Growing onions as a business with calculations

Without onions, it is impossible to cook many delicious dishes. Both onion and green vegetables are equally useful and are in demand among buyers. Therefore , the onion growing business is quite attractive and can bring a good income.
In addition, you can organize it even at home.

And if you have your own land or cottage, a small business can grow into a serious business with low investment.
If you like the idea of ​​an onion business , come up with a plan of action that will allow you to answer the following questions:

• What is the market situation
• Is it worth growing onions for sale, and which varieties to choose
• What is the business concept
• How to start a business
• Where to sell the harvest
• What capital is required

The concepts can be combined and grow both types of onions or stop at one of them. It all depends on your preferences and financial capabilities.
To begin with, let’s dwell on the positive and negative sides of the business.

Business pros and cons

The pros are:

• Minimum initial investment
• You can start with a small piece of land
• Easy to grow and care
• Ability to control production volumes
• Short production cycle for feather onion format
• Constancy of demand
• High yield
• Does not require special knowledge

Cons:

• Market saturation
• Low price for onions in summer
• Influence of climatic conditions
• At first, there are difficulties with the sale of large parties
• There are few disadvantages and with the right approach, they can be avoided.

Is it profitable to grow onions for sale

To answer this question, let’s define the profitability of the business:

Options	Plot 30 acres	Greenhouse 120 sq. m.
Starting investments	400 thousand rubles	500 thousand rubles
Profit	275 thousand rubles	660 thousand rubles
Annual costs	80 thousand rubles	100 thousand rubles
Net income per year	195 thousand rubles	560 thousand rubles
Payback	2 years	13 months

Profitability is good: 60% in the open method of cultivation and 40% in the greenhouse. Accordingly, it is profitable to grow and sell onions.

The best varieties of onions to grow for sale

This vegetable crop is divided into several types:

1. Onions: planted in a suitable container in the fall or at the end of winter, when the cold subsides, as it has low frost resistance;
2. Leek for greens: grown from seeds, use only a feather;
3. Slime onions: planted at any time of the year, due to frost resistance;
4. Shallot: a capricious variety in care that does not require frequent watering;
5. Batun: frost-resistant onion, grown in winter.

The most popular of the species is onions, the best varieties of which are:

• Yukont . Violet early ripe onion of spicy taste and weighing 100 grams
• Carmen . White early ripe variety weighing 70 grams
• Strigunovsky local . High-yielding culture with a bulb weight of 60-85 grams
• Setton . Mid-season productive variety that can be stored for a long time, weighing 150 grams
• Kaba. Late-ripening onion with a semi-sharp taste and a fruit weight of 150 grams
• Farmer. Late-ripening large variety for long storage, weighing from 250 to 350 grams

Popular varieties of onions that do not give arrows :

• Troy. Early ripening onion of moderately spicy taste for spring and winter planting
• Radar. Large-fruited variety up to 300 grams of very spicy taste
• Centurion . Low weight variety, bred in the Netherlands, suitable for growing in any climate

The best varieties of onions on a feather :

• Karatalsky. Multi-cavity and multi-growth onion with a short dormancy, capable of producing an early harvest
• Rostov local. Has a fleshy feather and medium dormancy
• Stuttgarten. Multi-germ variety for growing in winter
• Chalcedony . Less popular due to the small number of primordia, but more accessible

Regardless of the variety, a daily inspection of the site is necessary in order to control the growth and formation of the vegetable, to exclude early vegetation. For cultivation, choose several varieties of onions to ensure regular harvest.

How to start a business growing onions

To start an onion growing business, you will need to work out the following points, which, depending on the format and volume, may differ slightly, but in any case, they need to be worked out.

Plot of land

• For cultivation in open ground, an area of ​​\u200b\u200b20-30 acres is required. A personal plot, a vegetable garden with suitable soil and access to sunlight is suitable. It will take about 20 thousand rubles to prepare it.
• To plant onions on a feather, you will need a year-round greenhouse of 120 square meters. m. with lighting, heating and irrigation system. Under the plants you need soil or hydroponics, shelving. The costs for the greenhouse will amount to 450 thousand rubles, the hydroponic installation – 430 thousand rubles.

You can buy a greenhouse ready-made or build it yourself. To do this, they assemble a structure from a wooden frame and cover it with a polycarbonate film. As an alternative, a garage, a utility room, a basement are suitable, which are insulated with polystyrene foam or polyethylene foam and attach racks.

