Growing Garlic from Seed. Is it Possible?

Suburban Homestead S2EP17. In a previous episode I shared how I planted garlic in the fall amongst my ornamental flower bed. This time I am sharing how it produced in less than ideal circumstances. Growing garlic from bulbils or seed is also explored.
Created by: Siloé Oliveira

[@BrandXsps]

I work with a guy that has grown garlic every year on his family's property since the 50s. He just scatters the seeds from some of the plants he doesn't harvest and it starts the next year's crop. In November he always brings in a few hundred starts to work to let people take home. I planted some this last year and just harvested in June. The variety is something that his grandmother brought back from Italy and they've been doing it for almost 70 years now so it is possible.

[@ThirstyBacon]

My goodness you're so lucky. I know this is an old post but I would love to get my hands on some of those. Cherish them.

[@ulyssees30y]

I once lived in a house in the woods where half of the garden had been neglected for years. The brush and trees had taken over and had reached a height of about ten feet. I hacked everything down during the Fall. In the Spring there was a lush green lawn growing there. I decided to mow it down before turning the soil for vegetables. When I did the smell of garlic filled the air. I stopped mowing. I wasn't mowing grass. I was mowing tightly packed garlic. When I pulled some up they looked like chives with a very tiny clove at the bottom. I wanted to experiment at that point. The garlic was so tightly packed that I suspected it couldn't produce bulbs. But they might if they were given room. I was correct. I took a shovel full of plants and dirt then separated out a handful of the plants. I planted them in rows with about three inches between plants. Two months later I pulled out a few bulbs from the rows. The bulbs were massive. I was absolutely blown away when I tried some raw. It was fantastic. It was the sweetest yet most flavorful garlic I had ever eaten. It was so sweet and mild that the cloves could be eaten raw without water or anything else to drink. I had eaten raw garlic daily for years but this was on a whole other level. The house burned down around the time of my planting. After a convoluted dispute about taxes the town took over the property and sold it to a developer. I hiked up to the place about a year later to see if I could get a few plants to transplant. I wanted to continue the line of that landrace. It would have been my tiny contribution to mankind. When I got to the property I saw that all of the property had been bulldozed. There was nothing left living on the land. Previously the landscape had been idyllic. Why a developer would have leveled it was beyond me. After seventeen years I still crave the taste of that garlic.

[@tatianka30006]

I love home-grown garlic! I braid mine two weeks after harvest (when the stalks are still a bit pliable) into basically a french braid and hang them up like that - so pretty!

[@suburbanhomestead]

Garlic is becoming one of my favorite crops to grow

[@ceciliadepoy3217]

I planted garlic in fall 2016 from bulbils . The yields are smaller than the ones you plant from bulbs for sure. I let the bulbils stay in refrigerater for about a month before planting, and they germinated well for me.

[@rogerpalmer3522]

Thanks for the refrigeration tip. Simple idea--but it never occurred to me.

[@spilledit]

Let them grow for 2 years.

[@heathermj3620]

THANK YOU!!! You answered all my questions about garlic!!!🎉

[@jocklowry4533]

There is something special about your videos. Perhaps it's the synergy of planter beds strewn with wild flowers, the perfectly punctuated voice over, the endless sunshine, and the effort of trial and error which has determined this is the best you-tube video I have ever viewed - the to[pic is close to my heart, so very well done - Jock Lowry

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thank you so much for the feedback. Lately I've been wondering if I should even continue with this approach. Sometimes I feel people prefer just the dry to the point tutorials that don't show much failure.

[@jocklowry4533]

@@suburbanhomestead WOW! need to think for you bud. your video was inspirational - i am in treatment for cancer and I aint giving up for anybody - SO dont you go doing it just because you can ????. Ive got videos for making soil - how boring - but what do you thing the plants think when they see that black rich loam .... keep talking and do it for the love man they are amazing. K

[@jocklowry4533]

you need me to send you some Gillettes' :-) @@suburbanhomestead

[@effff327]

I have planted two pots of garlic. One in my house and the second outside. The one inside with less sun and room temp of 70-75 degrees has grown faster than the ones outside in 80-90 degree weather with full sun. In just 4 days the one inside is 7in long and the outside measures 5.

