What Does It Cost to Grow A Row of Organic Garlic

It is hard to get cost numbers for different vegetable growing methodologies. We are planting garlic right now so I thought I would "run the numbers" and see how it would come out.

We use a very intensive planting methodology so this maybe way different than what someone else does. We will call this the Vegetable Freak method. We use an organic granulated fertilizer called Sustaine.

First we till the area to be planted with a walk behind tiller. Then we mark the row to be planted with a 4 inch wide strip of Sustaine fertilizer (8-4-2) right on top of the ground. We use one 50 lb bag per 100 feet of row. (This is a low analysis organic fertilizer that breaks down very slowly. You would never use this much synthetic fertilizer in this small and area.) So it takes five bags for a 500 foot row.

Then we go over the top of this with a 12 inch wide and 4 inch deep strip of very well broken down and mature compost. (The compost plays many roles. It is a weed barrier, it is germination enhancer, it protects the cloves from winter cold and frost heaving, it attracts earth worms like crazy, the worms love to hang out in the roots of the garlic, it provide compost tea every time it rains and it enriches our soils for the following year's crops. This compost is valued at approximately $25 per ton and it takes five tons to do a 500 foot row.

The cost analysis follows...