Gardeners often get to the fall and wish their gardens were still producing delicious greens like they did at the height of summer. Yet if you use succession planting, you can enjoy freshly picked spinach and other produce well into early autumn.
Succession planting lengthens your gardening season by planting a new generation of plants or seeds into spaces made clear by harvested earlier season vegetables. It’s a way to maximize both the growing season and your available garden space. It also helps you take advantage of growing both warm and cool season vegetables.
How Does Succession Gardening Work in Practice?
No two gardens are the same. If you had an early season crop, like peas, they could be finished in late June or early July. Garlic is another example; it’s a fall-planted herb/veggie that’s harvested mid- to late July. Once these vegetables have been harvested, it opens spaces to plant some cool season vegetables.
Many vegetables thrive in the cooler fall temperatures of the fall, and quite a few grow rather quicky, such as:
- Arugula, kale and other leafy greens
- Cabbage, Bok choy, kohlrabi and Swiss chard
- Broccoli, radishes, carrots and spinach
- Many herbs like cilantro, oregano, thyme and basil
All thrive in cool weather, mature in two to three months and some, like carrots, are sweeter when harvested after a light frost. Also remember to allow extra time to the package’s “days to maturity” if you plant later in summer. Cool fall weather can slow growth.
How to Pick the Best ‘Round 2’ Garden Plants
Choose which varieties by looking on the seed packages for “days to maturity” and count back from your planting day. It’s best to pick plants with 60 days or less. Then you can continue to harvest from late September into possibly early November, temperatures permitting.
Get ready now by taking these steps:
- Tuck seeds and plant-starts of these vegetables into all the large or small nooks and crannies that open up as harvest progresses.
- Clear out the spent plants as much as possible.
- Keep seeds well watered as they germinate. A shade cloth over top of them is one way to soften the heat in the first couple weeks.
- You can plant seeds twice as deep as spring planting; it’ll help keep seeds moist.
- Keep the water coming when planting new vegetable starts since their tender roots need extra moisture on hot days.
Extending your growing season with successive planting can let you enjoy fresh-from-the-garden produce well into the late autumn. There’s nothing quite like going out into the garden in mid-October and cutting a basketful of spinach and Bok choy for dinner.
Learn more about nutrition and weight management services at Avera.
By Cami Jacobsen RD, LD, a South Dakota Extension Master Gardener, and a registered and licensed dietitian with Avera Medical Group Comprehensive Weight Management.