[@YoldaKalBlog]

It's because the one that is inside, with less sun, trying to reach to sunlight. So it's getting leggy. This is something you should avoid.

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

Interesting! That's quite a lovely jungle you have there.

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Jeanette Waverly Thanks! It sure is a jungle

[@jolenemiller622]

I have experienced that bulbils from large, well-developed garlic bulbs are significantly larger than the ones you show; and if planted in ideal conditions, will often develop into full bulbs the first year, though not as large as those plants from cloves. If the largest bulbils are selected (commonly nearly 1/2 inch in size), I've had a nearly 90% success rate in getting bulbs from bulbils in one season. (zone 5b).

[@jolenemiller622]

I should have clarified that I fall-plant both cloves & bulbils.

[@ThirstyBacon]

​@@jolenemiller622 I'm in the same zone as you. If you have any more advice for bulbils, and cloves I would love to read it.

[@jolenemiller622]

@@ThirstyBacon Not really. One of the advantages of bulbils, is that if your garlic bulbs get infected with disease or nematodes, the bulbils are usually spared. So you can plant them in a different spot, and "start over" without buying more seed garlic. It's one way I keep my disease/pest pressure lower.

[@puronectar4597]

my bees love onion flowers, I didnt expected that. I will try garlic now.

[@relentlessfreedom3715]

Have you tried experimenting with rain water instead of tap water on hose whilst gardening?... that's an awesome experiment - depending on the pollution content on your area of course... me and my husband are off gridders and have been for 18 years now ( in north wales UK ). We live in a woodland and even our drink water is rain water.. the difference we found in muscle building without drinking tap water was amazing! everyone knows tap water is full of chemicals... so taking that out of the plants diet is fantastic to experiment with... we are governed by light conditions in a woodland BUT the radishes we grow are AMAZING along with giant juicy tomatoes and runner beans ect... Garlic has been a fantastic successful experiment which led me to your video about the seeds as we also let some grow untampered... It was a good watch and you have a calm voice 😊

[@suburbanhomestead]

I should try to collect rainwater for the garden, it would help. I generally try to garden with lots of grass clippings as mulch so that I rarely even water things. We usually have consistent rain, but for the short periods of time when we get drier conditions it would be good to have that.

[@CompartilhandoArte]

beautiful work Siloe! i love it!!!

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Lilian Oliveira - Compartilhando Arte - Thank you Lilian!

[@thegirl555]

I love your channel ~ simply art 🙏❤🌸Thank you for taking the time to share your beauty and knowledge with the rest of us ❤God Bless you ❤

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thanks!

[@SN-sz7kw]

Love your channel. Nothing else like it. Thank you.

[@rosagapi]

your garden has surely popped out of a fairy tale

[@porkcheeks]

Glad to see you did let some go. My dad spent 40 yrs learning to grow garlic well. I’m just starting out with it. I find growing large bulbs is a challenge

[@spirit469]

To grow large bulbs, start w/large bulbs. Then only replant the biggest ones

[@Shetasen]

it's been a year. how are the bulbils doing?

[@dustyandchelseamcclellan5670]

I find this very interesting. This is my first year growing garlic and my experience was that I did not remove any scapes and my garlic formed multi clove heads, just not huge ones, although i did have one or two that were larger even though i had removed it but even the smaller ones were usable size, just not huge. I wonder if it's affected by other conditions / variety? Going to be planting the bulbils this year as an experiment. We'll see what happens. Lovely video!

[@poollogicdurbanville9360]

I grew for the first time too but some only formed rounds and I also plated it between other veggies. Will do it a lot different next time

[@elysejoseph]

Yes it takes patience to grow from bulbils, I'm going on the 3rd year growing them, they have started to produce cloves last year, just 2 at the most! But good size, we'll see what becomes of them this year ;-)

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Elyse Joseph Awesome. Supposedly this year they should get to a mature size.

[@paulineevill5879]

How long did it take the first time? And are they big enough to use?

[@RoadtotheFarm]

That's so interesting! Thank you for sharing! I love how you are always questioning the norm. And as usual, your videos are beautiful and so artistic! Love it all!!!

