Can I plant garlic bought from a grocery store?
Written by
Nguyen Minh
Reviewed by
Prof. Samuel Fitzgerald, Ph.D.The process of growing garlic from supermarket bulbs appears straightforward but has hidden complexities. Lines of garlic such as the ‘California White' from the grocery store germinate on kitchen counters and mislead gardeners into planting them. However, during planting, the grocery-store garlic seldom develops properly and, at worst, can only rot away below ground, or will result in golf ball-sized bulbs - like my first attempt when I had garlic heads the size of my thumb, the wrappers just paper-like.
Chemical Treatments
- Maleic hydrazide inhibits sprouting in stored bulbs
- Chlorpropham residue persists on cloves for months
- Treated cloves show 70% lower germination rates
Climate Mismatch
- Most commercial garlic grows in zone 7-9 climates
- Northern gardeners need hardneck varieties for frost survival
- Southern growers require low-chill types unavailable in stores
For those emergency plantings, you should soak the grocery store cloves in lukewarm water for a night. This will help remove some of the surface chemicals that are on store-bought cloves. You will want to mix it 50% with perlite to allow for drainage and to be put into containers. In this way, I've had some success, and if you're lucky, you're looking at 30% success whereas using nursery stock you are at 90%. Try rotating your sites annually to avoid any possible soil pathogens.
When planting in warmer areas, you must store the untreated cloves in the refrigerator for at least six weeks. Wrap the cloves in wet paper towels, and store the cloves in a perforated bag. I have Florida clients that bulbed cloves this way. You need to watch for mold, and if you see any blue-green fuzz discard the cloves immediately.
Read the full article: How to Grow Garlic Successfully in Any Climate
