Growing garlic as a business from scratch

Everyone is well aware of such a vegetable crop as garlic. The spicy plant has earned popularity due to its numerous beneficial properties and taste characteristics. It is unpretentious in care, able to grow in any region, which is why it is so common in agriculture.

The garlic growing business is an interesting idea for several reasons, which are presented in the table:

pros	Minuses
Low investment at the start	Without wholesale buyers, it may be difficult to implement
Payback from six months to a year	For winter varieties need soil with sand
High profitability	Labor costs for cultivating the site
Steady customer demand	At the initial stage, it is difficult to find a reliable supplier of material for sowing
Minor competition	Warehouse space required
Easy to grow
Does not require large areas and special knowledge
The remaining garlic can be sold in powdered form.

As you can see, the disadvantages are insignificant and inferior to the advantages of the business. The main thing is to plan the stages of activity, implying the solution of the following issues:

market research and selection of garlic varieties for cultivation;
search for seed suppliers and site preparation;
paperwork;
sales of products;
financial calculations

Is it profitable to grow garlic for sale

When cultivating garlic on an ongoing basis, there is a great chance of making a good profit. The cost of raw materials for sowing is relevant only at the initial stage, since in the future you can take your own seeds for sowing. And the amount of capital investments will depend on the scale of the business . So, for processing vast areas, agricultural machinery and, accordingly, additional funds will be required. Therefore, for starters, you can limit yourself to a small area.

On average, the cost of planting, caring for and harvesting garlic per hectare is about 5-7 thousand rubles . At the same time, the yield comes from 9-13 tons from the same area . The purchase price ranges from 50 rubles. in summer and up to 200 rubles. per kilogram during the winter months. Thus, you can earn up to 250 thousand rubles. per season, which is pretty good. Profitability will be 70% for wholesale and 150% for retail.

How to start a garlic growing business

First of all, evaluate the market situation and the level of competition . With a glut of the market, it is impossible to set a good price for garlic and count on serious profits.

The success of a garlic business will largely depend on the right seed and plant variety. There are two types:

Spring culture, intended for spring planting. It is stored for a long time, but has a small size. More suitable for growing in regions with a warm climate;
Winter garlic, a more expensive, but also more productive variety for planting in late autumn. Possesses good palatability, is resistant to action of low temperatures, has the large sizes.

Of the spring species, the following high-yielding varieties are common:

Victoria, mid-season, pest and disease resistant garlic
Elenovsky, mid-season culture not subject to characteristic plant diseases
Gulliver, mid-late variety with resistance to diseases and pests
Ershovsky, mid-season, little disease-prone plant

Among winter crops, the following large-fruited varieties are most popular:

Lyubasha, a frost-resistant variety with a bright taste, weighing 200 grams
Dobrynya, which has a less spicy taste and weighs up to 60 grams
Sofievsky, resistant to nematode and frost, about 100 grams
Dubkovsky, with good storage performance, but weighing 35 grams

There are also arrow varieties, which are sharper and more productive, and do not produce arrows, which are inferior to the first in storage.
The best large types of garlic are disease-resistant and long-stored varieties: Alekseevsky weighing 250 grams, Petrovsky, Orlovsky weighing more than 100 grams.

Thus, you can choose several varieties of plants based on the characteristics of the soil, climate, terrain. The average price for planting material is about 100-200 rubles. per kilogram. It is more profitable to buy seeds in bulk.
To organize a business, in addition to seed raw materials, you will need:

land of 10-30 acres
equipment: walk-behind tractor, seeder, garlic harvester, which can be rented for 40-50 thousand rubles, and with a small area, cultivate the land manually
equipment for cultivating the site: shovels, buckets, rakes, hoes for 20 thousand rubles.
fertilizers and top dressing, remedies for diseases in the amount of 15-20 thousand rubles.

You need to think about the issue of watering and a place to store the crop. The well will take about 50 thousand rubles. For storage, a cellar or basement, a separate building is suitable.

Search for sales markets

Even before harvesting, you should look for distribution channels and conclude agreements with a wholesale buyer on favorable terms in advance. There are several options for the sale of products:

Resellers wholesale. So you sell the entire batch of garlic, but at a lower cost.
Canning industry enterprises and pharmaceutical companies in large quantities. On the price in this case, you can win a little.
Vegetable markets, shops, supermarkets. Can be sold in small quantities at a good price
Deliveries to catering establishments, educational and medical institutions
From the site to retail. In this case, use advertising in the media and the Internet, use social networks, message boards, word of mouth.
Additionally, you can sell seeds and garlic in powdered or dried form.