[@suburbanhomestead]

I can't simply conform. It is through experimentations that we learn new things. Thanks!!!

[@RoadtotheFarm]

My thoughts exactly! I drive my very conventional neighbor berzerk with the way I garden. Keep it up!

[@mccardieclan1755]

excellent observation and presentation ! ty

[@Laurie_in_Maine]

Favorite sentence: "I just wanted to see what happens." (Are these flowers/seeds from (poorly grown) garlic useable?) I think I'll just see what happens, too! (Or go check your channel playlist first... ) :)

[@wholecirclehomestead2529]

Awesome experiments thank you for sharing. Amazing cinematography as always.

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Whole Circle Homestead Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@douglochart1720]

It is amazing that the more you learn the less you seem to know. Thanks for sharing another fascinating video and topic with us. I have not grown garlic from seed but have grown shallots from seed that I had purchased. The first year it grew into single bulbs and then the next year each bulb split into 5. However we LOVE shallots so no matter how many I produce we never have any leftover for the following year :-) I have not done much research on this so forgive me if I am incorrect but I have gladiola bulbs that I wanted to plant in my garden however I read that Gladiolas should not be planted in the proximity of certain vegetables like peas. I noticed your beautiful flowers right off the bat and then realized that you usually mingle veggies with your flowers and became concerned. If you have not heard of this you might want to look into that. It seems that bulb flowers seem to affect some types of veggies. take care

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thanks for the tips. I haven't heard about gladioli being bad for veggies. I'll look into it.

[@TheNorthwestForager]

Garlic is by far one of my favorites :]

[@suburbanhomestead]

+The Northwest Forager It's a great plant!

[@zarahsgarden2097]

Awesome

[@natashaanderson8537]

You answered my question glad I found this video

[@Simplegroundlife]

I have learned a lot from this video. Thank you for having this passion for learning and discovery. I have really been enjoying your channel, thank you for introducing yourself to me through visiting my channel.

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the channel. I saw your hand drawn logo and interesting name and had to check it out. You have a really cool peaceful demeanor. I'll be following!

[@Simplegroundlife]

+suburban homestead thank you.

[@suekelly7200]

Been growing garlic for several years along with a few of my neighbors. Always cut scapes off but after reading about different results decided to leave scapes on this year just to see what happens. The bulbs turned out somewhat smaller but the skins were shiny white and seemed to have a few more layers. Also produced some large bulbils that I was interested to find out what to do with them. So after viewing this video I am excited to try and produce more of the type Siberian. I am finding that the cost of purchasing new bulbs is going up so if I can produce these on my own I will be very happy with and unending supply.

[@andrewchanda871]

If the scapes are left and grow into seeds, can the seeds be planted and grow into healthy garlic?

[@suekelly7200]

They can be, but it take several years before they can actually grow into an edible group of cloves.

[@mysticmom616]

I went to my local organic grocery store and purchased 4 large bulbs of organic garlic that I will use to plant. It was $8.99/lb. I purchased a little over 0.6lbs. Far more cost effective than purchasing from a mail order seed company. I will go back and purchase more before I plant them all in October. I could hold back some of mine that I grew and harvested this summer but I’ve been using it for canning and cooking and am running through my home grown bulbs fairly quickly!😊

[@janicealderson4329]

Mind are always small - so i bought some 'elephant' garlic from Amazon - as on the picture i expected whole cloves to plant - but no! these were seeds - so now I am forced to bring them on; bit put out as I have no organic seed compost left! Wow i never knew I could get them back with the scapes - I don't always see them as so hot and sometimes they just wither.

[@jcruz091790]

this answered my question. thank you

[@growinglongisland]

I always looked forward to your videos, why have you stopped?

[@kidzfromthebloc]

Your garden is beautiful

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thanks

[@ohhowhappygardener]

Interesting... we may try growing garlic this year. Thanks for sharing!

[@suburbanhomestead]

It's an effortless crop.

[@v3nus651]

Haven’t watched the video yet but pats year I didn’t save any of my garlic but I did save all of my seeds and I’m terrified that I just won’t be able to grow them. This is the only video I could find on actually using the seeds lol T-T

[@hexicdragon3094]

I love seeing your uploads, great video.

