Can you plant organic garlic from the store? Most people buy garlic from the shop to use in their cooking, but can it also be planted? The easy answer is that you can plant organic garlic from the shop.
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However, obtaining a healthy, full-sized bulb will be more difficult than purchasing garlic from a seed store or nursery.
SUMMARY
CAN YOU PLANT ORGANIC GARLIC FROM THE STORE?
Garlic is one of the most easiest plants to cultivate in the garden, but can you plant organic garlicfrom the store easily?
Let find out
If you’re growing store-bought garlic, all you need to know is the fundamentals, such as when to plant it and how to care for it during different seasons.
WHY IS GARLIC FROM THE STORE DIFFICULT TO GROW?
The majority of garlic sold in supermarkets comes from China, and it has most likely been stored in warehouses for months before reaching the shelves.
Organic Garlic
Because premature sprouting of garlic would be detrimental to business, it is treated with anti-sprouting chemicals.
Garlic that has been treated in this manner is effectively dead, and planting it would provide no results.
Furthermore, garlic that has been harvested recently is less likely to grow than garlic that is older.
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The majority of the garlic in stores has been sitting in warehouses and shelves for years. It would be quite tough to cultivate this garlic, and planting it could be a waste of time.
The softneck garlic kind is the most common in supermarkets. This type of garlic is not cold-hardy, which means it will not thrive in really cold climates.
Softneck garlic is sold in stores because it can grow in a wide variety of temperatures, making it a long-term investment.
Garlic grown organically
As a result, if you live in a cold climate, store-bought garlic will not thrive in your garden.
If you want to grow store-bought garlic, look for it in the organic section of the supermarket.
Because the garlic is less likely to be treated for pre-mature sprouting here, this is the case. As a result, it has a considerably better chance of growing.
Read Also: HOW LONG DOES GARLIC TAKE TO GROW HYDROPONICALLY
The Most Important Takeaway: Garlic nurseries, farmers’ markets, and local garden centers are the best places to buy garlic for growing.
WHY IS IT BETTER TO BUY SEED GARLIC THAN TO BUY IT FROM THE STORE?
For starters, seed garlic is designed to be planted. Seed garlic is not treated with inhibitors, as is the case with store-bought garlic. As a result, you may expect it to grow within a year of planting it.
Garlic purchased at the shop will take much longer to grow, if at all. Furthermore, seed garlic will grow into a healthy bulb with cloves, which is more than can be said about store-bought garlic.
With seed garlic, you’ll be able to grow a variety of garlic varieties that aren’t always available in stores.
You can buy organic garlic from the shop and plant it.
Because it is the most financially beneficial variety, the retailer restricts you to only the softneck variety.
Furthermore, store-bought garlic may not be of the same high quality or disease resistance as seed garlic.
This means that garlic purchased from a supermarket is more prone to illness and may not even reach maturity.
Objectively, growing store-bought garlic for the leaves rather than the bulb is the best way to go. Garlic leaves, albeit in a milder form, provide a flavor to dishes.
HOW DO YOU GROW ORGANIC GARLIC FROM A STORE?
Organic garlic is good for you.
As previously stated, store-bought organic garlic has a better probability of growing than garlic that has been treated to prevent sprouting.
Read Also: HOW TO GROW GREEN GARLIC IN SIMPLE STEPS
To get the best results, do the following:
- Separate the bulb into individual cloves first.
- Plant the cloves in the soil with the pointy side facing up and roughly an 8-centimeter space between them.
- Then, about 5 cm or so, cover the cloves with a couple of inches of soil. Within three weeks of seeding, shoots should begin to form.
- If your area is particularly cold, it’s critical to cover your garlic bed with mulch to keep it warm.
- Remove the mulch as the temperature rises to avoid overheating, which will stifle garlic development.
It is essential to keep the garlic bed watered and weeded as needed.
Patience is a virtue, so give the garlic plenty of time to grow. In ideal conditions, it should be ready to harvest in around six months.
Read Also: HOW TO GROW ELEPHANT GARLIC IN POTS?
Stop watering the plants when the tips begin to brown and allow the stalks to dry. Pull the garlic from the soil after a fortnight has passed.
THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE PLANTING GARLIC FROM THE STORE
Using store-bought organic garlic to plant
Take the following variables into account before planting store-bought garlic:
Climate
Most store garlic is softneck garlic, which, as we’ve seen, does not thrive in cold areas because it isn’t the hardiest variety.
In most cases, softneck garlic thrives in areas with hard winters.
Other garlic varieties, such as hardneck garlic, which is not commonly found in shops, thrive in cold climes and yield large bulbs.
Early in the spring, when the ground is still cold, is the optimum time to plant store-bought garlic for the best results. Leaves may grow without the cold, but the bulb will not.
Garlic Situation
Choose garlic with big bulbs that are full of healthy cloves.
How to Plant Organic Garlic
Garlic from the organic area of the supermarket is less likely to include anti-sprouting medicine.
Pests and diseases
Some of the retail garlic is grown in pathogen-infested or nematode-infested locations.
Once you’ve planted the garlic, these organisms can quickly infiltrate the soil.
Once this occurs, ridding your garden soil of diseases and nematodes may take a long time and a lot of effort.
As a result, you should scrutinize the garlic carefully before purchasing it, as even diseased bulbs may appear to be in good condition.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Planting organic garlic tips and guides
How to test if store-bought garlic can sprout?
Garlic thrives in colder climates. If you want to check if the garlic you got at the shop will grow, keep it in the fridge for a week and then expose it to some heat.
Sprouting is usually stimulated by putting it in the cold and then putting it in a warm environment.
How long does it take for garlic to grow from a clove?
This is dependent on a number of things, including the type of garlic and its current state. Garlic seeds, for example, will produce cloves more quickly than store-bought garlic.
Garlic, on the other hand, takes roughly six months to mature and produce cloves. This occurs between the end of summer and the beginning of winter.
Does supermarket garlic grow?
If it is treated with anti-sprouting chemicals, it has a very tiny probability of growing.
Your best bet is to shop in the organic area of the supermarket, as this garlic is usually cultivated locally and isn’t tampered with in any way.
Overall, if you want to produce garlic in your garden, it’s best to get garlic seeds from nurseries.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While buying garlic from the supermarket is a great way to save money, it is not necessarily ideal for planting.
This is due to the fact that the majority of them have been treated to prevent sprouting and have spent a long time in warehouses and shelves.
