Nicole's Quick Take: You can grow a lifetime supply of garlic by planting about 10 more cloves than the number of bulbs your family uses in a year, then saving 8 to 10 of your best bulbs to replant every fall. Plant 4 to 6 weeks before your first frost, harvest about nine months later, and repeat.

Five Cloves Can Give You a Lifetime Supply

Garlic was one of the first things I mastered in my garden, and it's still one of my favorites. Once you understand how it grows, you'll never need to buy it again.

Garlic is in the onion family, along with chives and onions, but it grows differently from both. Chives come back every year, and onions start from seed. Garlic starts from a single clove that splits into a whole new bulb.

The Lifetime Garlic Math

• Count what you use: If your family uses about one bulb a week, that's 52 bulbs a year.
• Plant a little extra: Plant about 62 cloves this fall. A few may not make it, but most will.
• Harvest next summer: Around June, you'll dig up about 60 bulbs.
• Eat 52, save the rest: Keep 8 to 10 of your biggest, healthiest bulbs to replant.
• Repeat every fall: Break those saved bulbs into cloves and plant again. On and on it goes.

Want the whole process in one place? Grab my free garlic growing guide below.

Start With Seed Garlic, Not Grocery Store Garlic

Seed garlic is garlic grown to be planted. Grocery store garlic is often grown for a different climate and may be treated to keep it from sprouting, so it can rot before it grows. Look for certified organic seed garlic from a local farmers market or a trusted organic grower.

Hardneck vs. Softneck Garlic

• Hardneck garlic: Best for zone 6 and colder. You'll get fewer, bigger cloves, plus garlic scapes in spring. It stores for about 6 to 9 months, so eat it first.
• Softneck garlic: Best for zone 7 and warmer. This is the kind you usually find at the grocery store. It doesn't make scapes, but it stores for about 9 to 12 months.

Here in Nashville, I'm in zone 7, so I can grow both, and you may be able to, too.

When to Plant Garlic

Plant garlic 4 to 6 weeks before your first frost, or stretch it to 1 to 2 weeks after. The cold tells each clove to split into a full bulb. Here in Nashville, I plant in October or early November and start digging bulbs in mid to late June. Not sure of your frost date? Check our frost date calculator.

Plant Garlic Alongside Your Fall Crops

I don't want a bed full of something I can't harvest until next June. So I tuck a line of garlic right between my other fall crops, like broccoli, radishes, peas, kale, Swiss chard, herbs, and flowers. The bed keeps producing all season while the garlic quietly grows.

One tip: mark your garlic row with a plant label, like my Copper Hairpin Plant Labels. Otherwise, it's easy to plant right over it with radishes or spinach in early spring.

How to Fit 60 Garlic Cloves in a 4x4 Bed

You don't need a lot of room. A 4x4 raised bed is just 16 square feet, and a Gardenary raised bed is the perfect size.

• Plant in staggered rows: Two staggered rows of six holes fit 12 cloves in just 4 square feet.
• Repeat across the bed: Do that four or five times, and the bed holds all 60 cloves your family needs.
• Or tuck it in with other crops: Plant a line of garlic through a bed of fall crops instead.

If you have 16 square feet anywhere in your yard, you have room for a lifetime supply of garlic. Want help deciding what goes where? Try the planting app below.

How to Plant Your Garlic Cloves

1. Prep the soil. I use my 103 mix of topsoil, compost, and coarse sand. Here's more on the best soil for raised beds. Right before planting, add 2 to 3 inches of compost on top.
2. Make your holes. I dig my holes about 3 to 4 inches deep and 3 to 6 inches apart. That's on the deeper side, so if your soil is heavy clay, 2 inches deep is plenty. I use the dibber from my Gardenary Copper Plated Garden Tool Set to measure both.
3. Break apart the bulb. Separate the cloves right before planting, and leave the papery skin on. It protects each clove through winter.
4. Plant tip up. Set each clove in its hole with the pointed tip up and the flat root end down.
5. Cover and label. Push the compost over the top and mark your row.

For a quick refresher, here are my 3 easy steps to plant garlic.

How to Save Garlic for Replanting

The secret to a lifetime supply is holding back a few bulbs every summer.

• Pick your best bulbs: Set aside your largest, healthiest bulbs for planting. Big cloves grow big bulbs.
• Store them cool and dry: Keep them somewhere out of direct sunlight until fall. Garlic can store for 9 to 12 months indoors.
• Eat your hardnecks first: Hardneck garlic keeps for about 6 to 9 months, while softneck lasts 9 to 12 months, so enjoy your hardnecks sooner.
• Replant every fall: Break your saved bulbs into cloves and plant them right back in the garden.

For every step from planting to storage, download my free Garlic Guide. When it's time to dig, here's my guide to knowing when garlic is ready to harvest.

Watch: How to Grow a Lifetime Supply of Garlic

In this video, I walk you through how I plant garlic for a lifetime supply, including how it all fits in one small raised bed.