Container Gardening: Never Buy Store Bought Garlic Again!

My Nashville house is a mansion compared to some of the apartments I had in Chicago, and if you would've told me a year ago that I'd have not only a backyard, but a porch and garage too, I'd have laughed in your face and then apologized immediately because laughing in people's faces is mean.

So the days of container gardening are long behind me but hey, I have a sunroom now too and there's bugs outside, and garlic doesn't take up that much space. With just two small 6 inch pots, you can grow 10-15 bulbs for the price of just one bulb of organic garlic. 

Separate your cloves, but don't worry about pulling the papery skin off. Each clove will produce one bulb, and the size of the bulb is proportionate to the size of the clove. Bigger cloves = bigger bulbs (I want to make a joke here but I won't because I haven't thought it out entirely but just know the intention was there.)

So, pick bigger cloves to plant. 

Fill up your pots almost to the rim with soil. Basic organic potting soil works. Honestly, if you're not trying to win Best Garlic at Your Town County Fair it doesn't really matter what kind of soil you use, as long as it's not completely dried out and devoid of nutrients. Garlic is a hardy plant and will grow regardless.

Pop your cloves in about an inch apart from each other. Put the flat part down (that's where the roots come from) and the pointy end up.  They'll grow depending on how much space you give them — the more the better, but unless you're trying to repel some creepy vampire-looking dude staring in your window you probably don't need that much garlic. If you do, get some more pots and bulbs and a restraining order.

Here's Pete, my cat, after he inspected to make sure I did the job right.

Cover them up with a loose layer of soil. Call Pete to keep an eye on them. He charges $50 an hour but will make sure nothing bad happens.

Rome wasn't built in a day, Pete.

After about a week, you'll start to get tiny shoots sprouting from the cloves.

And after a week and a half, you'll notice more. GAME ON, your garlic is on its way.

I decided to repot them after 2 weeks, because a little white cat decided digging up the cloves would be SO FUN.

If you do decide to repot, be careful, because the root structure should be pretty strong. Here's what mine looked like (super healthy, with long and thick white roots.)

You can trim down the green shoots for bigger garlic bulbs; when you trim them, the plant puts all its energy into developing the good stuff. You can also use the green shoots in cooking— they have a milder taste, but still give meals a kick.

It'll take 4-6 months for your bulbs to develop fully, but be patient. You can replant cloves you've taken off your bulbs for more garlic. Never buy the store-bought variety again! 

The best part is you don't need a lot of space to do it. Garlic is a cold-hardy plant so it can be planted over the winter for early summer bulbs, or indoors in containers during any month of the year.