How to Plant Garlic in Containers

The pungent aroma and spicy flavor of garlic adds depth to meats, vegetables, sauces and soups. Garlic forms a bulb like its relative the onion, but each bulb consist of multiple cloves encased within a paperlike skin. The cloves are prized for their culinary use, but they also each have the ability to grow into a full garlic bulb when planted. Growing garlic in containers allows you to enjoy homegrown cloves without planting a large garden plot.

Potting soil
Straw mulch

Instructions

- 1
  Fill an 8-inch or larger pot three-quarters full with potting soil. Water the soil until it's moistened throughout.
- 2
  Set the garlic cloves in the pot, spacing the cloves five inches apart in all directions. Press the flat end of each clove lightly into the soil so they stand upright.
- 3
  Finish filling the pot so the cloves are covered to a 4-inch depth. Water the pot a second time to moisten the added soil.
- 4
  Set the pot in an area that receives full sunlight all day. Water the pot when the top inch of soil feels dry until the soil begins to freeze in winter.
- 5
  Cover the soil surface with a 2- to 3-inch layer of straw. The straw mulch insulates the pot during cold weather.
- 6
  Remove the mulch in spring when the garlic foliage begins pushing through the straw. Resume watering of the soil.
- 7
  Harvest the garlic after flowering when the foliage begins to die back. Dry the garlic in a warm area for two weeks before storing.

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