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Hexic Dragon I'm glad to know you have been following them.

[@ethan.s7219]

I love your pink gladious and your star gazer lilies

[@jeffbooth7388]

First, thank you! I've watched a million videos on garlic and very few said to cut the scape on hardnecks. It was my first year trying to grow garlic seriously and I tried to cook the scapes (mixed results). But I did notice that the ones that were cut were significantly bigger than the others. Makes sense but too little too late.

[@suburbanhomestead]

I'm glad you liked it and learned something useful. Try harvesting the garlic scapes when they are very tender still. That will make them more useful as flavoring for soups, stews and stirfries

[@victoriajohnson3034]

Definitely cut the scapes when they are about 18 inches tall. Then cut and sautee them in butter. Yummy!

[@ildikogaspar3421]

I am planting my garlic now. Kind of need some advice: I let many of my garlic to go up into seed this year. I have two type of seeds, one is how you show here, tiny ones. But the other type is a size of large peas. The large ones grown one top if the garlic plant numbered between 3-10 seed per plant. I am wondering if they would develop into head of garlic in one season?!

[@heliodeleon2445]

Gracias amigo saludos de mexico

[@christiensgarden3325]

Very cool

[@lilsangarden]

Honestly when I saw those bulbis I wonder if it will be delicious in stir fry or pickles.... 😅

[@mgbro3311]

I think I might have erred in harvesting bulbils because I removed them at the same time the rest of the harvest was dug up. so the sheath was still intact on the head. I broke up one and the seeds were there., but I don't know if there any good. anyway, I am still trying to dry out the plants with the bulbils and will re evaluate the viability of the seeds and hopefully they'll be golden.

[@TamnalFarm]

zabardast

[@dakotabob10]

Very interesting Siloe!

[@suburbanhomestead]

+dakotabob10 Thanks my friend!

[@heathergirgenti1721]

Thanks

[@chrisgoodal1944]

Really enjoyed your video... quite informative, and yes, fascinating as I, myself, attempt to grow Russian Red Garlic.

[@scottsutton7989]

I’m following you and him. I’m interested in possibly buying some of the bulbs should you all get success? Thanks Scotty please update your blogs??? Cheers.....

[@Owlsdelivery]

Well i think some”croppy” plants like nitrogen and some “flowery” plants don’t really go for the nitrogen in the soil. So if garlic like nitrogen it’s probably fine in there with them! But this is like some random idea I made based on my own knowledge of plants so please feel free to correct me! I’m excited to plant the wild garlic seeds I found!

[@robinhazeslip1800]

Thnk u for this video! I planted these last year and now know what to do.. ....harvest and replant! 2 seasons isn't too long to wait for great harvest!! 😁🧄🌿

[@aaroncole7736]

Great info, thanks man.

[@Tursla1]

Is it better to grow garlic from cloves or seeds?

[@buddyschipano2374]

I'm in a warmer climate so I plant my garlic in the fall and can harvest in the next summer. The bulbils generally get spread by accident and the garlic pops up all over the yard. I guess since it has been several generations I might have better luck getting true seeds.

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Bernard Schipano If you are really in interested in developing your own variety , read the resources I talked about. Good luck

[@medgrower1.killer]

My dad has grown garlic for 80 years. Now I do it 250 bulbs a year.

[@almadinelelyon8747]

Amazing video!!!

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thanks!

[@indiansoul]

nice work

[@suburbanhomestead]

+indian soul Thank You!

[@dhadao]

10-12% seed viability when bulbils are removed and flowers pollinated(first generation). Over time/seasons of growing/generations-- less bubils will be produced and the seed viability should begin to skyrocket.

[@melodystablet7444]

awe! they're like tiny garlic cloves!

[@BlackCat_2]

Garlic rules and so does Mother Earth News. I used to have a bunch of old issues on loan from a friend who bought them when they weren't old. :p I was still a baby when he was buying those magazines. :D - Heidi

[@suburbanhomestead]

+BlackCat2 They are awesome.The old issues are even more interesting because they had a lot of written material.

