How to Grow Garlic Sprouts in a Container

Each sprouted garlic clove can grow into a new bulb.

Garlic, popular for cooking for thousands of years, is a staple seasoning in several types of cuisine. It grows underground as a bulb, a collection of individual cloves. While it is possible to propagate garlic from seed with some difficulty, you can easily grow garlic from sprouted cloves. The plant is hardy, does well in containers and is suitable for outdoor growing. To grow garlic sprouts in a container, you need to take a small amount of time to plant and care for them properly.

Things You'll Need

• River rocks or gravel
• 5-gallon container with drainage holes
• Potting soil
• Compost
• Sprouted garlic cloves
• Mulch
• Spoon
• Sharp pruning shears

Instructions

1. Layer 1 inch of river rocks or gravel in the bottom of a 5-gallon container to provide proper soil drainage. Alternatively, you can use one 7-inch-diameter planter per sprouted garlic clove.

2. Fill the container three-quarters full with a 1-to-1 mixture of potting soil and compost. The compost provides the garlic with adequate nutrients to grow large bulbs.

3. Poke the sprouted garlic into the soil, 4 inches deep, with the sprouts facing up. Ideally, you should plant sprouted garlic during fall after the first frost for the largest, best-tasting cloves. If you are planting multiple cloves in one container, leave about 7 inches of space between each to allow the bulbs room to grow. Sprinkle 3 to 4 inches of mulch over the potting soil to protect the garlic as it grows.

4. Leave the garlic unattended until spring when the snow has melted, if applicable. Keep an eye on the garlic, watering the soil if it dries completely. They are ready to harvest when 50 percent of the garlic’s leaves have wilted and turned yellow.

5. Loosen the soil around the garlic bulbs with a spoon when you are ready to harvest them. Lightly pull them from the soil and lay them in a warm area that does not receive direct sunlight or rain. Leave the garlic in this area to dry for one to two weeks. Treat them gently to avoid bruising the cloves.

6. Clip the roots of the garlic to 1/2 inch long with sharp pruning shears, and brush the dirt off the bulbs. Allow the garlic to rest for another week before braiding them into clusters or cutting off their stems. If you would like to grow more garlic, save the largest cloves to plant next fall.

Tips & Warnings

• There are several varieties of garlic to choose from; for the widest selection, purchase bulbs from a local gardening store or organic grocer. Some grocery store varieties are treated with chemicals to prevent them from sprouting.

• Garlic does not grow well indoors, as it needs the temperatures of fall, winter and spring to multiply one clove into a bulb. If you choose to grow it indoors, the top will sprout but the clove will not multiply. You can use the sprouted top as you would chives or green onions in cooking.

• To make garlic sprout, place a bulb, pointed end facing up, in a dry environment between 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A cool garage or basement works well. Leave the garlic bulb uncovered and undisturbed for one to three months or until you are ready to plant the cloves. When it sprouts, each clove should have a green stem protruding from the top. If sprouts have not appeared by the time you need to plant, you can separate the cloves and plant without them. Place any unsprouted cloves into the soil with their pointed ends facing upward. While the chance of success is diminished, you should see some new garlic bulbs by harvest time.

• Never remove the papery layer from garlic cloves before planting them.

References

• Mother Earth News: Growing Garlic
• Growing Great Garlic; Ron L. Engeland