elephant garlic pricing what should we ask?

16 years ago

Hi, We have been growing more & more elephant garlic & toying with the Idea of selling some as everyone seems to like it (once they try it) also it is easy to grow, nothing bothers it & it is very dry here so when it is ripe I just turn off the water & leave it in the ground all summer & fall as this seems to be the perfect way to store. I am not sure what we could get for it. BTW it will be 'organik', of course. Any comments welcome & I greatly admire all who turn a living from the Good Earth!

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Comments (10)

buckster
16 years ago
Howdy,

Have you come up with a price for the garlic?

If not you might want to ask in the allium forum. Also what markets
do you do in Calif.

Take care,

Bucky
crownpc
16 years ago
Locally right now the super markets are getting $1.95 for 3 large cloves. Personally, I undersell the supermarkets, and mention that it is Organic. $.50 per clove seems to be a good way to enter the market, as I am sure most of ours in NY comes from the west anyway. Hope this helps
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No idea at all - they could be hardneck, softneck or elephant and I'd probably scratch a leaf to make sure it smells of garlic. I'm not sure where in Zone 5 you are but normally garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in early summer up here. Right now, I'd do exactly what you are doing and also put some kind of marker as to where they are. If they're garlic, they're probably going to stop growing soon and die back to the bulb by around the end of july. After that, they'll rest a bit and start growing again in the late fall and create heads for you next year.
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Randy, that's my strategy on things like storage onions, garlic, etc. Most of the other farmers pick early and try to sell out before fall. Since I market year round I like to have things like Onions and garlic when the snow flies. And since they store generally through May i have stuff to sell in witnter when other do not and i get the price i ask with few complaints and lots of sales. Bucks I guess I am a person who likes going to market to sell (and I never ever sit as if you are sittin' you ain't sellin') I guess I like the social aspect (I see a lot of freinds at market whom I don't see much otherwise due to my work load) and I like making 2x to 3x more over wholesaling. But not everyone is cut out for sales and marketing.
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I grow elephant garlic from the corms or sets, as some people call them. I’m in Northern Nevada in zone 5. I grow them in a raised bed planted 4” to 5” apart. I do not dig them the first year. Once they go dormant I remove all of the tops and mulch with compost. The second year I dig the rounds and cure them in my shed. In the third year I rotate to a bed that hasn’t had Alliums for 2 years and plant the rounds. The rounds planted the 3rd year do very well and develop much larger heads than those grown from store bought cloves. Cloves develop into rounds similar to the sets taking a second year to produce a head. They key is to fertilize properly and heavily. I fertilize my raised beds with a combination of 2 year old compost of chicken, horse, and rabbit manure and alfalfa meal with an organic fertilizer. During the growing season I foliar feed every 2 weeks with a hose end sprayer until mid May.
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sandy0225
16 years ago
I've been getting 50 cents per clove, but mine's not organic. I've not been through all the red tape, and lots of our customers don't seem to care (sorry to whom that may offend!). I do tell them that it's not sprayed and no chemical fertilizers used.
If you're certified organic, you can probably get 75 cents each if people around there care about that sort of thing. I think some of our customers are starting to care, but we'
re always a little behind here in this part of Indiana.
herbalistic
15 years ago
What did it cost you to buy a bulb of elephant garlic? I got some wonderful garlic from The Chief Clove at the garlicstore.com. I bought an assortment that had the biggest garlic I had ever seen. I think Gurney's had a bulb of elephant garlic for around $8.00 too. So if it costs you $8 to buy a bulb, you at least want to make back your investment.
I've been breaking up my regular garlic bulbs and selling individual [large cloves @ 6 for $1] [Because the labels faded to nothing so I could no longer tell the varieties I had planted] If the cloves are small, use a small scoop and sell a scoop for whatever price. I specify that this is "gourmet garlic" so it is not your run of the mill supermarket stuff.

This year I ordered 2 new varieties that are supposed to be better for braiding. I may have to order some more + replant what I have before I can market it however, but I have seen garlic braids sell for as much as $40. I figure if its $2 per bulb and 10 in a braid would be $20 double that and you'd have a $40 braid and sometimes garlic is at least $3 per bulb in the stores,even depending on the size it may be 2 for $3.
One lady wanted some elephant garlic from me last year but I am still building up my supply and wasn't really ready to sell it yet. I told her it cost me $8 to buy a bulb but she didn't want to pay that much so we settled on $5. Building up your supply may enable you to sell it for less than you bought the original bulb - but we aren't really in business to lose money.
I too am interested in what others have to say on this topic.
bloosquall
15 years ago
Last year I sold some soon after they were cured for $6.00 a piece, these were the biggest bulbs though weighing at least 12 oz. Later I sold smaller bulbs for $4.00lb. this year it'll be more like $6.00lb. Try Nootka Rose or Sicilian Silver for a good braiding garlic. Lorz Italian is good also for a larger artichoke bulb.
boulderbelt
15 years ago
jeeze I would charge no less than $1.50 a clove. I get that for regular garlic because it is sustainably grown, local and heirloom. That cheap garlic is from China, yours is not so charge the premium.
kanhan
15 years ago
Just wondering if any of you have any Elephant Garlic around still you would be willing to part with, if so the price please, thanks.
bloosquall
15 years ago
I have some that is plantable still, $6.00 lb. send me a note tweedman@gotvc.net and i'll get a weight of what I have left.

Travis
Cemal Erbay
6 years ago
I want to buy reall elephant garlic bulbs. Have someone elephant garlic bulb for sale ? Please contact with me on my email fooddistr@hotmail.com
Ken H
3 years ago
www.ElephantGarlicWorld.com They sell Elephant Garlic seed stock and a beautiful Purple Striped Garlic. Non GMO and Pesticide Free. Grown in Oregon and inspected by The Oregon Department of Agriculture each season. No minimum orders. Buy one bulb or 1000

elephant garlic pricing what should we ask?

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buckster

crownpc

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