You’ll have the most success growing garlic greens or scapes indoors versus full garlic bulbs.
Cloves require chilling for several weeks for them to develop into full bulbs.
Do not grow it indoors if your pets nibble on your houseplants.
The Spruce / Michele Lee
The Spruce / Michele Lee
Can You Grow Garlic Inside?
A south- or west-facing window would likely work best.
If growing garlic for their shoots, plant the cloves close together.
The Spruce / Michele Lee
A chilling period is less crucial forsoftneck types, which will grow more successfully without the chilling period.
Softneck varieties are often preferred for indoor growing.
But if your goal is just green shoots to snip off for cooking, the chilling period is unnecessary.
The Spruce / Michele Lee
The green shoots should be large enough before you begin snipping them off for cooking.
Garlic bulbs will not thrive with artificial light.
If you are growing garlic just for the greens, it won’t need quite as much sunlight.
A range of 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.
Garlic is native to relatively arid regions of central Asia and Iran, so it thrives in dry conditions.
There is no need to bolster humidity to grow indoor garlic.
Watering
Water garlic often enough so that the soil stays moist but not wet.
Within one to two weeks, you should see green garlic shoots coming through the soil.
Feeding is not necessary for garlic that you are growing only for the greens.
Leave about 1 inch of the green shoot on each clove so the shoot will continue to grow.
When the leaf shoots begin to turn brown, withhold all watering.
The width of the container depends on how many cloves you plant.
If growing bulbs, plant them at least 6 inches apart.
Ensure the container has drainage holes, and if it doesn’t, make holes.
Use a regular drill to bore holes in a plastic planting container.
For this reason, container drainage holes are a must.
As for the best potting soil to use with indoor garlic, it thrives in loamy, sandy soils.
Do not use garden soil or bagged topsoil since it will not drain well when confined in a container.
Plant garlic in peat, perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber, potting mix, or compost.
Many growers recommend storing the bulbs in a refrigerator for a few weeks before planting them in the fall.
Split the garlic bulb into cloves by prying it open.
Discard any cloves that are soft or show signs of decay.
Fill the containerwith a standard potting mix so the surface is about 2 inches below the rim.
Plant the cloves pointy-side-up in the container, embedding them halfway into the potting mix.
Leave at least 6 inches between cloves if growing bulbs.
Pat the soil down gently.
Water slowly until water comes out of the bottom of the container.
Add more potting mix if you see any garlic cloves poking through.
Garlic is a sun lover, and it’s also a cold-hardy bulb outdoors.
It is a USDA zone 4 hardy plant, which can withstand temperatures as low as -30F.
On sweltering days, provide more water to sustain the plant through a hot spell.
Usually, by July, it’s time to harvest the bulbs when the green tops have browned.
In winter, it enters a dormancy state.
As soon as the temperatures warm, it triggers the plant to come out of dormancy and spur growth.
However, if you want garlic greens throughout the winter, move them inside before temperatures turn sweltering hot.
Hot temperatures, intense sun, and a lack of water will make the sprouts brown.
When sprouts turn brown, it indicates that the bulb is mature and ready to harvest.
Gradually acclimate your garlic to life inside over two weeks to prevent shocking or stressing the plant.
Before bringing your plants indoors, inspect them carefully for hitchhiking bugs.
Keep an eye out for damaging onionthrips.
Thrips have wings but are not great fliers.
They look more like long worms with long legs.
There are two basic types of garlic: hardneck and softneck.
The softneck varieties are best suited for indoor growing since hardnecks prefer colder temperatures.
Popular softneck varieties include ‘Silverskin,’ ‘Inchelium Red,’ ‘California Early,’ and ‘California Late.’
Seed garlic is the best quality bulb, particularly sold for planting and growing garlic.
Since grocery store garlic is sometimes stored for many months, older bulbs are less viable than younger bulbs.
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