Garlic at your windowsill: how to harness the health benefits by growing your own

The garlic available in supermarkets often comes from imports and tends to have less flavour and health benefits compared with local garlic. However, the latter can be difficult to find off-season, so why not grow your own? Garlic is relatively easy to grow, even for a beginner, and we're going to explain how you can yield a bountiful harvest from your garlic plants.

This method is straightforward, environmentally friendly, and time-tested. All you need is some garlic cloves, a jar and water.

When getting started, obtain several bulbs of garlic preferably locally sourced. The number of jars you need should be the same as the number of garlic bulbs you want to plant.

Next, take a bulb of garlic and slice off about 5 millimetres from the top so that the cloves are visible. Place the garlic bulb into a 0.5 litre jar filled with water and set it aside. You'll need to monitor its progress as the top will start to sprout and the bottom will begin to grow roots over time.

As soon as you notice sprouting, move the jar to a sunny windowsill. After a short period, you'll observe the roots lengthening. Once they touch the bottom of the jar, it's time to plant the sprouted garlic.

If you opt to continue growing the garlic at home, find a large pot, or cut the bottom off a bottle, ensuring it has a capacity of at least 4.5 litres. Layer the bottom of your chosen container with soil, remove the sprouting garlic from the jar, and separate the cloves carefully.

Trim each clove from the side - this speeds up the sprouting process. Plant the prepped cloves gently into the soil, then lightly cover with soil. Using the water from the jar where the garlic was sprouting, water the soil. Place the pot in a sunny spot. In a few days, you'll notice the garlic beginning to grow.