[@Liwayputi]

Fascinating! Thanks!

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Liwayputi Thanks!

[@miriambaig2902]

Does the sack in the video contain black soil or some organic fertilizers?

[@andaleebhassan5766]

Congrats for 23k

[@suburbanhomestead]

Thank you. There was a good upsurge in the past weeks.

[@kakairedavid4725]

Thank you very much but how can i access market for garlic?

[@carsonsflyinghigh]

I see a couple flaws... Question...where are you located? It appears to me that you harvested too soon (?). secondly bulbils can be fully developed after a full YEAR? IE: plant them in July and harvest next July??? Thoughts?

[@xaviercruz4763]

So, how did it go the second time? Did you mix more than one variety for the pollination to better? I wonder how did varieties of garlic form that we now have.

[@PermacultureHomestead]

another professional, family friendly epsidoe, thanks so much for the share Siloe, i tried bubils once to no avail, this was the motivation i needed to try again in pots. Thanks. BTW, if i may ask where are you located? zone, state etc.

[@suburbanhomestead]

+Permaculture Homestead Thanks my friend! I hope it works for you. You will need to put them in the ground for winter, or maybe have them in a greenhouse. I'm in Maryland. Zone 7

[@PermacultureHomestead]

sending you a PM.

[@grimori]

Did you ever do a follow-up video to show the results of this experiment?

[@suburbanhomestead]

I did not do a specific video, but they grew into full heads in 2 years on average.

[@grimori]

@@suburbanhomestead thanks for responding!

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

How did growing the bulbils turn out?

[@morgandavis8272]

I got garlic seed from my Aunt - so I put it in a box in the shade and then plant in the fall?

[@somidianuradha8741]

When we plant the clove garlic and when we get back seeds from that I mean time period and season

[@davidnorman4939]

Plant the hardneck garlic in late October. Next June scapes will form with bulbils on the end. Remove bulbils from scape just before harvesting in late July. Then you can plant both bulbils and cloves in October to increase your harvest the next summer

[@Mikiryuk960]

I have a lot of questions... Should it be the hard neck type to get the flowers and bulbils? How to grow from unsterile flower seeds Im in tropic region btw... heheee

[@suburbanhomestead]

Yes, hard neck garlic types tend to produce flower and bulbils. Getting the flowers to take requires removing all the bulbils as soon as they appear. I haven't looked into it further the the guy I speak of in the video has done it.

[@tomhackman8115]

u got tropical jungle there m8 do weeding n cleaning n planning

[@nidhibhanushali74]

Hey can i get seeds from you ? Can i buy around 5-6kgs

[@Sun-soilproductions]

How many instruments do you play

[@suelamagdelaine8598]

can you grow the umbrel??

[@Zanewv]

What about seeds?

[@Ryin88]

Does this apply to elephant garlic as well?

[@victoriajohnson3034]

I'm on my 3rd year of elephant garlic. I plant the cloves in October and harvest in August. Then replant in October. Treat it just like any other garlic, just plant a bit deeper. I plant 9 inches down so i don't have to mulch or cover dirt for our snowy winters.

[@AutumnHorses8]

What time of year did you plant the bulbils? do you have to let them dry first? thanks for the great video

[@suburbanhomestead]

They should be dry enough when harvesting. you can plant them directly or in the fall

[@AutumnHorses8]

okay perfect, thanks for the response! :)

[@pugsandcoffeeplease]

What is the music near the end?

[@suburbanhomestead]

It is a stock song called Ambient City. It seems to be a crowd favorite :-)

[@sunny753]

When is the best time to start seeding?

[@williamblatch5618]

Bron Y Aur garlic stomp :)

[@Cheburashka_420]

You harvested way early

[@808machun8]

Epic fail

[@angelsbackgroundsounds]

lovely garden

[@Owlsdelivery]

Well i think some”croppy” plants like nitrogen and some “flowery” plants don’t really go for the nitrogen in the soil. So if garlic like nitrogen it’s probably fine in there with them! But this is like some random idea I made based on my own knowledge of plants so please feel free to correct me! I’m excited to plant the wild garlic seeds I found!