Growing garlic outdoors as a business

" Garlic

Garlic is one of the most popular vegetable crops in the world, which is why a business based on its cultivation should bring a good income. In addition, such plants are characterized by unpretentious care and good resistance to adverse weather conditions. These factors make it possible to grow spicy heads in all regions of the country. In this review, we will discuss in detail how to properly plant and when to harvest garlic, how much planting material is needed and what is the yield per 1 ha.

Garlic is grown all over the world. This spicy vegetable is used as an accompaniment to many dishes. It is consumed fresh, pickled, salted, stewed and prepared according to many other recipes. Before you start growing this crop, you should familiarize yourself with its characteristics. Gardeners divide garlic varieties into two main groups:

1. Spring - planted in early spring. These varieties produce small, dense heads with spicy but not overly sharp cloves. The shelf life of such fruits can reach up to 12 months;
2. Winter - planted in mid-autumn. The resulting crop is characterized by large size, even and beautiful teeth with a rich spicy taste. The main disadvantage of this type will be a short shelf life of 3-4 months.

The yield is at a fairly high level. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, from one hundred square meters you can collect from 100 to 500 kilograms, respectively, from one hectare from 10 to 50 tons.

Can you grow garlic for sale?

Growing garlic for sale is quite a profitable occupation, because the price of this vegetable on the market always remains at its best, and the ease of performing agrotechnical work allows even a novice gardener to carry it out. The main difficulty will be finding distribution channels, because the number of offers for the sale of these vegetables is extremely high.

For cultivation, it is not necessary to build greenhouses and other structures, all work is carried out in open ground. This factor significantly reduces the initial budget. However, it is worth remembering that the harvest of spicy heads can be obtained only once a year, so you should take care of the storage conditions for vegetables in advance.

A business based on the cultivation of garlic is especially beneficial for people who own land. But even if this is not available, you should not be upset, the soil can always be rented, depending on the region, such a service will cost from 5 to 80 thousand rubles per hectare for one season.

Renting land in the Moscow region and the Moscow region can cost much more than in the surrounding areas, so you should think about the location of the site in advance.

A garlic business can bring in a good income, with minimal initial costs. Many sources recommend starting cultivation in small areas and gradually increasing the amount of acreage.

Advantages and disadvantages of a business built on the cultivation of garlic

Growing garlic for the purpose of further sale is considered a profitable business idea, because it very often ends in success. This business has a lot of advantages:

1. Garlic is a very popular vegetable crop, which is always in demand, so there will always be distribution channels, even if you have to try hard for this;
2. The life of such a business can begin from an ordinary garden plot measuring 6 acres, it will be enough to get a stable and decent income;
3. Garlic business does not require much start-up capital;
4. Garlic is unpretentious culture, which can be grown on almost any soil;
5. Compliance with simple rules for growing plants will help get a rich harvest;
6. Received heads are stored for a long time, therefore, if you properly organize distribution channels and provide conditions for storage, profits can be made throughout the year.

But this business also has its drawbacks. Growing garlic in large areas will require the involvement of special equipment, the rental of which is quite expensive. We must not forget about natural factors, because a crop growing in the open field can die under the influence of an unfavorable climate.

Another disadvantage will be the impossibility of growing garlic on the same land for more than 3 years in a row.

How to Start a Garlic Business?

A business built on the cultivation of garlic, start with the selection of suitable land. Given that this crop grows well in the open field, the construction of greenhouses will be unnecessary work, which only brings additional costs.

In order to grow a rich harvest, it is enough to use a small summer cottage, several acres in size. At the first stage of business development, such an area will be enough. With the expansion of the site, both the profit and the complexity of processing will increase, requiring additional costs, therefore you should first acquire regular customers who are ready to purchase products and only after that to increase the sown area.

In the event that a novice businessman does not own a land plot, it can be rented. Its price will depend on the chosen region, soil quality, etc.

Landing and care

After the land is selected, care should be taken to purchase planting material. To grow garlic, use its cloves or single cloves. obtained by cultivating bulbs from garlic arrows. Experienced gardeners recommend paying attention to productive varieties zoned for the growing region.

It is also worth deciding which garlic will be grown winter or spring. In the first case, the crop will turn out to be larger and more beautiful, and in the second, it will be softer.

Necessary equipment and workers

When growing this crop on a small plot of land, it can be planted and harvested manually, while to process 1 hectare of soil, you will already need special equipment. It includes a tractor with mounted technologies suitable for sowing or a walk-behind tractor.

Renting a tractor together with a worker will cost at least 50-70 thousand rubles, and you will have to pay for such a service annually. The most economical option would be to purchase your own walk-behind tractor. Its price will depend on the configuration, manufacturer, engine type and many other characteristics. This indicator varies between 20-80 thousand rubles.

You will also have to purchase garden tools, which include shovels, watering cans, rakes, pitchforks, hoes, etc.

