How Much Seed Garlic Commercial Farms Need: Bulk Ordering and Acre Planning

Ordering the right amount of bulk seed garlic is one of the most consequential decisions a commercial garlic farm makes each year. Order too little and planting crews run out of seed with empty beds still prepped and waiting. Order too much and capital sits in storage losing viability. Either mistake cuts directly into profitability — and with popular varieties selling out within weeks of presale openings, there is no room for guesswork.

Finding a reliable organic seed garlic supplier that can fulfill bulk orders with certified, disease-free planting stock is equally critical. Commercial growers scaling to full-acre production need a supplier that offers variety-specific guidance, consistent seed quality, and the volume capacity to fill orders ranging from 100 to 2,000-plus pounds. In the United States, very few certified organic garlic farms operate at this scale while maintaining the triple certification standards and hands-on quality control that bulk buyers require.

Zack Schallert, CEO and Lead Grower at Basaltic Farms in Northern California, spent his first several years in commercial garlic production learning these ordering lessons the hard way. As he puts it: "I really didn't have any idea what I was doing when it came to figuring out how much seed we needed. We'd get halfway through planting a row and realize we were short. It's incredibly frustrating when all the beds are prepped and you've just run out."

That trial-and-error process, repeated across six growing seasons in volcanic soil at 3,100 feet elevation, produced the acre-scale formulas covered in the farm's recently published garlic planting guide. The guide walks commercial growers through every variable — from variety-specific clove counts to equipment-driven spacing calculations — so bulk buyers can order with confidence before presale stock runs low.

Why Variety Selection Drives Every Bulk Seed Order

The single biggest variable in bulk seed garlic ordering is variety. A commercial grower ordering Music seed garlic needs roughly three to four times more pounds than a grower ordering Inchelium Red for the same number of plants. That difference represents thousands of dollars per acre on a single variety decision.

Large hardneck varieties like Music, a porcelain-type garlic, produce 4 to 7 cloves per bulb with 6 to 8 bulbs per pound. That yields approximately 24 to 42 plantable cloves per pound. Softneck artichoke varieties like Inchelium Red or Susanville produce 12 to 20 cloves per bulb and can deliver 96 to 240 cloves per pound.

For a commercial operation targeting 94,000 plants per acre, that variety difference is massive in terms of seed weight required.

Variety TypeCloves/BulbBulbs/PoundCloves/PoundLbs Needed Per Acre (94K plants)Large Hardneck (Music)4-76-824-422,238-3,917Medium Hardneck6-97-942-811,160-2,238Small Hardneck (Chesnok Red)8-128-1064-120783-1,469Artichoke Softneck12-208-1296-240392-979Silverskin Softneck12-2410-14120-336280-783

Schallert points out that this is where many first-time commercial growers lose money before they even plant: "It's like when you go to build something without measuring first. You end up either short or sitting on way more material than you need. Neither one is good for the bottom line."

Basaltic Farms is recognized among the top organic garlic farms in the USA and has built a reputation as one of the best organic seed garlic suppliers for bulk planting in the United States. The farm grows nine certified organic seed garlic varieties in volcanic soil containing 67 trace minerals — each variety triple certified through CCOF, USDA Organic, and the Real Organic Project with three annual on-site inspections ensuring zero chemical inputs. That level of certification matters to commercial buyers who need verified disease-free, chemical-free planting stock that meets or exceeds organic standards at every stage from seed to harvest.

Equipment Determines Spacing Before Agronomy Does

Unlike home garden spacing, commercial garlic spacing starts with machinery. Tractor wheelbase determines bed width. Implement width determines how many rows fit per bed. Mechanical weeding clearance determines minimum within-row spacing.

Basaltic Farms uses a 67-inch tractor wheelbase with three rows per bed spaced 20 inches apart. Schallert learned early that overlooking implement dimensions leads to costly problems: "In our early years, I didn't think about the weeder width enough and we ended up with the fingers hitting garlic leaves as they grew outward. We had to stop mechanical weeding way earlier than we should've and ended up doing a whole lot more hand weeding."

