Growing Elephant Garlic Indoors

Discover the simple joys of growing Elephant Garlic indoors! This guide unravels how you can cultivate this giant, mild-flavored bulb right on your sunny windowsill.

Elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum) is a perennial plant in the onion genus.

The name elephant is likely a reference to its elephantine size. While it looks like a giant garlic bulb it is actually more closely related to leeks. It also has a milder flavor than regular garlic.

Growing Elephant Garlic Indoors

Embarking on the adventure of growing Elephant Garlic indoors unfolds a journey towards not only cultivating gigantic bulbs but also adding a rustic charm to your home.

This mild-flavored cousin of the leek promises a hassle-free growth cycle, making it a perfect choice for container gardening.

Whether you’re starting with cloves or daring enough to venture into seeding, each step towards nurturing your Elephant Garlic indoors brings you closer to a bountiful harvest right in the heart of your home.

Elephant garlic makes a great container plant to grow indoors. It doesn’t require a large pot and can be kept on a sunny windowsill.

It also makes pretty flowers.

You really only need to buy it once. When you harvest just save some cloves to replant and start new plants from them.

How long does it take elephant garlic to grow?

Elephant garlic can be harvested in about 90 days when grown from cloves.

If you are growing from seed it will take longer to grow. The plant needs to start from scratch and grow leaves

Eventually, the bulb will start to form and grow. This can take 30-60 days longer than from a clove.

I really think it makes more sense to grow from cloves and you can probably find elephant garlic bulbs for about the same price as a pack of seeds.

Seeds are hard to find so you may need to start from cloves. You might be able to harvest seeds from the flowers but they may not grow into the plants that you want.

Seeds contain more genetic variables, a clove is basically a clone of its mother and will look the same. This is why growing from cloves is so widespread.

Growing Elephant Garlic Indoors From Seeds

Well, I thought these guys were going to send me cloves but they sent seeds. So I guess they can be found.

I am not really sure when I am going to plant these seeds or what the germination rate will be.

I also wonder if they were cross-pollinated by something else. It will take quite a while to find out.

How deep to plant elephant garlic?

Elephant garlic cloves should be covered with about 1- 4 inches of soil. 

Cloves should be buried with the tip just above ground level.

Elephant garlic spacing

Elephant garlic can get big. So if you planted cloves you will want to thin them out gradually to about 2-3 inches apart.

Once they have gained some size you can transplant them individually into a 4-6-inch pot that is about 6 inches deep.

If you are using cloves you will probably only need one clove for a pot so that it has room to grow.

How To Grow Elephant Garlic In Containers

Can you grow elephant garlic in pots? Yes, you can.

How To Grow Elephant Garlic Indoors

In this video I am planting elephant garlic cloves in self watering planters filled with coco coir.

I ordered bulbs from a nursery but so far they have not arrived and may be lost in the mail.

So I ordered bulbs from Amazon and had them the next day. I don’t know how long it will take for them to grow.

Sometimes bulbs are treated with a sprout inhibitor. They will still grow but it can take longer.

I don’t know if my bulbs were treated but they were healthy. I got 2 bulbs and there were 7 cloves in the first bulb.

I am only planting 3 indoors and the rest will go outside where I have a container garden.

I am also growing some leeks indoors. These were started from seeds.

Growing Leeks In Containers (indoorvegetablegrower.com)

Growing Elephant Garlic From Seed?

While it is possible to grow elephant garlic from seed it will take a really long time.

Everyone grows elephant garlic from cloves for this reason.

If you really want to try this you will probably need to raise your own. You can try letting the flowers go to seed.

Most people cut them off so they can get larger bulbs. If you have regular garlic, leeks, or other plants in the onion family you may get cross-pollination.

Growing Elephant Garlic From Cloves

You will need to grow elephant garlic from cloves. A bulb will yield 5-7 cloves.

If you get it at a supermarket it may have been treated with a sprout inhibitor. So it is best to buy elephant garlic grown for planting.

Where to buy elephant garlic bulbs for planting?

It is best to get elephant garlic from a seed company because it won’t be treated with sprout inhibitors.

You may be able to find elephant garlic bulbs at your local garden center or possibly in the supermarket

But if you can’t find them or just want to find them easily you can buy elephant garlic bulbs on Amazon here. 

Growing Elephant Garlic Indoors In Pots

So here is an update. After about 2 weeks my elephant garlic cloves sprouted so they obviously were not treated with a sprout inhibitor.

Here they are about a week later. They already have a fair amount of roots as you will see in the video below.

Growing Elephant Garlic Indoors Day 30 Update

Here are my elephant garlic plants at 30 days. Grown in coco coir using self-watering planters. They have drunk up all their water and pots need to be refilled.

 

Elephant Garlic FAQs

Venturing into the realm of growing Elephant Garlic indoors can be quite the gardening adventure.

This larger-than-life allium, with its robust cloves and the potential for charming blooms, offers a rewarding experience with a savory payoff.

And while it’s a journey that seems straightforward, every gardener, whether a seasoned green thumb or a budding plant enthusiast, has a handful of questions along the way.

Here’s a little FAQ section to help navigate through some common queries.

Q. How should I plant elephant garlic indoors?

A. To plant elephant garlic, it’s essential to separate the bulbs from cloves first.

Position them pointed end up in a hole in your container, about 6 inches deep.

Space each clove about a foot apart. After placing the cloves, cover them lightly with soil and water them in.

Q. When is the best time to plant elephant garlic?

A. The prime time for planting and growing elephant garlic is typically in the fall, between September and November, or in the early spring, from February to April.

Planting during these periods allows the garlic to establish a healthy root system before the challenging winter or the hot summer months arrive.

Q. How deep should I plant the cloves?

A. Elephant garlic cloves should be covered with about 1 – 4 inches of soil when planting.

The tip of the clove should be just above ground level, ensuring a proper growth trajectory as the plant begins to sprout and extend its roots into the soil.

Q. How do I space elephant garlic in containers?

A. When growing elephant garlic in containers, it’s important to provide enough space for each clove to develop into a full bulb.

Initially, you might want to space the cloves about 2-3 inches apart.

Once they’ve gained some size, you can transplant them individually into a 4-6-inch pot that’s about 6 inches deep, providing ample space for each plant to flourish.

These tidbits should serve as a good springboard for your indoor elephant garlic cultivation venture. Happy planting!