Garlic Harvest

Okay - it's not on yet - but I'm getting a little excited that harvest will start sooner than we thought ... looking at 4-6 weeks for the Italian Pink.

Watch this space ...

 

Hi lizzie,
Just curious,
How many persons or equipment do we need to grow 5 acres of galic and type of returns and effort of a person needed and also how fast is it to sell garlic in market ?

 

We (and other farmers) find that two acres can be produced easily by two people with the help of basic machinery ... remembering that there are two intense periods - planting and harvest/processing. We plant 3 varieties, that harvest two weeks apart over 6 weeks to give ourselves some breathing space

Going up to 5 acres, you'd need to bring in help. Those that do so often use backpackers or WWOOFers during those two periods.

Remembering that an acres produces 2-3 ton of garlic, depending how densely you plant, so with 10-15 ton you'd be looking at the wholesale market rather than boutique direct sales (although can do both) - where the price back to the farmer is around half.

Personally, if I were starting out, I'd plant no more than an acre - three different varieties suitable for your area - and get my head around it for the first few years.

More than happy to help anyone wanting to grow.

A couple of useful websites would be:

www.garlicaustralia.asn.au
www.australiangarlic.net.au

 

Hi L . With those big long roots I'm guessing it wouldn't need too much watering ? Do you grow it In some sort of raised bed ?

I imagine you have one of those mini tractors with a PTO driven cultivator to work up a seed bed and break up all the trash etc ?

 

Gotta a big tractor ... although only 50hp ... I have tractor envy of my garlic growing friend who has a 90hp tractor ... and mine is a baby compared to Topcroppers tractors.

Need to keep the ground moist, but not wet - just like your vege garden. Garlic doesn't like wet feet - but stresses if it dries out. We grow on a slope so don't need raised beds.

We - with the tractor - deep rip the new plot - chisel plough to break up the clay - rotary hoe ( couple of times) - then plant our green manure crop - dig this (and other nutrients) in after 6 weeks with the rotary hoe - hoe again two weeks later to break the weed cycle - then two weeks later rotary hoe again to set the beds.

Smaller plots can be done with smaller equipment ... another friend does it with a hand hoe

 

Yay can't wait.... We have just 5 full bulbs left from last years crop.
Still perfect. The last 10 bulbs have been in the fridge to stop them as they just started sprouting. Not bad ..2 people 1kg of garlic per year

 

Hi Lizzie,

How did you choose the garlic varieties that you are growing? Sorry about my ignorance, but are there much difference in taste between varieties?

 

What about fertiliser and lime ? Do you incorporate that in with the cultivation ? I wouldn't know if garlic is tolerant with an acid soil , may be it is ?

What other things have you looked at growing ?

We have planted quite a few trees in our house yard the last couple of years . Not too close though ! I like the idea of getting something edible so have a few varieties of Apple , pear , plum and plenty of others . The trouble is we have more raccoons (opossums) now too . My little dog will sit out there yipping at one she has bailed up a tree for half the night .. What amazes me though is they hardly seem to eat the fruit and are often in the oak tree or one of the blue gums .

 

Looking good Lizzie- hope you get a bumper crop

 

Awesome! You can freeze it to - it'll go mushy but perfect for stews etc. I can't remember what variety I sent you, but if it was the Creoles (white skin with deep purple cloves skins) it should store 10-12 months without sprouting. If it were the Turbans, they store only around 4-6 months before thinking of sprouting.

We grow three varieties - some varieties grow better in certain places then others - such as, in Queensland (northern half of WA) you can only grow three varieties that don't rely on a cold winter, but are rather "time in ground" orientated.

In the southern areas - NSW, Vic, SA, TAS you pretty much have free reign on what grows, as all varieties will, but planting and harvesting times change the further south you go. As an example, Queensland growers harvest August/September to beat the heat - while Tassie growers will still planting in August and will harvest around February . There is no reason why Australian can't supply garlic year round without resorting to cold store.

We're lucky in that we can grow practically any variety where we are.

Yes - there is a difference in flavour if you're conscious of it. My Turbans have a milder, nutty flavour that lingers a long time on the tongue ... whereas the Creoles are hot and sharp but dissipates quickly.

This is an article by my Tassie grower friend explaining the different tastes:

http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/garlic-with-a-purpose/story-fnj64o9j-1227287568469

Garlic like a soil around a 7ph ... we add, during bed cultivation, lime, chicken manure, potash, copper sulphate and boron with our green manure crop because these are what our soils require ... if looking at growing large amount then I'd recommend a soil test (just take your sample to somewhere like Landmark) but for the backyard vege patch I wouldn't bother.

We then don't add anything else during the growing period ... but that depends on your soil. We're in lovely volcanic clay, but a friend only 30 minutes away is on sandy loam river flats and needs to spray with fertilizers (ie seasol) every 3-4 weeks.

This is a good little website for anyone wanting to grow - even if only in their backyard - all we ask is please please please don't plant any overseas garlic from the supermarket as they have been found to still contain some viruses that are not yet in Australia:

http://www.australiangarlic.net.au/

 

Wow! Probably shouldn't be allowed to be imported then should it?

See ya's.

 

Totally agree ... the imported stuff gets sprayed and dunked with every toxic chemical known to man (okay - slight exaggeration) and yet still nasties sneak in.

Makes you wonder what comes in on other imported veges and fruit ...

 

BBQ at Lizzie's?

 

We are doing about a kg of garlic every 2 months, often a whole bulb in a meal and not getting much flavour That is cheap Chinese garlic at about $6/kg.

I would hope Lizzies would require a lot less.

 

oooooo - tell you what is awesome if you can get your hands on it ... but can only be fresh ... fresh harvested (not skin dried) garlic rings on the BBQ. So when the garlic first comes out of the ground slice it and chuck it on the BBQ with some olive oil and sprinkle of salt.

Hubby did this at work for last years' Chrissy BBQ and was hammered. The onion rings were practically ignored .... nom nom nom .... I am salivating

 

Even the Mexican and Spanish stuff is not much better than the Chinese - usually it's been cold stored for up to 2 years and basically turned into tasteless sprouting mush.

I'll put up a thread when the online shop opens and don't hesitate to order bulk with the Italian Pink - stores in the box up to 8-10 months - and the Rojo - stores in the box up to 12 months.

Man - I have run out of my stash and I am so craving non-cold-stored (refuse to buy it) garlic. We are eating some spring garlic ... like baby leeks with mild garlic taste ... but it's just not the same as the full on, blow your head off, stuff

 

You better get that extra acre ready for next year Lizzie.


See ya's.

 

haha - I know ... hubby's already wishing we had an extra 10,000 bulbs in this year