Growing your own garlic is a very fulfilling task. The varieties available to home growers are far more diverse and flavorful than what you can find at the grocery store. Plus, growing garlic is pretty easy. But what if you don’t have an in-ground vegetable garden? Can you still grow garlic? Absolutely!
This tutorial will show you how to grow an endless supply of garlic indoors. While that may seem too good to be true, trust me, it not only works, it’s easy. Instead of looking out the window daydreaming about garlic, you can now look at your windowsill at your very own garlic plant.
Growing your own garlic will save you money, ensure that your garlic is pesticide and contamination-free, and ensure that you ALWAYS have garlic somewhere in the house. This fun project is perfect for gardening beginners because it doesn’t involve significant time, materials, or plant-growing expertise.
Garlic growing basics for containers
Before we dive into the specifics about how to grow garlic in pots, it’s essential that you understand a few basics about how garlic grows. Garlic has a long growing season. And by long, I mean lllllooooonnnggg. It takes about 8 to 9 months for a small planted garlic clove to develop into a ready-to-harvest head of garlic. Yes, that means you could grow a whole human baby in the same amount of time it takes to grow a head of garlic! Don’t let the timeline stop you, though. Homegrown garlic is a treasure that’s well worth the long wait (just like a baby, but without the midnight feedings). Typically, in cooler climates, the cloves are planted in the autumn (usually around the time of your first frost) and the heads aren’t harvested until the following summer.
The best type of garlic for planting in pots
There are two types of garlic for growing in containers or in the ground: Hardneck and softneck.
Hardneck = Due to its hardiness, this is the best garlic for growing in cold climates where cold winter temperatures are the norm.
Softneck = Because softneck varieties are often less winter-hardy, they are best grown in mild climates.
Before I introduce the planting technique for both of these types of garlic, let’s quickly talk about which garlic to grow in pots based on what type of climate you live in.
Preparation
Choose the right container to plant the garlic. The ideal one should be about 8 inches or 20 cm in depth. It must also have holes for proper water drainage. If you wanted to plant more than one bulb of garlic, then choose a container that’s big enough to accommodate all of the garlic cloves you will plant. Plant the cloves 4 inches or 10 cm apart from each other.
Obtain the garlic bulb that’s suitable for growing. Get them from any plant nursery or at any garden supplies store. The parts of the bulb to be planted are known as cloves while the entire garlic is called bulb.
Purchase the garlic bulbs from a gardening supply store instead of the supermarket. Using the garlic bulbs bought from a supermarket will lead to failure since these are often chemically treated to prevent them from sprouting and therefore, they may not be able to grow well enough.
Wear your gardening gloves. Mix the gardening sand with the potting soil. It must have a ratio of 1 is to 3. Fill the container entirely with soil and leave about an inch of space or about 2.54 cm from the top of the container.
Planting the Garlic Cloves
Break the garlic cloves from the head of a fresh garlic. Be very careful not to damage the cloves at the base where its attached into the garlic plate. If the base gets damaged, the garlic will not be able to grow.
Push each of the garlic clove about 4 to 6 inches into the soil, or about 10 to 15 cm. There should be an inch of soil in between the top of the garlic clove as well as above the soil. Hold the garlic cloves at the flat end, or bottom part, facing down while the pointed end of the clove is facing up.
Plant the larger cloves since smaller cloves will take up just as much space in the container, yet, they produce smaller bulbs.
Prepare the mulch using leaves, hay, compost and well rotted manure or grass clippings. Fertilize the garlic plant with compost at the start of planting. Cover the cloves with mulch.
Caring for the Growing Garlic
Place the container in such a way that it receives at least 8 hours of sunlight every single day. Placing the container on the kitchen windowsill is a good idea. You can also place it in your patio, balcony or any other place that will allow the water to drain. Water the plant regularly by sprinkling water evenly. Let the water to drain through the holes at the bottom of the container. Remember that the garlic plant needs a hot and dry weather in order for its bulbs to mature.
Just because you are growing garlic in containers indoors does not mean that you will not have to deal with pests. Mice as well as other small creatures in your house could nest in the mulch. If there are mice infestations in your kitchen, then you may want to consider placing the plant somewhere else.
Closely monitor the garlic as it begins to sprout the green chive like leaves.
Clip the flowers off at the base once the garlic plant starts to sprout. If you will do this, all the energy will go into making the garlic bulb even bigger.
Harvesting and Using the Garlic
As your garlic plant starts to grow, you will notice long green stalks to emerge. These are called scapes and you can pull them off and eat them if you want. But this could damage the bulbs themselves so you have to be careful when doing this. Wear gloves when pulling the scapes off or your hands will smell garlic for several days.
Harvest your garlic bulbs about eight to ten months later once the leaves will start to die and will turn to brownish color. Dig the garlic gently and be careful not to bruise them.