At a time when horticulture is becoming increasingly dependent on weather, logistics, and human resources, those who think strategically are winning. The farm “Lviv Garden” has bet on intensive technologies, quality planting material, and processing – and in just a few years has transformed apples from raw materials into a full-fledged product with added value. Director of the enterprise Volodymyr Horysh shared more details about this journey, as reported by agronews.ua.
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The farm “Lviv Garden” was founded in 2012 in the village of Stil’sko in Lviv region. The first orchard was planted on a 25-hectare plot, but today the enterprise cultivates 85 hectares of intensive apple plantations.
“We grow only apples because the soil and climatic conditions of our region, namely mountainous terrain, are very favorable for this crop. In our orchard, there are 11 varieties: Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Red Jonaprince, Idared, Pinova, Greenstar, Red Chief, Gala, Gala Schniga, and Fuji,” said the farm’s director Volodymyr Horysh.
Furthermore, according to him, the choice of this crop was driven by market needs, as at the time when the enterprise was being established and new orchards were being planted, there was a shortage of Ukrainian apples in the market.
The orchard’s assortment was formed taking into account the specifics of further implementation: some varieties were chosen for sale in the domestic market, while others were selected for export.
“For example, varieties like Jonaprince, Red Chief, and Pinova have large fruits, so they are mainly sold in the domestic market. And the price for apples of this caliber, i.e., 75+, is significantly higher. On the other hand, varieties like Fuji, Gala, Golden are intended for export. In particular, these varieties are popular in the United Arab Emirates,” noted Volodymyr Horysh.
One of the key aspects of successful horticultural business is quality planting material. The farm “Lviv Garden” purchased some of the seedlings abroad, particularly from Griba and Gruber Genetti nurseries, and some from FG “Nadiya Sad” and the Bakhmut nursery.
As mentioned, the “Lviv Garden” farm is developing intensive horticulture because it is the fastest way to achieve project profitability, so espaliers are installed on all 85 hectares of the orchard. It is one of the key elements of the intensive cultivation technology used by the farm.
“It is very important to do everything as accurately as possible at the stage of orchard establishment. For example, when a farmer plans to install hail protection nets, their fastening should hit the pole precisely. Therefore, avoiding problems in the future is facilitated by GPS marking,” shared the farm’s manager’s experience.
Regarding hail protection, which often affects not only the quality of fruits but also the harvest itself, in the spring of 2026, the “Lviv Garden” farm plans to install hail protection nets on 33 hectares: on a new 15-hectare orchard planted last year and another 18 hectares of older plantations.
When it comes to protecting plantations from frost, the farm is fortunate. The enterprise is located in a mountainous area surrounded by mountains. Thanks to this, the temperature in the orchards is always 2°C lower than, for example, in Lviv or on the central Kyiv-Uzhgorod highway, located 10 kilometers away.
“But due to the fact that the temperature here is always lower, our orchard lags behind others in Lviv region by at least two weeks. And this feature became our natural protection against spring frosts because when frosts usually occur, our orchard has not yet blossomed,” noted Volodymyr Horysh. “This year, for example, the spring temperature drop did not affect our harvest. And the frosts that affected many farmers everywhere only left a slight mark on some fruits of Mutsu and Golden varieties. However, the harvest was good and abundant. By the way, last year we harvested 3300 tons of apples.”
Effective irrigation of plantations is an important component of intensive horticulture. For this purpose, the farm operates a modern drip irrigation and fertigation system, which allows automating watering and simultaneously applying fertilizers with water. This approach promotes uniform plant nutrition and increases the efficiency of orchard care.
One of the main challenges for orchardists remains protecting plantations from diseases and pests. The most problematic is scab, the spread of which is facilitated by the proximity of forested areas. Among pests, codling moth and mites cause the most damage.
The farm emphasizes that successful disease control depends on timely detection of the first signs of infection and prompt implementation of protective measures. To achieve this, they use proven plant protection products and modern equipment for plant care, including tractors, mowers, and sprayers that ensure quality coverage of trees during treatments.
Special attention is paid to organizing pollination. In the orchard, every tenth tree acts as a pollinator, and different varieties are planted in such a way as to ensure effective cross-pollination. Additionally, a bee apiary is installed on the farm’s territory, which contributes to increased yields and fruit quality. The number of hives is planned to gradually increase.
Apples in “Lviv Garden” are harvested manually as mechanization is impossible due to the relief features. However, one of the biggest problems for the farm is the shortage of workers, especially men.
“The main challenges we have to deal with are power outages and a shortage of workers. And not only specialists in their field but people in general, even for harvesting. For example, finding a tractor driver, a forklift driver, or just a loader is almost impossible,” confessed Volodymyr Horysh.
In such conditions, all employees have to work overtime, and even the director, agronomist, and security guard take turns driving the tractor or forklift. However, for harvesting, the farm found a solution: they rent buses from local bus depots and bring seasonal workers from neighboring villages.
During the harvest, the initial sorting of apples takes place. Third-grade apples, which will be directed for processing, are collected separately. After that, the fruits are sorted on modern equipment, which recognizes various defects and analyzes irregularities on the skin and under the peel.
Sorted apples are stored in modern refrigeration equipment.
Approximately 30-40% of the farm “Lviv Garden” harvest is exported. This year, apples will be shipped to Liberia, while last year they were supplied to the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
“The biggest problem with exports is expensive logistics. If before we transported apples to Odessa, where they were loaded onto a ship, now we have to load them into a refrigerated truck, transport them, for example, to Slovenia or Italy, and then transfer them to a ship’s refrigerated container,” shared the director of the “Lviv Garden” farm.
Most of their harvest is sold on the domestic market.
“Interestingly, there is a shortage of green apples on the Ukrainian market, which has quite high demand. However, red apples are sold much faster. For example, varieties like Red Jonaprince and Gala are very popular in Ukraine,” noted Volodymyr Horysh.
One of the important directions of the farm’s development has been the processing of apples under the Gaderia brand, which was registered in 2022.