Succession Planting for Longer Harvests

Succession planting — or successive planting — is a technique gardeners use to extend their harvest, giving them fresh produce for a longer period. There are different ways to accomplish this by either staggering plantings or planting vegetables with varying maturity dates.

Same Vegetable but Staggered Plantings

With this method, you plant more of the same vegetable every two to four weeks, so you continuously have a new crop ripening. Many vegetables set a heavy yield with their initial crop and then produce smaller and smaller yields as the summer progresses. Planting part of the crop at the beginning of the season and then adding to the plot or row every couple of weeks gives you high yields all summer instead of a feast or famine situation.

Peas and leafy greens are commonly planted this way.

Different Vegetables Planted in Succession

Another way to extend your harvest is by initially planting a crop with a short growing season, and once it is harvested, pull the vegetables out and plant a later season crop in its place.

Some of the best crops for this include arugula, pole beans, beets, carrots, endive, green onions, kale, lettuce, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, swiss chard, and turnips.

Same Vegetable but Varieties with Different Maturity Rates

The third way to achieve a more extended harvest is to take one vegetable you always plant in the garden and choose types that mature early, mid, and late-season. Seed packets will tell you the days to maturity to help you select ones that develop at different rates.

Good vegetables to plant this way include pole beans, cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower), carrots, corn, peas, and tomatoes.

Tips for Succession Planting
  • Make sure you purchase enough seeds to last you through the season, especially if you want to plant the same vegetable repeatedly.
  • In between plants, add some finished compost or leaf mold to the garden bed to keep the soil rich.
  • Pull out fading vegetables, and use the space to plant something else.
  • If you start your own seeds, start a new batch as soon as you transplant seedlings into the garden.