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Seasonal Vegetable Successions
On this page find directions and demonstrations for planting successions of plants in a home vegetable garden as the season progresses, including:
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- How to calculate vegetable planting cycles and make a season’s planting plan.
- A chart of common vegetables that are good succession sequences for a vegetable garden.
- A pictorial example of a vegetable succession planting.
- An illustrated, step-by-step demonstration of repeat plantings of the same vegetable in a garden bed.
- An illustrated, step-by-step demonstration of replacement plantings of different vegetables in a garden bed.
Example Succession Plantings
Every climate and USDA plant hardiness Zone is different. This example shows how successions work in temperate climates with a growing season 8-months long. It features USDA hardiness zone 7. For a full discussion of regional differences, consult the Regional Tips section.
Keep in mind that in some northern regional areas the growing season just isn’t long enough for successions. There are too few growing days for plants to live out a full life cycle. A good gardener can fool Mother Nature some of the time—but not by that much!
Successions With Different Vegetables
Succession plantings produce a sustained harvest of vegetables that grow and mature fast, such as carrots, radishes, lettuce, and other greens. Successions also allow you to harvest both cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables from the same plot.
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Choose vegetable plants that mature for harvest quickly, such as those shown. Successions work best if you can grow and harvest a planting quickly, then plant again.
Here’s how the options work, separately or when combined. Radish are an example of a root vegetable that matures in less than a month and tolerate cool soils.
You can plant and pick radishes the first month of the garden season. When they’ve been harvested, plant a different species of vegetables that prefers warmer conditions to use the space again.
Alternatively, if you wish, combine the two techniques: Sow and harvest a second planting of radishes, then repurpose the space in the bed by planting another type of vegetable.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Below you’ll find detailed demonstrations of how to plant both succession and repeat plantings in your vegetable garden.
Dividing beds into thirds or fourths is the easiest way to plant small plots of leafy green vegetables, separating them by 3-4 weeks.
As one section matures and is harvested, another is growing to maturity and another is just being planted. Just rotate around the bed to have a continuous harvest of your favorite greens and other short-maturity vegetables.
Gather string, stakes, and seed packages for the vegetables you wish to plant, and follow the directions given for the two options to increase the yield of your vegetable garden as the season progresses: Plant new vegetables to replace those being harvested, or replant the same vegetables.
Replacement Planting Sequences
For a continuous harvest, divide your bed into quarters, then seed the first area, leaving the other zones fallow.
Note the length of time the vegetable requires to mature, dividing it by 4. When that amount of time elapses, plant each zone in turn.
Begin to harvest when the first zone matures, then turn its soil and reseed as the next zone matures. You’ll have a steady supply of fresh vegetables.
Successive Replantings
Start the succession in spring by planting an area with a cool-season, quick-maturing vegetable such as carrots, radishes, or spinach.
When the first planting fades, replant the area with another quick-maturing vegetable such as lettuce or green onions.
When the second planting fades, replant the area with a warm-season vegetable, such as beets, peppers, or turnips.
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