Planting garlic in pots can be considered a challenge for many, but it can be well worth the effort when you manage to grow hard-to-find varieties and even the garlic you use in your kitchen, but in containers that you can have indoors. Also, it would help if you considered that, like many freshly harvested fruits, vegetables and herbs, the flavor your garlic would have would make you addicted to growing it at home.
The difficulty with planting garlic in a pot is that you usually plant it in the fall and don’t harvest it until mid-summer. In addition, you must keep the garlic well watered throughout this time, which can become tedious. But, if you have no problem with this, follow the instructions below to have the best garlic harvest without the biggest problem.
When to grow garlic in pots at home
It is recommended to plant garlic in containers at about the same time as you would in the ground. This is during the fall, when the ground has cooled, but before it freezes. In most places, you can plant garlic anytime from September through November, but remember that it can take six to nine months after planting to see your garlic ready. If you want to include parsley in your garden or vegetable garden, this is the way you should plant it.
How to plant garlic in pots?
- Choose good garlic bulbs from a local farmers’ market or nursery, although you can also order them online. Who can also use grocery store-bought garlic for planting in a container, but sometimes it has been treated to prevent it from sprouting, so it is not always successful.
- When you have your bulbs,fill the container with potting mix until it is about 8 centimeters from the top. If your potting mix does not already include it, mix it with a slow-release fertilizer. We recommend choosing a large pot, as this will allow for a better harvest and you will not have to suffer so much to find the right humidity for your plant.
- Now, take your head of garlic and gently separate the cloves. You can set aside the outer coverings of each clove. Place the teeth with their pointed end up on the ground. You’ll want them at least 7 centimeters apart from each other.
- Continue to cover each tooth with the substrate. About two centimeters of soil is fine if you live in a warm climate. But in colder areas, cover the teeth with about 5 centimeters of soil. Gently tap the soil to firm it on top of the garlic cloves.
- Place the container in a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight most days and keep the soil moist but not soggy. Once garlic sprouts in the spring, fertilize every few weeks and maintain uniform soil moisture.
Garlic sprouts are long, winding, blue-green sprouts with a fresh, mild garlic flavor, so they can be used to flavor mashed potatoes, salads, roasted vegetables and more. When it is time to harvest, you will see the leaves start to turn yellow. But you may still have to dig up a tooth to see if they are ready. Please do not remove the garlic by the stalk, it is best to dig in the ground, being careful not to damage the bulbs.
How far to plant garlic in a vegetable garden?
If you want to grow garlic, the first step is to prepare and condition the soil because while garlic is not a particularly demanding vegetable, rich soil will help with a successful, high-quality crop. If the soil is too light, adding a good compost or compost layer is recommended.
Once you have the perfect place and soil to grow tender garlic in a pot or garden, all you need to do is follow these steps:
- Make furrows about 2.5 cm deep, with a distance of 30 cm between them.
- Place the garlic cloves in the furrows one by one. They should have the narrowest part facing up because that is where the plant will grow. Each garlic
- clove should be 15 cm from the nearest garlic.
- Place the soil over the garlic and cover the 2.5 cm furrow.
- Tighten the soil slightly so there are no air pockets without compacting the ground too much.
- Water generously to moisten the soil and the garlic cloves.
Benefits of garlic
Garlic is characterized by its strong aroma, which comes from the enzyme alliin lyase, or alliinase, which, when exposed to oxygen, forms allicin, a substance that not only gives off a strong smell of garlic, but it is where the garlic is. A great amount of healing properties, so it is recommended to slice or crush to get all the benefits of this compound.