Garlic grown on a balcony may be smaller than garlic grown in a home garden.
A member of the onion family, garlic is a hardy perennial that is grown in home gardens throughout the United States. Though more difficult than growing in a spacious garden plot, you can grow garlic on your balcony as long as you can provide the proper soil, fertilization and spacing requirements for your garlic to fully develop and thrive. Always start your garlic planting in early March. If you wait until late spring, the garlic will not fully develop. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Select several cloves of garlic from a large and healthy garlic bulb. Garlic is rarely successfully planted from seeds. The bigger cloves on the bulb are better suited for growing new bulbs.
2. Fill a large planter with a loamy soil high in organic matter, such as compost. The size of the planter will depend on how much space you have on your balcony. Keep in mind that garlic requires a lot of space in planting so purchase the largest planter that you can accommodate according to your space requirements. You can use either a circular or square planter or even a long, rectangular planter that you can hang on a balcony railing.
3. Incorporate a well-balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10, into the soil. Add approximately 1/2 lbs. of fertilizer per 15 square feet of soil.
4. Plant the garlic cloves into the soil in an upright position. Aim to push them between 1/2 and 1 inch into the soil. Space the garlic cloves 3 to 5 inches from each other on all sides.
5. Water the soil regularly so that it remains consistently moist and never dries out. If the soil does dry out, it can result in misshapen bulbs.
6. Place the potter in an area of your balcony that gets full sunlight. In the early spring when the weather is still cool, you may want to move your potter throughout the day to keep it in direct sunlight.
7. Wait four to five months before harvesting the garlic. You will know it is time to harvest the garlic bulbs when their tops begin to get dry.
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