How to Regrow Garlic from a Clove

Start with a healthy clove. You want one that is firm and heavy, with no soft spots or mold. A clove that has already pushed out a little green tip is even better, since it is halfway to growing. Grocery store garlic works fine, though organic bulbs sprout more reliably because they are not treated to stay dormant. Set your best cloves aside and eat the small, shriveled ones.

Twist the whole head apart into single cloves right before planting. Press your thumbs into the top and the cloves pop free from the base. Leave the papery skin on each clove. It protects the clove in the soil and does not slow down sprouting. Do not peel them the way you would for cooking. Handle them gently so you do not bruise the flesh or snap off a sprout.

Any small pot with a drainage hole works. Fill it with loose, fluffy potting mix so the roots can spread and water can drain. Garlic hates sitting in soggy soil. A container about six inches deep gives each clove room to root. Leave an inch of space below the rim so watering does not overflow. Skip heavy garden dirt, which packs down and stays wet indoors.

This part matters most. Push each clove into the soil with the pointy end up and the flat root end down. The shoot grows from the tip, so planting it upside down makes it work harder to reach the surface. Sink it about an inch deep, with the tip just poking clear. Space cloves a couple of inches apart if you are planting several in one pot. Firm the soil around each one.

Draw soil over the cloves so the tips sit just under the surface, then add a thin layer of straw or mulch on top. The mulch holds moisture, keeps the surface from crusting, and stops soil from splashing when you water. Do not bury the cloves too deep. An inch of cover is plenty for indoor garlic. Tamp the top down lightly so everything makes good contact.

Water gently until the soil is evenly moist, then let the top dry slightly before the next drink. A watering can with a rose spreads the flow so you do not wash the cloves out. Set the pot in your brightest window, a south-facing sill if you have one. Garlic wants several hours of light a day. If your place is dim, a small LED grow light keeps the shoots stocky instead of stretched and pale.

Within a week or two, thin green spears push up through the mulch. This is green garlic, the tender young growth prized for its mild, fresh flavor. Keep the pot watered and in good light and the shoots keep climbing. A jar of water on the sill works too if you only want greens: sit a clove root-side down in a shallow bit of water and it sends up shoots without any soil at all.

Snip the green shoots with scissors once they are several inches tall and use them like scallions or chives. Cut what you need and the clove regrows more. If you would rather grow a small bulb, leave the plant in soil and keep tending it for months until the tops flop and yellow, then lift and cure it like the harvested garlic here. Either way, one clove earned you a fresh crop indoors.