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Growing garlic in containers?

I came across some rad heirloom garlic yesterday and would love to try planting a few cloves. I don't trust my city soil, and haven't built our raised beds yet. Has anyone tried growing garlic in pots?

Tags: container, gardening, garlic, urban

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Permalink Reply by Jenni on October 11, 2010 at 5:30pm

I have, but with little success. You need a sizable pot (for multiple cloves) and lots of patience. Garlic seems to take a long time to mature, and since it's so cheap and plentiful, I decided to just buy it since it just wasn't maturing very well in my pot. However, I still continue to plant cloves in order to harvest the scapes -- the green shoots on a young bulb. I think those are totally worth it!

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Permalink Reply by Larry Snyder on October 11, 2010 at 5:31pm

Should not be a problem I've seen Chives in pots. Garlic is not that deeply rooted. I'd make sure of good drainage & light soil. You could even bury the pot to the rim & mulch just like the garden.

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Permalink Reply by Ada on October 15, 2010 at 6:40pm

I planted some elephant garlic in a very large container this year as an experiment and it did well. The container was well drained and sat on my back deck where it gets plenty of sunshine. As a result of my success, I plan to try it again. Good luck and enjoy using your own garlic.