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How To Make Money Growing Garlic

February 14, 2017
Growing Garlic

Garlic is very easy to plant, grow and harvest. In fact, the plants are so compact that you can grow a large amount of garlic in a small space. But as much we love to grow and sell products straight from the field, it’s important to try and diversify into value-added products. This means changing your raw garlic product into something new through packaging, processing, drying etc. So, today, I’ll give you a few ideas about what kind of products you could be making from raw garlic.

If you’re a small scale Zambian farmer, you’ll find garlic to be one of the easiest and most profitable cash crops. What’s more is that it has fewer pests and diseases due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. If you want to read about growing garlic then click here.

Four Value-Added Garlic Products

1. Garlic flakes

These are quite easy to make. Firstly, remove the skin. Separate the cloves peel and wash. Slice the cleaned garlic the pread it in a cheesecloth using tray. Insert the tray in a dryer under 60 degree Celsius until fully dried. Pack after drying.

2. Garlic braids

There are more benefits to braiding garlic than just the tidy appearance. Braided garlic stays fresher longer because of improved air circulation. Most garlic users especially hotels and restaurants prefer to buy braided garlic. Garlic braids sell for 50% to 100% more especially for exportation than plain garlic bulbs, and takes just minutes to make.

3. Garlic food products

From pickled garlic to garlic vinegars and chutney, people love garlic-based foods. However, these have a short shelf life. The most popular is garlic paste.  Cut your garlic into smaller pieces and fill a food processor. Blend the scapes, adding 1-2 cups of olive oil to make a smooth paste.

4. Garlic powder

To make garlic powder, remove skins from the cloves. Once peeled, slice the cloves and chop. The chopped garlic is dried. This process dehydrates the garlic. Garlic powder can be made by grinding the dehydrated garlic.

Garlic insecticide is great for your  field. This easy-to-make natural insecticide kills 95% of insects and repels mice. It takes just minutes to mix and bottle a new batch, and is safe and non-toxic.

Note: Processed garlic can produce an income of up to K500 per square meter. So give it a thought.

33 thoughts on “How To Make Money Growing Garlic”

    1. Hi Bornwell,

      Garlic is grown from cloves(the actual garlic) not seeds. Just don’t use garlic from the store because most are treated to make their shelf life longer, making them harder to grow. Please check with your local seed supplier, they should have them.

    1. It looks like seed suppliers in Zambia do not stock garlic cloves for planting. Is there a supplier you could recommend?

  6. our land has clay soil and floods during rain season as a result of poor drainage. what crops would best grow for such a piece of land?

    1. Because of its fine texture, clay soil tends to pack down, which limits the amount of soil oxygen available to plant roots and soil microorganisms. you have to mulch as much as possible, because the mulch acts as shock absorbers during heavy rains, and host earthworms, which replenish air to tight soils with their constant tunnelling activities. Lettuce, chard, green beans, beans and pumpkin with shallow roots benefit from clay soil’s ability to retain moisture, and broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage often grow better in clay soil than looser loams because their roots enjoy firm anchorage.

  8. Greetings to you all, I also want to start growing garlic can you please assist with exact place to get the seed and also would love to join those already producing for learning and marketing.
    Kind regards

  9. Thank you for the information,and would love to contribute to this industry of garlic growth and production.am making seedlings those interested may contact me.thankyou

  10. How much garlic cloves do I have to plant on a one acre of land. And how many 50kg bags can I produce from the same piece of land.

  12. i have looked for garlic seeds in solwezi and but i have not been successful. where can i get it please.its urgent. contact me on 0969670189 if you have or know someone who has the seed. i ended up using cloves from the garlic a bought in shoprite in my small garden. but i want to go commercial

    1. Hello! When is the best time to grow Garlic in Zambia? And where can one source the garlic that can be planted? Thx

  16. Am about to get into the garlic industry,,,zots always been one of my minor projects I have always put in mind.What benefits there for between someone growing garlic and one growing onions?

  18. What is the best time to plant garlic?and how much does a 50kg cost? Thank you for the insight. This is really encouraging.

  21. when you want information its wise to puta number so far those who needs seeds i have taken note I shall give them contact 0967061163

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