Smart Greenhouses by Yuriy Zikov

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Nikolai Kurdyumov is an author who needs no introduction. Even if you haven’t read his books, you’ve probably heard the name: the ideas and advice of this practical gardener, popularizer of natural agriculture, inventor and innovator are actively discussed on the Internet, in television broadcasts, in newspapers and magazines. The findings of craftsmen will be useful to you if you want to make work in the garden easier, and the harvest is higher.

In this publication you will get acquainted with the smart greenhouses of Yuri Zikov.

Yuri Zikov, the “ex-king of tomatoes” from Adygeisk (Russia), can talk about tomatoes for hours. For many years, he lived a dream – to revive the brand of famous tomatoes. His greenhouses are an example of unique efficiency. I have never seen such a combination of cheap construction, ease of operation and high efficiency anywhere else. Here are his main inventions.

Perhaps the most valuable quality of Yuri’s film greenhouses is absolute wind and snow resistance in the steppe. Greenhouses resemble a tightly inflated beach mattress: winding and flapping of the film are excluded.

The perimeter of each greenhouse is a quarter-brick wall.

Vines hanging near the walls quickly outgrow them and do not suffer from lack of light, and protection from wind and heat loss is excellent. Yuri uses a composite film, especially strong, it serves for 5-6 years without removal.

It stretches very quickly. The width of the film is 6 meters (19.7 ft), and the width of the greenhouse is 5.8 m (19 ft). The strip of film is simply snapped on top, along, and stitched with shingles only along the perimeter. The roof ribs – an ordinary beam or a half-inch pipe – lie often, every 60 cm (2 ft).

The film is simply “sewn” to the frame with raw nylon ropes. After letting the rope dry, they pull it – no wind can shake such a roof. The heat has come – the film is sprayed with ordinary clay: both accessible and then easily washed off.

In cold weather, a second layer of film is thrown under the roof – the “ceiling”. It is placed on the lower crossbars of the frame and secured with clothespins. The “ceiling” significantly saves heat and reduces the formation of condensation. Rainwater flows down the gutter. Only the gutter limits the length of the greenhouse.

The central and side supports of the frame – inch pipes – pass through 1.5 – 2 m (4.9-6.6 ft). The unprecedented 40 cm (1.3 ft) of snow of the greenhouse withstood perfectly, although the thin rod sank a little somewhere. It’s understandable: a half-inch pipe for the roof is absolutely reliable.

The entire upper part of the side walls is a solid window, which turned out to be a stretched film. The roof is almost flat, and the “boards” provide normal ventilation. Ventilation is regulated in the most reasonable way – in a matter of seconds. This can be seen in the photo: the film slides freely between the two parts of the greenhouse. An old cable is soldered into it from below-for gravity. To lift the film, it is enough to move the ropes up and secure with a clothespin.

It is even easier to close: the clothespin is removed – the film falls off by itself. It is very important that it is more convenient to pluck the fruits from the plant – that is, it is twice as easy to care for! And there is also such a “trifle” for raising bushes — a cunning hook: I rewound a couple of turns — and the bush stood up like a soldier.

Over the past ten years, farmers have learned almost everything about greenhouse tomatoes. For example, they found out that there is more heat in the soil than in the air— and assembled a simple subsurface heating system. It is established: the height of the greenhouse greatly affects the harvest! And that’s why his greenhouses are much higher. He started mulching the soil – and finally the weeds retreated, the water consumption for irrigation decreased, and the harvest grew. Its tomatoes bear fruit from April to December without any chemical treatments.