Succession Planting

Mary Miller, Senior Coordinator, Community Gardens and Outreach | Gardens on Spring Creek

Mid-summer days are fully upon us.  The different areas in the garden have begun to show their fullness as plants grow and mature.  You may think it’s time to sit back and wait for the harvest, but now is the perfect time to engage in an activity that can extend and amplify your season.

What am I talking about? Succession planting! Now is a terrific time to build this practice into your gardening plan. One form of succession planting is a practice in which the gardener sows the same crop every two to four weeks for a continuous harvest.  This method is especially suited for crops that mature quickly such as radishes, beets, lettuces, arugula, cilantro, and the Asian greens pac-choi and tatsoi.  Carrots may also be seeded every few weeks from early spring through mid-summer to enjoy well into autumn.

In selecting crops for mid-summer succession planting, noting the “days to maturity” is essential.  Most seed companies will list the days to maturity (or harvest) on their seed packets.  As our area’s average first frost date is mid-September, the gardener may figure there are up to sixty growing days left in the season.  It is also important to factor in the shortening of day length. As September draws closer, the nights will cool and slow maturing crops.  One big advantage of sowing seeds in mid-summer is that the soil is already warm, and germination takes place faster. Remember to keep new seeds well-watered because the same sun that so nicely warms the soil also quickly dries out the garden. 

Another form of succession planting is, as one crop finishes, a different crop is sown to keep the garden consistently producing.  As the peas, lettuces, and radishes cease production in the heat of July, remove them from the garden and re-plant that space.  Although the summer squash, cucumber, and green bean crops were most likely sown soon after mid-May, the emptied pea patch could be the perfect spot for a new crop of zucchini or green beans!  Bush-type green beans generally mature more quickly than pole and shell beans.  Or utilize the pea trellis and plant cucumbers.  Beets are also easily sown and will provide a fresh source of summer greens.  Again, look for varieties that mature in 48–56 days for the best results.

Another tip: When harvesting garlic in mid-July, keep the best bulbs for planting next year’s crop and determine how much—if any—additional seed garlic may need to be purchased. Plan to plant your garlic in early October. Planting spinach when planting garlic also provides an earlier crop next season than a spring sowing.  

Succession planting will keep your garden growing delicious produce well into autumn! Enjoy!