Garlic in a container?

[Ananke]

Would I get away with planting garlic in fish boxes which are about a foot deep?

[Piggle]

what are they made from? It's not that deep rooting so I think you should be ok as well as it's well drained.

[lesleygl]

Hi Anake

The year before last I grew garlic in troughs about 8 inches deep and it worked very well. they may not have been as big but they were OK. So give it a go!

[Ananke]

Thanks

The boxes are polystyrene, I have carrots in them right now.

[Snadger]

I never have much luck with garlic so thought about growing it in containers. I could put these in the greenhouse over winter until the worst of the weather is over then take the tubs outdoors.
I know garlic needs the cold to form bulbils but even in a greenhouse in NE England it should get cold enough?
The beauty of this is I can control the soil conditions and amount of water it gets,

[Ananke]

I'm not sure Snadger, I thought the colder the better for garlic but i'm no expert.

The only reason I was thinking of doing them in containers is because I haven't worked out my beds for next year and I want to get them into the soil as soon as they arrive, I've never managed to get them in before spring so far but i'm on a mission this year to get all my timings right.

[Snadger]

I'm not sure Snadger, I thought the colder the better for garlic but i'm no expert.

The only reason I was thinking of doing them in containers is because I haven't worked out my beds for next year and I want to get them into the soil as soon as they arrive, I've never managed to get them in before spring so far but i'm on a mission this year to get all my timings right.

I know it needs cold for the cloves to form, but it doesn't like damp, which is why I thought about container growing!

[bearded bloke]

Yep,it will work fine,I grew garlic in fishboxes & in the plot this year,although mine was plastic not 'styrene the garlic grew better in it than those direct sown in the plot

[Potstubsdustbins]

Now there's a thought out come a couple of my fish boxes.

Colin

[bearded bloke]

I used mix of half soil & half GP compost with a scattering of chicken poo pellets at around 6-8" growth,beyond that they were left to fend for themselves

[JamesM]

This year'll be the first time i've given it a go and it'll be in container's about 10" deep

[justgimmeethefaxmaam]

I would certainly use the fish boxes for garlic.
Last October I planted my garlic in Morrisons flower buckets.I used 4 buckets & put 6 cloves around the edges and one in the middle.I moved them close to a wall for the worst part of winter and then put them back on my garage roof in early March.
In March I planted radishes in between the garlic & they grew very well.
I also planted another 5 buckets of garlic + radishes in early April
I had a fantastic crop of all 28 garlic bulbs from the winter sowing (with repeated radishes too)
Those set in Spring gave much fewer bulbs and were significantly smaller.The radishes were good though.
I'm getting ready now to sow in October and have decided to sow into 7/8 buckets & forget the Spring sowing.
My neighbour sowed her garlic in raised beds with much less success. It was a good comparison because we had bought the same un-named garlic from the local 99p shop.

[Ananke]

What did you use in the buckets Justgimmi, GP compost?

[justgimmeethefaxmaam]

Hi Ananke
I first put in half a sheet of newspaper ripped into 4 and slightly scrunched then a small trowelful of gravel on top.
Then filled to 3 inches from the top with my own recycled compost.
The top 3 inches was filled with a cheap B & Q GP compost.
Round about end of March when the radish tops showed I gave all the pots some diluted seawead feed (Wilkinsons own brand)
I gave them all another seaweed feed in the middle of May & then harvested in late June.
Hope that helps.

[VirginVegGrower]

The scrunched newspaper is a trick I use in my container grown runners. It always works well for me - winds aside!
Might try some garlic this way as well as direct lottie ground - do a compare and contrast