Growing garlic outdoors as a business

Garlic is one of the most popular vegetable crops in the world, which is why a business based on its cultivation should generate a good income. Besides, such plants are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to 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 talk in detail how to plant and when to harvest garlic, how much planting material is needed and what is the yield per hectare.

What is the yield of garlic?

Garlic is grown all over the world. This spicy vegetable is used as an addition to many dishes. It is consumed fresh, marinated, 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 teeth. The shelf life of such fruits can be up to 12 months;
2. Winter - planted in mid-autumn. The resulting crop is large in size, smooth and beautiful teeth with a rich pungent taste. The main disadvantage of this type will be a short shelf life, equal to 3-4 months.

Can you grow garlic for sale?

Growing garlic for sale is quite a profitable activity, because the price of this vegetable on the market always remains high, and the simplicity of performing agrotechnical work allows even a novice gardener to carry out them. The main difficulty will be finding sales channels, because the number of offers for the sale of these vegetables is extremely large.

For cultivation, you do not need to build greenhouses and other structures, all work is carried out in the 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 of vegetables in advance.

A business based on the cultivation of garlic is especially beneficial for people who own a land plot. 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.

A garlic business can generate good income with minimal upfront costs. Many sources recommend starting cultivation in small areas and gradually increasing the area planted.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Garlic Business

Growing garlic for the purpose of further sale is considered a profitable business idea because it is very often successful. Such a case has many advantages:

1. Garlic is a very popular vegetable crop. which is always in demand, so there will always be sales channels, even if you have to try hard for this;
2. The life of such a business can begin from an ordinary garden plot size 6 acres, it will be enough to get a stable and decent income;
3. The garlic business doesn't 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 long enough, therefore, if the distribution channels are properly organized and storage conditions are provided, 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 culture growing in open ground can die under the influence of an unfavorable climate.

Where should you start a garlic business?

Garlic business start with the selection of a suitable land plot. Given that this crop grows well in the open field, building greenhouses will be unnecessary work that only brings additional costs.

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

In the event that a novice businessman does not have a land plot in his ownership, he can be rented. Its price will depend on the region chosen, the quality of the soil, etc.

Planting and leaving

After the land plot is selected, you should take care of purchasing planting material. To grow garlic, use its cloves or one-cloves.obtained by cultivating garlic arrowheads. Experienced gardeners recommend paying attention to high-yield varieties that are regionalized for the growing region.

Necessary equipment and workers

When growing this crop on a small plot of land, it can be planted and harvested manually, while for processing 1 hectares of soil already need special equipment... This 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, while paying for such a service will have to be 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 within 20-80 thousand rubles.

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

When cultivated in large areason 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 ground warms up to 5-7 degrees.

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

1. The plot must be open and sunny;
2. It is not allowed to use 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 obtain a good harvest, it should be borne in mind that garlic prefers neutral loams. Regardless of the timing of planting, in early 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 25-30 centimeters apart. The distance between the prongs will be 12-15 centimeters. The planting material is buried 15-20 centimeters, this is necessary so that the cloves do not freeze during the winter. Immediately after the planting work, they are mulched with a 7-centimeter 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.

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

Planting care

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

1. Garlic beds are needed regularly to clear weeds and loosen;
2. Watering is carried out moderate, during the growing season and the formation of bulbs, the soil should always be moist. Watering of plantings should be stopped 2-3 weeks before harvest;
3. After each watering, it is recommended to mulch the soil;
4. To form larger heads it is necessary pinch off the arrows, more than 15-20 centimeters long;
5. Same plants need feeding. 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 laborious process. 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 out with a pitchfork or pulled out by the aerial part. The timing of the harvest will depend on the climate. Usually, both in Russia and in Ukraine, winter garlic is harvested in early August, and spring garlic in early September. The most accurate determination of the ripeness of the crop can be by the arrows, which begin to turn yellow and fall on the ground.

In order to preserve the harvest as long as possible, it is recommended to perform the following actions:

1. Initially, the heads are cleaned of soil and leave 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.

How to sell products

Selling garlic is a very important step, because the success of the business you start will depend on it. There are several options for marketing the resulting crop:

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

Selling garlic is quite difficult, because the market is full of such offers, but if you find a regular buyer and produce quality products, you don't have to worry about this issue.

What is the profitability of a business from 1 hundred square meters and 1 hectare

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

Depending on the selected variety from one hectare, you can get about 10 before 50 tons of cropsgiven 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, we can come to the conclusion that a business can fully pay for itself already for 1 year of existence.

Business plan

Before starting 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 a description of the cultivated areas;
3. The business plan must include a production plan, which will include description of the planting process and care technology for plants;
4. You also need to specify guaranteed distribution channels, with whom an agreement has already been concluded;
5. The last and most important part of the business plan will be calculation of expenses and estimated income.

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