When cultivated over large areas on an industrial scale it will be very difficult to do without workers. It is best to hire them for seasonal work.

Planting in spring and autumn in open ground

The timing of planting garlic will depend on the type chosen:

• winter varieties planted in autumn - at the end of September-mid-October, 3-4 weeks before the first frost;
• spring - sown in open ground in April, when the soil warms up to 5-7 degrees.

When growing garlic, it is very important to choose the right place for planting:

1. The site must be open and sunny;
2. It is not allowed to use the lands on which melt water and precipitation accumulate. It is also worth making sure that the groundwater is at a deep level;
3. It is not recommended to plant garlic where onions, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes grew before it. Desired predecessors would be cabbage, legumes, pumpkin, zucchini or greens.

To get a good harvest, it should be borne in mind that garlic prefers neutral loams. Regardless of the timing of planting, at the beginning of September, the soil is dug up, cleaned of weeds and debris, after which the following fertilizers are applied:

• 1 bucket of humus;
• 50-60 grams of superphosphate;
• 50-60 grams of ammonium nitrate.

Winter garlic is placed in furrows located at a distance of 25-30 centimeters from each other. The distance between the teeth will be 12-15 centimeters. Planting material is deepened by 15-20 centimeters, this is necessary so that the cloves do not freeze during the winter. Immediately after the work, planting is mulched with a 7-cm layer of peat or sawdust. If the winters in the regions are frosty, but with little snow, it is recommended to additionally use spruce branches or agrofibre.

Regardless of the type chosen, the teeth should be deepened strictly vertically.

Spring garlic is much denser, the distance between the furrows will be 15-20 centimeters, and between individual plants 7-10 centimeters. The teeth are deepened by 6-8 centimeters.

Landing Care

To get a rich harvest that will be easy to sell mono, you need to properly care for the plantings and follow a few basic rules:

1. Beds with garlic are necessary regularly clear weeds and loosen;
2. Watering is moderate, During the growing season and bulb formation, the soil should always be kept moist. Watering plantings should be stopped 2-3 weeks before harvest;
3. Recommended after each watering mulch the soil;
4. In order to form heads of a larger size, it is necessary pinch arrows, more than 15-20 centimeters long;
5. Also plants need to be fed. In the spring, after the first leaves appear, the garlic is fertilized with nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea. After 15-20 days, complex mineral fertilizers are applied. When 5-6 leaves appear on the garlic, it is fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Growing garlic is quite easy, but at the same time, a painstaking and time-consuming process. By adhering to all the rules for planting and caring for plants, a rich harvest will be guaranteed.

Harvesting

The collection of spicy heads of garlic is most often done by hand, for this they are dug up with a pitchfork or pulled out by the aerial part. Harvest time will depend on the climate. Usually, both in Russia and Ukraine, winter garlic is harvested in early August, and spring garlic in early September. You can most accurately determine the ripeness of the crop by the arrows, which begin to turn yellow and lie on the ground.

1. Initially, the heads are cleared of the ground and left to dry for 20 days at a temperature of 25-30 degrees;
2. Then it is necessary cut roots and leaves, the neck is shortened to a length equal to 2-5 centimeters.

The garlic crop is stored in a dry and cool room, the air humidity in which should be in the range of 60-80 percent.

How to sell products

The sale of garlic is a very responsible step, because the success of the business started will depend on it. There are several options for marketing the resulting crop:

1. Retail sale at own outlet. This option is the most expensive, but at the same time the most expensive, because you have to rent a retail outlet and hire an employee;
2. Wholesale on various bases, large chain stores, various industries, etc.;
3. You can also garlic sell to restaurants and other establishments Catering.

The sale of garlic is quite complicated, because the market is saturated with such offers, but if you find a regular buyer and produce quality products, you can not worry about this issue.

What is the profitability of a business from 1 weave and 1 ha

Calculation of profitability (received income and expenses) will be made depending on the size of the sown area, and the income received is calculated in the same way.

Depending on the variety chosen, from one hectare you can get about 10 to 50 tons of crop, given that 1 kilogram can be sold for 110 rubles, the minimum income will be 1.1 million rubles. With the best outcome, this amount can increase by 5 times.

Based on all the calculations presented above, it can be concluded that a business can fully pay for itself already in 1 year of existence.

Business plan

Before you start a garlic business, you need to draw up a competent business plan, which will indicate all the important details:

1. First of all, it is necessary describe the cultivated variety, its taste, yield and other characteristics;
2. The second important point will be description of sown areas;
3. The business plan must include a production plan, which will include description of the planting process and care technology for plants;
4. It is also necessary to specify guaranteed sales channels, with whom a contract has already been concluded;
5. The last and most important part of the business plan will be calculation of expenses and expected income.

Growing garlic for sale is a painstaking, but very interesting and profitable process. With the right choice of variety and obtaining a beautiful and tasty harvest, the business can pay off and generate net income in the first year after landing.