Garlic Opportunity

[ozzydom]

From the Countrywide program on AustraliaNetwork TV yesterday.....

Australia imports 75% of its garlic requirement from overseas,current retail prices =325-430 baht per kg.

An opportunity perhaps..

[Jimi007]

Why can't they grow garlic in Australia? We grow tons of it in California and Thailand.... Just curious.

[billd766]

How do you actually grow garlic?

I have some land which is idle at the moment.

[laps]

How do you actually grow garlic?

I have some land which is idle at the moment.

You give the seed water, sun and love:rolleyes:

[billd766]

How do you actually grow garlic?

I have some land which is idle at the moment.

You give the seed water, sun and love:rolleyes:

OK I did ask for that.

What I wanted to know is where would I get the seeds from and is it a bush, shrub, tree etc.

I bought some yesterday at the market for 20 baht per "kit".

If the guy can sell it for that and still make a profit how does the grower make a profit?

[ozzydom]

I have personally only grown small amounts in a herb garden, but according to the program,the problem is obtaining good size disease free bulbs to start with.

A grower featured, has a very successful business off 2 hectares growing only seed bulbs .

Like onions they are prone to disease and weather conditions are very important during the growing,heavy rain at the latter stage of maturing can render the whole crop useless.

The grower featured obtained one bulb of a known disease free stock with all the required attributes and then spent 6 years growing on just to get enough stock to plant out 2 hectares ,20 years on he is still using garlic from the original bulbs stock.

One good bulb gives between 12 and 16 corms and you can only get one crop per year.

So given 100% success rate planting the 16 corms will give 256 after year one, 4000 odd after year two and so on .

They are planted at very close intervals in beds of a width to allow a tractor to cultivate and harvest .

I think that program can be downloaded from Australia Network TV . The program is "Countrywide".

[slapout]

Garlic crop this year went for about 6+_ baht/kilo right out of the field, I think as the income seemed to go to the other half of the partnership. I have seen it as low as 3 baht and up to 20 baht, way more former than latter price. Its planted in winter and is handled similar to onions. Harvest is early February thru middle March. As mentioned seed garlic is expensive and hard to get good quality some years. Chines seem to flood the market so low prices are the norm. If you are in a cooler area which garlic likes, you may want to consider potato.

[oldestswinger]

Compared with garlic from France or Italy, The garlic grown here in Thailand - and that imported from China or wherever - is pathetically small

[slapout]

What we call elephant garlic makes what is sold here look like green onions. Tried to find elephant garlic here to plant but no luck finding, and the partnership does not seem to have any interest. So they will contine using theold seed and the old way.

[Lickey]

I bought some seed garlic a couple of years ago in a Udon market, put it in a salad bed, 4in by4in planting, watered every other day, it was coming up good, nice green tops, after a few days, on my regular afternoon visit to the farm, 50% of the green had gone, cut off,, asking the mrs about this, she had been there early morning and trimmed the tops, stating it was best for making a certain issan dish or soup, the bulbs were forming up,but only as big as thumbnail, and strong tastseing, lot better than chinese bulbs,

After 5 years ive only now got my mrs to tell me the correct time, as for trying to suggest she change as far as growing veg to there full extent, ill forget about that!!