Growing garlic indoors is a great project. First of all, it is easy to grow and maintain. Second garlic is an extremely healthy plant. It contains nitrogenous substances, sodium, potassium, selenium, calcium, magnesium, silicon, sulfuric, phosphoric acid, vitamin C, D, B, phytosterols, extractives, and essential oils. If you wish to learn how to grow garlic indoors, all the necessary information is provided in this post.
The best part of growing garlic indoors is that you can grow them anytime you want. Garlic is a low maintenance sturdy plant. It can even be grown indoors in winter. In fact, planting garlic indoors in containers is better than planting it outside because it protects your garlic from many pests and insects.
All garlic varieties are suitable to grow indoors. The most used varieties for indoor gardening are the White Pearl, Lautrec Wight, and Purple Moldovan Wight. Keep on reading the below guide to find out how to grow garlic indoors successfully.
1. Choosing an adequate container
The size of the container depends on the number of bulbs you wish to grow. Therefore, when you are choosing a container, think of the number of bulbs you intend to grow. An adequate container should maintain a space of at least four inches between each clove. A good container should be at least 1 inches deep. It should also contain a lot of drainage holes.
In order to make growing garlic an extremely easy experience that yields the best results, you can choose one of these amazing self-watering containers. They are effective and most of all they are decorative which is exactly what you need since you are growing garlic indoors.
Besides, using these containers will ensure the protection of your plants from root rot as they eliminate overwatering.
2. Obtaining garlic cloves.
You could obtain the garlic cloves either from your local store or directly from farmers. The latter is better as garlic cloves in markets are usually treated with chemicals. Chemically treated garlic cloves are hard to grow and they don’t produce well.
3. Soil
In order to grow garlic indoors successfully, you will need a good quality soil. Soil-less potting is an excellent choice as it is well draining and permeable. You could either buy it or make it by mixing peat with compost or manure. Then add perlite and vermiculite. You could also add sand.
For best results, when you are filling the container with soil, you should apply a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
4. Planting
Fill the container with the organic soil mixture that you have bought or prepared. Then split the cloves of the garlic bulb. The roots of the garlic come out of the flat end of the clove, thus, make sure when you plant to point down the flat end in the soil.
Planting the cloves is very easy, all you need to do is to push them down at least 3 inches deep into the soil. The whole clove should be at least 1 inch under the soil.
5. Choose a good position
The best place for growing garlic indoors is your windowsill. If you have a room with a window, place the container next to the window or on the window sill. Garlic requires direct sunlight exposure. For optimum growth, you need to provide your plants with least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
However, if this is not possible, you will need to buy grow lights to provide your garlic with the necessary amount of light needed for its growth.
6. Watering
If you have opted for a self-watering container then you don’t need to water your plants. All you need to do is to fill the container. However, if this is not the case, you have to water your plants in accordance with the indoor growing conditions such as light exposure and warmth. Either way, the soil should always be slightly moist.
7. Fertilizing
Garlic is a heavy feeder and it needs a large amount of fertilizer. Garlic requires to be fertilized twice a month with an organic fertilizer. Meal or fish fertilizers are also an excellent choice to apply to your plants. They will optimize the growth of your plants by providing them with a good amount of nutrients.
8. Harvesting
If you provide the plants with growth requirements that include the right soil, sunlight and proper watering, the fresh green shoots of garlic will start to pop up with one to two weeks. Once the greens reach 6 inches tall, you can harvest them. They usually take 2 to 3 more weeks after popping up.
If you planted garlic for the bulb, you will have to be patient as it takes 8 to 10 months to be harvested. When the leaves turn brown, you can harvest the bulb. Harvesting them is easy too. Just remove them from the ground, clean them with your hands off soil and let them dry out for a week. Once you have done all these steps, you can start cooking them.
As we told you at the beginning of this article, learning how to grow garlic indoors is easy. Growing garlic is highly recommended because this plant provides a wide range of health benefits. It is preventive to many sicknesses and diseases including cancer.
If you are looking for more plants to grow indoors, you could grow one of these useful herbs or one of these decorative plants. Either way, they will be an extremely nice addition to your place.
Enjoy cooking garlic and contact us if you need more tips and information
