There is nothing like harvesting the produce you have worked so hard to grow. But what if you could grow more? Maybe even double? You can!
Succession planting is a method of sowing multiple times to increase your harvest. If done right, you can double your harvest with minimal effort.
What is Succession Planting?
Succession planting, sometimes called successional planting or gardening, is sowing a plant multiple times. While there are different methods for succession planting, we are going to focus on repeated sowings of the same plants.
Simply put, this method of succession gardening is staggering planting times.
Why Should You Succession Plant?
There are several perks to succession planting.
increased harvest
extended season
maximize space
minimize risk
These reasons make succession planting especially useful in small gardens where space is in short supply. In small gardens, the risk of not getting a good harvest can be higher. Because you plant multiple times, succession planting raises the odds that you will get impressive yields.
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When Should You Succession Plant?
Like many things in the garden, there is no "one size fits all" solution. Figure out your frost dates and work from there.
For example, say your first fall frost date is on November 10, and you know carrots need to be in the ground 8 weeks before fall frost. You could sow extra carrots every few weeks until around September 15.
A month before the frost is a good general guide, but here is a straight-forward guide for specific plants.
You can also succession plant when production is slowing down. That way you have a young vigorous plant to continue producing. Then you can till the old plants under to provide the soil with more nutrients.
Other considerations
Look at the space you have in your garden. If there is not enough space near your first set of plants, do your second set somewhere else.
The perk of succession planting is increasing your yields. If you plant densely and make space, water or nutrients unavailable you may end up harming your harvest instead.
What I do
I keep things easy. While I could (and probably should) calculate the optimum dates for succession planting, I usually let my garden tell me when it is time. When my first set of plants is reaching maturity, if there is enough time before my predicted frost date, I will plant another set. I rarely do much succession planting once there are only four weeks before my frost date.
This works for me because I have been gardening for so long. If you are new to gardening or have never done succession planting before, I recommend trying to do it "properly" at least once. That lets you get a feel of the garden and how succession planting works. After that, find what works for you.
What will you be succession planting this year?