Organic Gardening - How To Grow Garlic In A Container

Garlic is a staple in most kitchens.  After all, it adds flavor to foods, acts as an antibiotic, antifungal and antiviral, and it goes in almost every savory concoction.  However, the price of garlic at the grocery can be disappointingly high, particularly if you’re dedicated to eating organic foods.

The good news is that you can grow your own garlic, even if you live in a small apartment.  This allium tolerates containers well.  Here’s how to get started growing your own great tasting organic garlic.

- Start with good soil and a deep container.  Garlic prefers rich soil that’s full of nutrients, and a container at least eight inches deep.  Full sun is preferred for this plant.  However, you can still grow garlic in a container in some shade, as long as good sun is available.

- Obtain garlic cloves.  There are lots of varieties, from the standard type you’ll find at the grocery store to unusual and exotic varieties.  The simplest method for growing your own organic garlic is to buy a head of garlic from your local grocery or food co-op.

- If you’re concerned about making sure your garlic is truly organic, it must be grown from stock that’s certified organic - start with the best garlic you can.  That can be as simple as buying a head of organic garlic you like from the store.

- Plant garlic cloves, not the whole head.  A single clove will grow into an entire head of garlic, once its life cycle is done.  The cloves should be planted pointed end up, about two inches deep in your soil.  Remember to water regularly, since container plants dry out quickly.

- Individual cloves should be planted about a foot apart, to ensure that each plant will have space to grow and adequate nutrition.  When growing garlic outdoors, it’s usually planted after the first frost, in the fall or winter.  Indoors, you can plant your garlic at any time you like.  Just make sure that it’ll get enough light.

- Your garlic will begin to grow shortly, and will put up a long green stalk, called a scape.  This should be plucked or cut off (and tastes wonderful - use it like a milder form of garlic, or an onion) so that the garlic won’t go to seed.  Garlic that is allowed to flower will put less energy into the bulb, producing smaller, less tasty cloves.

- Eventually, the leaves of the garlic plant will turn brownish or yellowish.  That’s when the bulb is ready for harvesting.  Just uproot it and eat.  Fresh garlic isn’t as papery as the dried garlic we encounter in grocery stores, but it’s very similar otherwise.

- Your bulbs may be a little smaller than those you find in the store - this is common when growing garlic, because home growers can’t provide conditions as ideal as commercial growers.  You can use the garlic fresh (store it in the refrigerator) or allow it to dry and store it on the shelf.