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How to grow garlic in pots: The best method for success.

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! In this article, I’m going to share everything you need to know about how to grow garlic in pots.

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.

Selecting a container for growing potted garlic

Once you know which type of garlic to grow in your containers, it’s time to choose a pot. While terra cotta pots are a popular choice, they are not the best option for growing garlic. Their porous nature means you’ll be a slave to watering for 8 to 9 months – no gardener I know wants that. In addition, water often gets into those pores and freezes in the winter, causing the pots to flake and crack. Instead of terra cotta, I recommend using either a plastic, glazed ceramic, fiberstone, or plasti-stone pot. Since the pot will sit outdoors all winter long, make sure the pot is frost-proof and will not crack. This is especially important if you choose a glazed ceramic pot. Your selected container needs to have a drainage hole in the bottom, and it should be at least 8 inches deep to allow ample room for the roots to grow. How wide the pot should be depends on how many cloves of garlic you intend to grow. My garlic-planting pot is 22 inches in diameter, and I plant 8 to 10 cloves inside. The larger the container, the more cloves you can plant (and the less frequently you have to water – bonus!).