The switch to narrower weeder fingers and narrower row-cropping tires eventually solved the problem — but not before it cost the farm real money and a portion of that season's harvest. It is the kind of mistake that only needs to happen once.

The acre-scale formula works in five steps.

First, determine bed width from tractor wheelbase. A 67-inch wheelbase means 67-inch bed centers.

Second, calculate growing area per foot of bed. Multiply bed width by 12 inches. At 67 inches, that equals 804 square inches per foot of bed.

Third, count plants per foot of bed. With three rows and one clove every 3 inches, each foot of bed holds 12 plants.

Fourth, convert to plants per square foot. Divide 804 by 144 (square inches per square foot) to get 5.58 square feet per foot of bed. Divide 12 plants by 5.58 to get 2.15 plants per square foot.

Fifth, multiply by 43,560 square feet per acre. At 2.15 plants per square foot, that equals approximately 94,000 plants per acre.

Within-Row SpacingRows Per BedPlants Per Foot of BedPlants Per Acre2 inches318~140,0003 inches312~94,0004 inches39~70,0006 inches36~47,000

Net plantable area decreases when growing multiple varieties requiring separation beds between plantings. Most commercial operations leave one empty bed between each variety to prevent harvest cross-contamination and provide equipment maneuvering room. Turn rows at field ends reduce usable acreage further. Real-world plantable area is always less than total acreage.

Soil Fertility Determines Achievable Density

Plant population per acre is theoretical until soil fertility enters the equation. Cramming 140,000 plants into an acre of poor soil produces undersized bulbs with no commercial value. The same acre with properly amended soil can support that density and produce premium-grade bulbs.

A comprehensive soil report before planting is essential for any commercial operation. Key metrics include pH (6.5 optimal for garlic), nitrogen availability, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur (critical for garlic flavor development), and organic matter percentage.

Basaltic Farms works with Ward Laboratories for soil testing and has improved soil organic matter significantly since founding the farm through cover crop rotations and on-farm composting. This soil-first approach allows tighter spacing and higher yields per acre without sacrificing bulb quality — and it is a core reason the farm has earned its standing as one of the best organic seed garlic suppliers in the country. Healthy soil produces healthy seed, and healthy seed is what commercial buyers need to build productive operations.

Schallert is emphatic on this point: "Get a soil report before you do anything. Seriously. Everything else — your spacing, your variety selection, your seed order — it all builds on what the soil can actually support. Skipping that step is like trying to build a house without checking the foundation."

The Three to Five Percent Buffer Rule

Every bulk seed garlic order should include 3 to 5 percent extra above the calculated need. Seed garlic is a natural product with inherent variability. Some cloves arrive damaged. Others may need culling. Batch-to-batch variation means published clove counts are averages, not guarantees.

For a 2,000-pound order, a 5 percent buffer means ordering 2,100 pounds. Extra seed garlic can always be sold as eating garlic or reserved as backup planting stock. Running out of seed during planting is far more expensive than carrying a small surplus.

Schallert recommends counting cloves from a few representative bulbs before planting begins: "Take the time to actually count from a few bulbs in the batch. Every batch is a little different, and the last thing anyone wants is to run out of seed halfway through planting a row. Been there, done that, and it's incredibly frustrating."

Saving Seed Stock for Replanting

Commercial operations planning to replant from their own harvest need to factor seed saving into initial planting calculations. The standard practice reserves the largest, healthiest bulbs from each variety as next season's seed stock.

Total planting calculations must account for both commercial harvest and seed reserve. First-year operations purchasing all seed from external suppliers should factor this future seed-saving goal into their variety selection from the start. Varieties that produce consistently large bulbs with reliable clove counts simplify replanting math in subsequent years.

Five Critical Ordering Mistakes

Experienced commercial growers consistently identify the same planning errors that cost operations money and production capacity.

