Bulgaria has reported a drastic decline in the production of greenhouse vegetables this winter. This is the reason why there are currently fewer and fewer Bulgarian tomatoes and cucumbers on the markets in our country. In order to avoid losses in production, most farmers have preferred to leave their greenhouses empty and postpone the planting of new production for a few months.
To survive the winter season, Boril Nikolov has sown his greenhouse with lettuce instead of cucumbers and tomatoes. This way, he saves on gas costs, which have increased in price by 30% in the cold months.
"Our biggest expense is staff. We almost do not fertilize in the winter period, and watering is also reduced to a minimum. We have no heating. They are kept in solar greenhouses with double polyethylene, we cover them with a mulch of lettuce and in this way we maintain a temperature difference without heating", explains Boril Nikolov. He currently grows 29,000 heads of lettuce. In addition to the classic ones, he has also sown boutique ones.
The prices of lettuce are 20% higher this year than last winter. "About 1 - 1.20 leva is our wholesale selling price", explains Boril to NOVA.
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