Thinking Beyond the Spring Garden
Succession Planting to Extend the Harvest
Succession planting is the practice of sowing the same vegetable seed types more than once in any given growing season. The trick is to plant seeds which will sprout, grow and produce fruit that reaches maturity before the hard freezes of winter move in. Vegetables which are not quite ready to harvest before the first frost in fall may be protected in the garden with floating row covers or moved into cold frames until they reach maturity.
Keys to Success
Know Your Zone and Frost Dates
- To be successful at succession planting, the gardener must know the first fall frost date in his area. The most effective way to determine this date is to check with the local county extension office. Frost dates for the U.S. may also be found on the United States Department of Agriculture’s website.
Choose Vegetables for the Garden
- Choose vegetables to be grown based on soil and climate conditions. Purchase fresh, healthy seeds for the garden.
- Consider planting cool season crops in succession as well as warm season vegetables. Many gardeners are pleasantly surprised when these cool weather vegetables produce right through the summer. Experimentation may very well help to stock the pantry and cellar for winter.
When to Plant
- Sow first seeds indoors 6 – 8 weeks prior to first spring frost or directly in garden as soon as possible after last spring frost. Then sow approximately every two weeks thereafter.
- Final planting should take into account the length of time it will take vegetables to mature on plant. For instance, if the first fall frost occurs at the middle of September, beans should be sown no later than the first week of July. This will give them time to mature, providing the latest harvest possible.
Extend Season Further
- Plant final sowing of cool weather crops in cold frames or in an area of the garden where row covers can be used to provide protection as needed. This may extend the harvesting of these vegetables well into winter.
Vegetables to Consider for Succession Planting
Beans, broccoli, cabbage (especially Chinese), carrots, corn, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, green onions, kale, leeks, lettuce, melons, peas, peppers, radishes, rutabaga, spinach (including New Zealand), Squash (both summer and winter), tomatoes and turnips.
What Can Go Wrong?
In general, problems in the vegetable garden are the same no matter how it is planted. Crop failures occur due to unhealthy soil, climate conditions, pest and disease problems and lack of care on the part of the gardener. Prepare for some failure by planting extra seeds to replace those that fail. By choosing to plant in succession, success is more likely than failure.
Extending the harvest season by succession planting guarantees fresh produce which is evenly spaced over time rather than, large crops coming in all at once followed by weeks of no fresh produce between the typical spring and fall planting seasons.
For examples of the latest date seeds can be planted when practicing succession planting, see; “Final Planting Dates for Succession Planting.”
Sources:
“Four Season Harvest” by Eliot Coleman
“How to Grow More Vegetables” by John Jeavons
United States Department of Agriculture website
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