang Liang introduced this "strawberry + grape" three-dimensional planting model. With the help of local agricultural technicians, his three-dimensional planting was a great success, and in 2014, the picking garden's income doubled.

Wang Liang, having gotten a taste of success, still did not stop. The local area had always had a tradition of intercropping, and inspired by this, Wang Liang tried interplanting corn in the strawberry beds. To increase profits, he chose fresh-eating corn, sold by the ear after being cooked and brought to market in the off-season. In 2015, he really did carry basket after basket of fresh-eating corn out of his greenhouse.

Wang Liang calculated an account for the reporter: "From January to May is the strawberry maturity and picking period, corn comes to market in June, and greenhouse grapes can be picked by the end of June and sold in the off-season at a high price. At the same time, the grape picking period in the greenhouse can even be extended to the end of November, and they can also sell for a good price. One greenhouse can harvest four to five thousand jin of grapes, three to four thousand jin of strawberries, and also 5,000 ears of corn. Calculated at 1 yuan per ear of corn, 20 yuan per jin of grapes, and 30 yuan per jin of strawberries, it can sell for more than 200,000 yuan in total! The yield from my one mu of land can match the income from twenty mu of field corn!"

In Xiaomanling Village, this kind of "three-dimensional farm" is not the only one! Under Wang Liang's leadership, many villagers in Xiaomanling Village developed greenhouse cultivation. In 2014, Wang Liang also took the lead in establishing a planting professional cooperative. By teaching planting techniques, providing high-quality seedlings, and introducing a new strawberry-grape three-dimensional planting model, it developed more than 20 solar greenhouse pollution-free sheds, with an annual output of more than 40,000 kilograms of strawberries and grapes, driving the development of the village's picking tourism economy.

"In the future, this farm will be more three-dimensional. We will not only open a rural restaurant, but also set up a 'fruit feast' Western restaurant." Wang Liang happily shared his dream of becoming wealthy with the reporter.

Yan Zongchun, our reporter Hao Lingfeng