Garlic has to be the easiest thing to grow. You can plant it in pots, in the ground, in empty milk jugs. Really, any container will do. Regular water and fertilizer are all it needs. Today I am going to show you how easy it is to Grow Garlic in a Container.
Technically, October in Texas is garlic planting time. You will need to check with a local garden center to find out the best time to plant garden in your area. 
First, you need some garlic. Not any old garlic, but garlic that has NOT been sprayed with an anti-sprouting agent. Separate the cloves, but don’t peel them.
Look at all of those cloves of garlic. Each one will become a head of garlic. Awe-some!
Get your gardening gloves and add some organic garden soil to a large container that has drainage. Do not get potting mix, it won’t work. It needs to be potting soil.
Now for the hard part. Take your be-gloved finger and poke a hole in the potting soil that is approximately twice the depth of the garlic clove.
Then, place the garlic clove pointy-side up in the hole. Cover with dirt. Water. Fertilize when you plant and again in the Spring. Water regularly, but don’t over-water. 
A week or so later you will have some shoots sprouting.
Knowing when to harvest requires some observation. I know my garlic is ready to bulb when the green tops fall over and the bottom leaves turn brown. At this point the garlic needs to dry out and not be watered. I leave it in the container for a week or two. Occasionally, rain will be forecast which will interfere with the harvest. If your garlic is in a container, then moving it is your best option. Otherwise, you may have to harvest early.
I then cure my garlic by letting it dry out on the back porch. The time of this depends on your location. I know my garlic is ready for storage when the garlic skins are dry and the neck is tight.
Once harvested you can now enjoy it for the next few months. Once you’ve had fresh, home-grown garlic, you will never go back.
Some Important Things to Know About Growing Garlic
- There are two types of garlic: Softneck Garlic and Hardneck Garlic.
- Softneck garlic does better in warmer southern climates. This type braids well for storage.
- Hardneck garlic does better in colder northern climates. This type does not braid well.
- Garlic takes the better part of a year to grow. Most gardeners plant sometime in the fall and harvest in summer.
- Garlic likes lots of sun but can tolerate partial shade.
- Garlic doesn’t like wet soil which makes it ideal for patio pots or large containers.
Want to know more about vegetable gardening? Check out some of these awesome Craftsy Vegetable Gardening classes.* (affiliate)
Lovely garlic! I just planted some this last weekend for the first time… good to hear that it’s easy to grow! 🙂
Do you use cloves from the heads you can buy at the grocery? Or do you have to use garlic purchased specifically for re-growing?
I can’t wait to try this.
I always save back garlic for planting, but you should be able to find suitable garlic at a garden center or health food store.
Most heads at grocer have anti-spouting stuff on them. If you have a trusted organic source, it might work. Your local GOOD garden center will have growable cloves at right time of year for you, and you won’t have to buy massive quantities if you have a smaller garden.
Hi, where do I get the kind of garlic that hasn’t been sprayed to not sprout?
Try a garden center or try a health food store for fresh, organic garlic.
Where do I get the garlic that hasn’t been sprayed with the non sprouting spray?
I would check with a garden center. Many will have an organic variety. Most likely organic garlic from a health food store won’t be sprayed.
I tried growing ginger this way. It came up, but didn’t get very tall before it died. Have you ever grown ginger? We consume a lot of ginger too. I’m going to try this with garlic tho. We ate a bunch! of garlic. My husband puts garlic in almost everything that he cooks for us. I do think it has “good medicine”. 🙂 Do you know if critters are prone to messing with it in the ground? We have quite an assortment of critters where we live. dillos, possum, raccoons, even a skunk who has been hanging out in our backyard for the last few mornings! Kim
Planting garlic (and onions too, I think) are supposed to help keep deer and rabbits out of your garden. I tried planting garlic among my beets to keep the deer from eating the tops of my beets. I only did a little, but I could tell that the deer really don’t like it because although they ate some beets, they didn’t touch the ones that were right beside the garlic 🙂
How about exposure? I’m guessing garlic would require full sun?
Garlic definitely likes full sun.
I found your post at Serenity Saturday. Thank you for sharing! We are in Canada, so this won’t work for us, but I love gardening and I like seeing what others can do in other parts of the world 🙂
Should I have already done this, I live in Maryland…also, can this be done indoors?
Not sure about growing garlic in Maryland. Check with a local nursery. Indoors would work.
Wow, I never realized it was so easy! I’m definitely pinning this so I can give it a try, thanks for sharing it at my link party!
do you put the containers outside or inside?
I am in Central Texas, so outside works great. If we have a hard freeze then I might bring them inside for a couple of days.
last year I planted garlic in my old utility sinks I moved into my garden. had great results. so I wanted to plant more this year so I bought concrete blocks that have the two squares in them. i planted a bulb in each square. we’ll see how it does next spring when i harvest. hopefully a success
Excellent suggestions. Thanks for sharing.
How do you store the garlic, and how long will they last?
I store my garlic two ways. I ferment it and use it though out the year ~ there is a tutorial on my blog for this. I keep the rest in an basket in my pantry.
What a great idea, I may have to take some garlic cloves out to my empty pots and give it a try. I might not be too late here in New Mexico. I never have had much success with growing ANYTHING, but this sounds so easy! Thank for sharing on Tasty Tuesdays! HUGS!
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
So doing this ! Thank you for sharing 🙂
This is a great idea, will it be too late next month or a couple of weeks from now?
Thank you,
Jeannie
I don’t really have a green thumb so it’s nice to see that lovely people like yourself help spell it out for people like me! This was a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing this at Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop! I hope to see you back on Sunday night!
Every year I say I’m going to grow garlic, but I never do. I’m really, really, hoping to get some in the ground this weekend! Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for sharing this great tip at my Twirl & Take a Bow Party! Have a great weekend!
We use garlic in pretty much everything and it’d be so nice to have it fresh!
Wonderful idea for container gardening – we both use garlic a lot in our cooking.
We have featured your post this week on BeBetsy at the BRAG ABOUT IT No. 30
Thanks for linking up with us.
Sharon and Denise ♥
We’ve been thinking about a fall garden, thanks for sharing your knowledge on growing garlic! It should do well in South GA 😉
I planted garlic and onions in containers on November 16th. the garlic’s shoots/leaves are tall but soft. I am just wondering if I should plant them in the ground instead? I line in Central Texas as well.
So can you grow garlic indoors year round, if so can you give me some tips? I live in Kansas and it said I can plant in early spring or late fall but I would love to have fresh garlic year round!
I’ve never grown garlic indoors but I suspect it would work. You will need to check with a local nursery about when to plant/harvest.
I don’t have my garden ready yet. We just moved to our new house last May and we’ve just been so busy with other projects, but I did get some garlic planted in a flower bed. And I will have tomatoes and pepper planted later. Got to have my homemade salsa.
Thanks for the share. I will try to plant garlics this coming summer. Will it be ok here in Paramus, NJ?
Garlic can be grown almost anywhere. That said, you really need to check with a local nursery to see when the best time to plant. In Texas, we plant garlic in the fall and harvest in June.
I love plants,and I will try to plant garlic in high desert California, hope its grow.