Equipment and inventory

• A well for open-pit cultivation for 50 thousand rubles.
• Motoblock 30 thousand rubles.
• Buckets, shovels, hoes, etc. 10 thousand rubles.

Storage room for vegetables

Suitable dry, dark, ventilated room. Depending on what time of the year you plan to sell the crop, and what volumes you are going to grow the room, it will be very different. On an industrial scale, a vegetable store is a topic for a separate article.

seed

Seeds. Use store bought or own cultivation. In this case, they are pre-treated with disinfectants. Ready seeds are laid out on a damp cloth and covered with a second layer on top. Two days later, they start planting in a tape way, observing a distance of 1.5 cm.

• Seedling. It is sown in the ground in the presence of three leaves, carefully removing it from the primary soil in order to avoid damage to the sprouts. Planted in holes at a distance of 10 cm from each other.
• Sevok. Small dense bulbs with a diameter of not more than 3 cm before planting are kept in a weakly concentrated manganese solution, dried for 20 minutes at a twenty-degree temperature and heated for 10 hours at 40 degrees.

A kilogram of seed material, on average, costs 15 rubles . Depending on the variety, the cost may be more or less than the indicated amount. Seed suppliers are looked up on the Internet, on bulletin boards, agricultural fairs or local farms.

All work on planting, caring for and collecting onions is labor-intensive, so assistants may be needed, as well as an agronomist with knowledge of the matter at the start.

Search for sales markets

Try to sell both onions and green onions immediately after harvest. If the first one can lie for 3-4 months or more, then the feather one is stored for no more than two days.

The selling points of the bow are:

• Vegetable bases and markets
• Catering establishments: canteens, restaurants, cafes
• Supermarkets and grocery stores
• agricultural fairs
• Wholesale sales to resellers
• Sales from own plot or greenhouse

Actively promote your business through: your website on the Internet, groups in social networks, message boards.

Where is the best place to grow onions?

Although onions are unpretentious plants, they require the right soil. The soil should be sandy or loamy, not acidic. It is good if legumes, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, potatoes have previously grown on it. The culture coexists with any greens, carrots and beets. Sawdust is an alternative to soil as the cheapest growing material.

Land for planting is pre-prepared:

• initially plowed in the fall, removing weeds;
• in the spring, re-plowing and harrowing are carried out;
• humus is introduced at the rate of 0.5 tons per hundred square meters;
• fertilize with potassium, phosphates, ammonium nitrate and nitrogen.

An agronomist will help to properly prepare and fertilize the site, 5 thousand rubles will be required to pay for his services.

There are three ways to grow onions:

• Open, meaning planting in the summer and harvesting up to three times a year
• Greenhouse, more expensive, but allowing you to harvest all year round
• Hydroponics, which involves growing onions without soil in a nutrient-rich aquatic environment. This method is the most cost-effective, although costly.
  As mentioned earlier, a place for culture can be anything: a cellar, a loggia, a terrace, a utility room and others. The main thing is to observe three conditions for growing:

1. Desired temperature
2. Lighting
3. Soil irrigation

Proper care will help to get a high yield of onions and avoid plant diseases.

Growing technology

The technological process of planting in open ground consists of the following steps:

1. The prepared material is planted in the ground warmed up to +10 degrees in May, having previously spilled the ridges with water;
2. Between the bulbs maintain a distance of 10-12 centimeters;
3. Watering is carried out once every two weeks, and at a temperature of +23 degrees – once a week, without waterlogging the soil;
4. After watering, the soil is loosened;
5. Feed a couple of weeks after planting;
6. Apply potassium phosphate fertilizers after three weeks of growth;
7. To destroy pests and diseases, the plant is treated with ash, tobacco dust;
8. Weak and rotten specimens are removed;
9. They begin harvesting in dry sunny weather, when the greens have dried up by a third, about 2.5-3 months after planting. At the same time, two weeks after stopping watering, but continuing to loosen;
10. The dug onion is cleaned from the ground with hands, laid in rows on a cloth, turning the leaf part in one direction. Dry in air or dry room for two weeks;
11. The finished crop is stored

As you can see, the cultivation technology is simple, the main thing is to provide appropriate regular care.

How to properly store onions

The harvested crop is inspected, removing defective bulbs. The roots are cut without touching the bottom of the head. Onions are laid out in baskets or boxes that allow air to pass through, and are stored in a room with the following conditions:

• air temperature from +1 to +3 degrees
• humidity 65-75%

Periodically, the crop is sorted out, discarding spoiled bulbs. Subject to storage conditions, the vegetable will lie until late spring, while retaining its beneficial properties.

