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Succession Planting
Succession planting is a terrific way to stretch the season and get the
most out of your vegetable garden. There are three basic planting
approaches that are typically called succession planting:
1. Making several sowings of the same crop at two-week intervals. This
works best for relatively short-season crops, such as lettuce and beans.
2. Planting a new crop in the space vacated by a harvested crop. Depending on
the length of your growing season, you may be able to harvest three crops
planted in succession. In general, you begin by planting cool-season crops in
late winter or early spring (depending on your climate) followed by warm-season
crops, followed again by cool-season crops for harvest in fall or early winter.
Some cool-season crops you might plant first include beets, broccoli,
carrots, cauliflower, chard, kale, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, and
spinach. After harvesting these crops, plant cucumbers, peppers, snap
beans, squash, sweet corn, and tomatoes. As these crops are harvested, plant the
cool-season crops again.
3. Planting a new crop close to a crop that's soon to be harvested, so that by
the time the new plants are getting big and needing more room, the earlier crop
will have been harvested. You can take advantage of the growth habits of the
earlier crops when choosing where to plant new seeds or seedlings. For example,
since lettuce seed often germinates poorly in hot summer sun, plant the seeds
alongside a pea trellis, which will provide shade for part of the day to help
the plants get started.
Whenever you follow one crop with another, be sure to work in additional compost
or other decomposed organic matter between plantings to replenish the soil.
You can also use succession planting in the flower garden. Pansies and
primroses, which are at their best in cooler temperatures of late winter and
early spring (depending on your region), can be replaced with heat-lovers, such
as petunias and zinnias.
Q. My spring-planted peas produce very well, but when I try to grow fall
peas after harvesting other summer crops, they don't produce much. What could be
the problem?
A. When your spring crop of peas is maturing in early summer, there's more
sunlight than there is in September or October when your fall peas are supposed
to be going strong. The shorter days of fall can limit growth of sun-loving
crops. You might have better luck starting your peas earlier (as long as the
temperatures are not too hot), or focusing on fall crops of greens.
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