Grow Garlic For Extra Income
Garlic. They call it the ‘mortgage lifter’ for a reason and it’s got nothing to do with vampires. Growing garlic on a part-time basis in your backyard garden can generate a rather significant revenue. The best part is that garlic is pretty easy to grow and also has a number of value-added opportunities attached to it.
What makes garlic so interesting is that it is always in demand. In fact, garlic is only second to pepper when it comes to the frequency in which it is used around the world as a food enhancer. Over 300-million pounds of garlic were consumed in the past year in the United States alone.
Growing garlic is a perfect venture for those easing into retirement and are looking for a steady income without the time spent in an office or similar situation. There are a number of things to keep in mind before you start your garlic growing business. The most important is that this cash crop does not grow instantly.
Garlic takes several months to reach harvest time, but once the growing season ends, there are a number of ways to profit from garlic. There are also a number of ways to grow it as it can easily grow in various soils, environments and climates.
Before you start digging up your garden and planting bulbs you need to figure out what kind of garlic is popular and selling. This does two things. First, it ensures you are growing a crop with a demand and secondly, since your crop will meet that demand, there will be guaranteed sales.
The gourmet varieties of garlic referred to as hardnecks are typically popular choices and they include Porcelain, Rocambole and Purple Stripe. Elephant garlic is also popular because of the milder flavor. A good way to confirm the popular varieties is to search garlic seed grower sites online and whichever varieties are sold out will identify the popular ones.
Once you select your varieties, plant and let them grow. The amount you can make is only limited to the size of your crop at harvest time. For example, gourmet garlic varieties sell at an average price of $6.00 per pound. If your garlic patch is one –quarter acre in size you could produce several thousand pounds of garlic. Multiply that crop with the average price and your quarter-acre could yield a substantial income.
You can sell that garlic at farmer’s markets, at produce stands, through produce brokers who make bulk purchases and then distribute your garlic to various other retail sites including supermarkets and restaurants. You could also set up a website and sell your product online as a mail order business.
Don’t forget that there are also many value-added products that are produced as part of your garlic crop. That includes garlic braids, garlic vinegars and the selling of the greens known as scapes. You can preserve them along with garlic pickles and sell them with your harvested garlic.
With the many possibilities that can be generated from a single crop of gourmet garlic, it’s easy to see why it has been called the ‘mortgage lifter’ and considering it isn’t difficult to grow, garlic farming could turn into a very rewarding cash crop. To find out more visit Profitable Plants Digest 