Bow on pen as a business

The business of growing onions for feathers is gaining momentum every year due to the higher cost of such onions. The main types of culture include: batun, leek, parade, chives, shallots of various multi-bearing varieties.

The most profitable occupation will be growing onions for greens in a year-round greenhouse. In this case, soil and hydroponics are used. The second method is more expensive, but less time consuming and more productive.

Growing in the ground

1. In healthy specimens, the top is cut off and soaked in warm water for 12 hours.
2. Planted in prepared soil sprinkled with lime on top to avoid mold at the rate of 10 kg of onion per square meter
3. In the process of growth, they provide a temperature of +22 degrees and moderate watering.
4. After 22-26 days, with a growth of 30-35 cm, the onion is removed

The culture is grown in boxes on racks in three tiers. Peat, sawdust, decontaminated soil are used for soil. The landing area will be about 240 square meters. m.

The annual costs for this method will amount to 350 thousand rubles. Of them:

• For seed material, 300 thousand rubles will be needed.
• For fertilizers 10 thousand rubles.
• Payment for electricity 40 thousand rubles.

Growing with a hydroponic system

• The tops of the bulbs are cut off and soaked for 12 hours in warm water.
• Prepare nutrient solution, substrate and plant
• Produce planting depending on the method of hydroponic cultivation
• Watering and fertilizing will not be needed, the desired air temperature is +25 degrees, daylight hours are up to 12 hours, and after 10 days 17 hours
• Onions are harvested on a feather after 15-18 days and a new one is planted

In order to save money, a hydroponic system is made from improvised material with the help of a specialist or independently.

Costs per year will be 550 thousand rubles:

• For raw materials for planting 450 thousand rubles.
• Nutrient solution 30 thousand rubles.
• Payment for electricity 70 thousand rubles.

Paperwork

The activity must be registered with the tax office in the form of a KFK, private household plot, individual entrepreneur or LLC. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

• For individual entrepreneurs, a minimum of documents is required: a passport, an application and a receipt for payment of state duty
• For an LLC, you additionally need a charter of the company and authorized capital
  . The type of taxation is the same for both forms: simplified tax system with payment of 15% from the difference between income and expenses or 6% from profit.
• Private farm is suitable for owners of a plot of land of 10-50 acres and allows you to grow products for personal consumption
• KFK is a commercial structure of no more than five participants, ideal for a family business on a plot of up to five hectares. These farms pay a single agricultural tax.

OKVED codes:

• 01.13.1 for vegetable growing
• 01.13.11 about growing vegetables on open land
• 01.13.12 on growing vegetables indoors
• 01.13.3 for tubers and root crops

The list can be expanded by organizing crop rotation with other vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, zucchini.

How much to invest at the start

Item of expenses	open way	Greenhouse method
planting material	300 thousand rubles	450 thousand rubles
fertilizers	20 thousand rubles	10 thousand rubles
Well	50 thousand rubles	—
Motoblock	30 thousand rubles	—
Inventory	10 thousand rubles	10 thousand rubles
Greenhouse	—	400 thousand rubles
Total:	410 thousand rubles	870 thousand rubles

The figures are not final and depend on the land area, the method of cultivation, the scale of the business.

Business risks

Although the onion business is simple and attractive, there are negative aspects in it. The following risks affect the success of the business:

• Competition. To reduce risk, carefully study the pricing policy of competitors, market supply and demand. Offer a quality product at average prices.
• Weather. It is typical when growing onions in open ground: drought, frost, hail, heavy rain.
• Plant pests and diseases: onion fly, rust, powdery mildew, gray rot.
  To combat them, special compounds and folk remedies are used.
• Bow shooting. In order to avoid crop loss, preventive measures are provided: healthy planting material, the right variety, sufficient watering during cultivation, breakage of arrows at a length of 20-30 centimeters.
• The risk of impossibility of quick marketing of green onions. May lead to losses due to the short shelf life of greens. Therefore, it is worthwhile to agree in advance on the sale of products, to advertise the goods.

Despite the shortcomings, growing both onions and onions is an actual business . This product is valued all over the world and is always in demand. Starting a business is easy, the main thing is to follow the business plan and look after the culture. With the right approach, the costs will pay off in full, and the activity will bring a stable income.