Yes, you can grow garlic in containers. If there is a lack of garden space in full sun, then container growing could be good for you.
Gardeners who have had problems with white rot and Fusarium basal rot are often prevented from ever growing garlic again. Container growing is a good solution.
Because growing space is limited in containers, vigorous rooting garlic needs a lot of room. This means using large containers. Depth should be about 18 inches. Width should be 24 to 36 inches. Those half wine barrels you see at the nursery are ideal. Extra-large nursery containers and grow bags also work well.
For soil preparation, mix equal parts top-quality soil, planter mix and compost. After filling the container half full, mix in blood meal, chicken manure pellets and 4-4-4 natural all-purpose fertilizer. After filling the container to the top, mix in more of the fertilizer combination.
There is a tendency when planting garlic to over crowd. Doing so will produce small heads of garlic at harvest time. Plant large cloves 4 to 6 inches apart if you want big, fat bulbs next summer.
After planting cloves, add a thick layer of rice straw mulch. While you don’t need the mulch to keep weeds down (there will be none at all when using potting mixes), it will keep moisture in during dry spells.
By the end of February or first of March, it is time to give garlic a second feeding. Pull back the mulch and feed with chicken manure pellets or blood meal, or both as garlic is a heavy nitrogen feeder. Scratch in the fertilizer, water in and then return the mulch.
Late spring until early summer before harvest is the hardest part about growing garlic in containers. You need to pay extra attention to watering after the rainy season ends. By this time, garlic is fully up and growing. Each plant has sent out a thick network of roots that consume plenty of water, especially on a warm or windy day. At this point in the growing season garlic is forming bulbs. Garlic cannot ever be allowed to dry out at this point. Adequate water is crucial for good bulb formation. Keeping a good mulch helps conserve water.
Garlic is usually harvested about nine months after planting. It depends on the variety and type of garlic. Softneck garlic should be harvested when the bottom two-thirds of leaves have yellowed and withered. Hardneck garlic is typically harvested three to four weeks after sending up a flower stalk, called a scape. With hardneck garlic, it is important to remove the scapes within a week after appearing. Also, the bottom 50% of leaves should be yellowing and withering before harvesting.
The time to stop watering container grown garlic is usually a week to 10 days before harvest. Garlic planted this month should be ready for harvest by early June or July. Again, it depends on the variety of garlic planted.
Terry Kramer is the retired site manager for the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. She currently runs a gardening consulting business. Contact her at 707-834-2661 or terrykramer90@gmail.com.
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