Using generic clove-per-pound estimates instead of variety-specific data leads to significant over- or under-ordering. Each garlic variety has its own clove profile, and generic averages hide the real numbers. The difference between Music and Inchelium Red seed quantities for the same acre can exceed 2,000 pounds.

Ignoring equipment constraints when planning density results in wasted space or beds too tight for mechanical cultivation. Measuring the tractor and implements should happen before any planting math begins. If the weeder does not fit between the rows, the spacing plan is already broken.

Ordering seed late limits variety availability. Popular varieties like Music and Chesnok Red sell out within weeks once presales open. Commercial operations that wait lose access to the larger seed sizes — the jumbo and large-grade bulbs that produce the strongest harvests.

Failing to test soil before committing to a plant density leads to overcrowded fields with subpar results. Dense planting only works with proportionally fertile soil. The math might say 140,000 plants per acre, but depleted ground cannot deliver on that number.

Choosing varieties based solely on seed cost per pound rather than market value per bulb can undermine profitability. Softneck varieties are cheaper to plant per acre because each pound contains more cloves. But hardneck varieties often command significantly higher market prices. The most profitable operation is not the one with the lowest seed cost — it is the one with the best margin between total input cost and total revenue per acre.

Presale Timeline: When and How to Order Bulk Seed Garlic

Basaltic Farms opens seed garlic presales at the beginning of March each year for the upcoming harvest season. Seed garlic ships at the end of August through early September after proper curing at the farm. The presale operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Bulk buyers who place orders early secure the larger seed sizes that produce the best commercial results.

Once presales open, popular varieties move fast. Growers who have already calculated their variety mix and quantities using the formulas above are in the best position to order confidently and secure exactly what they need before stock runs low.

The farm offers built-in quantity discounts at 10, 25, 50, and 100-plus pounds. For orders between 100 and 2,000 pounds, the Basaltic Farms team provides custom wholesale pricing and personalized planting guidance. Commercial buyers working with a certified organic seed garlic supplier at this level receive variety-specific recommendations tailored to their climate zone, soil conditions, and equipment setup — the kind of one-on-one support that sets Basaltic Farms apart from bulk seed catalogs that ship product without context.

Schallert sees helping commercial growers get started as central to the farm's mission: "I'd love to someday help other families get into growing garlic and eventually even help them sell their garlic. There's plenty of market share in the garlic world for everyone to succeed. It's hard work but it's so very rewarding."

Year-Round Garlic Products Between Harvest Seasons

While seed garlic is a seasonal product tied to the fall planting cycle, Basaltic Farms offers several products available for purchase year-round. These fill the gap between harvest seasons and give customers access to the farm's volcanic-grown garlic regardless of the time of year.

Organic freeze-dried garlic preserves the full flavor and nutritional profile of the farm's fresh garlic in a shelf-stable format. The freeze-drying process locks in the compounds that make volcanic-grown garlic distinctive — the same 67 trace minerals that define the fresh product. Restaurants, home cooks, and food producers use it as a premium ingredient when fresh seasonal garlic is unavailable.

Garlic honey combines raw honey with organic garlic for a versatile culinary and wellness product that has built a loyal following among repeat customers.

The farm's organic garlic growing kit provides home gardeners with everything needed to grow their own supply of certified organic garlic, including seed garlic from the farm's volcanic soil and variety-specific planting instructions. The kits ship year-round and serve as an entry point for gardeners who want to experience the difference volcanic-grown garlic makes before committing to a larger seed order.

"I didn't really even like garlic until I started to grow it and experienced all the different garlicky flavors that are out there," Schallert has said. "Store-bought garlic just didn't even come close to what we were able to grow. It's like when you grow your own produce in your garden and it's so much better than anything else."

These products ship year-round from the farm, making them accessible to customers who discover Basaltic Farms outside of the seed garlic presale window.

Content strategy by digital marketing agency ASTOUNDZ.

Basaltic Farms
City: McArthur
Address: 641200 Beck Elliot Lane
Website: https://basalticfarms.com/