About us
We are a family business that has been growing blueberries since 2011, and on our farm by the Salaca we welcome berry lovers, sauna friends and anyone looking for quiet rest.
A dream that became a farm
SIA Rudzo was founded on 3 November 2011. Growing blueberries was a dream for us rather than a profession: we did not train as farmers, but we learn more every year, from experience, from colleagues on other farms and from the bush itself. Today Ģinēni grows blueberries, and beside them are the sauna by the river and the guesthouse Melleņu ligzda, where anyone can enjoy the quiet.
Ģinēni in numbers
- 7
- greenhouse complexes
- 11,000+
- blueberry bushes
- 2.52
- hectares under film
- 2011
- the year we started
How our berries grow
We grow our blueberries in film tunnels, where the berries ripen safe from rain, wind and birds. The varieties are planted in sequence, so the berries in the tunnels ripen one after another, from the earliest to the latest.
- Each tunnel is 100 m long, 9 m wide and 3.5 m high, with four tunnels in each complex.
- The farm has 7 complexes and more than 11,000 bushes on 2.52 hectares.
- For irrigation we use river and pond water, pumped to the tunnels.
- Varieties: Duke, Spartan, Patriot, Chandler, Bluecrop, Bluejay, Hardyblue.
Why we grow in tunnels
- The crop ripens sooner
- Better berry quality
- Less exposure to bad weather
- Fewer diseases and pests
- Birds do not eat the crop
- The temperature can be adjusted by raising or lowering the film
- A bigger yield from each bush
A look at our everyday work
In the summer of 2022 a long feature looked inside our farm. In it the owners, Uldis and Ērika Mežuļi, explain how the blueberries grow in tunnels without chemicals, why we pick them ourselves and how the berries reach buyers.