Where to grow garlic

It is important to choose the right place for planting garlic. It can be bought or rented from 5-10 thousand rubles. per hectare. The site should be open, with enough sun. The land must be fertile and well-drained. It is not recommended to use the soil on which tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots previously grew. You can grow:

in open ground. The most cost-effective way to harvest a rich harvest
in a greenhouse. In this way, large volumes should not be expected, garlic is enough only for personal consumption

The plot for the crop must be prepared: fertilize, loosen and mark the grooves.

Growing technology

For planting material use:

cloves from which a head of garlic grows in one harvest
a bulb of sets, allowing you to get a large head with several cloves
an arrow bulb capable of yielding a crop in two years

Before planting, the material is treated with Fitolavin or Fitosporin.
Seeds are placed in the prepared furrows (preferably a set or a clove) to a depth of 7 cm. The distance between rows is 20-30 centimeters, between the teeth is 15 centimeters.
Further care consists in watering, loosening the soil, controlling weeds and pests, and fertilizing the plant.

Watering is carried out once a week at the rate of 5-10 liters of water per square meter , and in the dry season 12-15 liters. Three weeks before harvesting, it is recommended to stop watering the garlic. Fertilize the soil after watering. Feed the plant at the beginning of the growing season twice. They also loosen 2-3 times per season.

Garlic is harvested after yellowing of all leaves in dry weather. The earth is cleaned with a blow on the palm. The bulbs are dried in the air for about 2-4 days . The stems are cut, leaving 5-10 cm, sorted. Part of the harvest is left for seeds, the rest is sold.

The vegetable should be stored at a temperature of -1 to +3 degrees and a humidity of not more than 70% in wooden or plastic boxes with holes for ventilation or mesh bags. If the required conditions are met, the harvest will last until April.
The land after harvesting garlic is again prepared for planting. It is recommended to change the soil and planting material every year or two.

Paperwork

When growing garlic for sale on a small plot of land, a business can not be registered, and the crop can be handed over to resellers. But the downside is the low purchase price.

When registering an activity, choose the following forms:

individual entrepreneurship, convenient in terms of reporting and ease of opening
LLC established by one or more persons with a share capital
peasant farming, possible with land up to one hectare

They provide a passport, an application form P21001 to the tax service and pay the state duty. 01.13 “Growing of onion vegetables, root crops, fruits, crops for the production of drinks and spices” is indicated as the OKVED code.
For individual entrepreneurs and LLCs, they choose a simplified taxation system of 15% from income minus expenses or 6% from profit. For farming – a single agricultural tax.

How much to invest at the start

The initial investment depends on the size of the plot. For example, let’s take calculations for 1 weave and a hectare:

Expense item	1 weave, rub .	1 hectare, rub.
Plot rental	100	10 thousand
Acquisition of seed	3 thousand	300 thousand
Buying inventory	200	20 thousand
Equipment rental	—	50 thousand
Fertilizer costs	20 thousand	20 thousand
Registration of activity	10 thousand	10 thousand
*Total:*	*33 thousand 300 rubles.*	*410 thousand*

The values are average and may vary up or down. If there are fields with a different crop in the neighborhood, the total cost of starting a business decreases, and incomes increase. In addition to the main expenses, the costs are taken into account: advertising, agronomist services, transport, wages and others.

Having a business on a hectare of land, you should hire assistants : to care for the soil and vegetables, to harvest garlic. Workers must have knowledge in the field of crop production, be able to deal with pests and diseases. With smaller volumes, you can handle it on your own. In total, annual investments will amount to about 200-250 thousand rubles.

Business risks

The garlic business is exposed to the following risks:

Poor quality planting material. It takes place at the initial stage, subsequently neutralized due to its own seed.
Influence of adverse weather conditions: drought, hail, showers
Plant diseases: black moldy rot of garlic, downy mildew, downy mildew, bacterial and neck rot. It is important to identify the disease at an early stage in order to preserve the crop and apply special means in time. Crop rotation and regular renewal of planting material will also help to avoid diseases.
Competition from farmers and agricultural enterprises. The chosen concept will help reduce the risk, conquering its segment in the face of small shops, cafes, vegetable stalls.

In conclusion, we note the cultivation of garlic for sale as a profitable and promising business that does not require large investments . One has only to choose the format of activity, draw up a business plan taking into account the features and make a little effort to implement it.