Succession of Crops

Many beginner gardeners plant their crops in the spring, harvest the vegetables, then clean up the garden and wait till next year to start all over again. It is very easy to get more enjoyment, not to mention more production out of your garden. Succession planting will give you a constant supply of fresh produce all summer (and into autumn) long. No matter where you live, you can harvest at least two crops from the same area of the garden during the growing season.

Except in dry-land areas, all garden space should be kept fully occupied throughout the growing season. In arranging the garden, all early- maturing crops may be grouped so that as soon as one crop is removed another takes its place. It is desirable, however, to follow a crop not with another of its kind, but with an unrelated crop.

Divide the crops you will be growing into two different categories : cool weather and warm weather crops. Crops that do well in cool weather include: beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsnips, peas, radish, spinach, mustard greens, kale, turnips and swiss chard. Plant these varieties as early in the growing season as possible for your area of the country. After you have harvested these varieties from the garden, follow up by planting your warm weather vegetables.

For example, early peas or beans can very properly be followed by late cabbage, celery, carrots, or beets; early corn or potatoes can be followed by fall turnips or spinach.

Warm weather vegetables include: beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, okra, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes and watermelons. In a few areas of the country, a third planting of the cool weather crops can be planted again in the fall.

It is not always necessary to wait until the early crop is entirely removed; a later one may be planted between the rows of the early crop - for example - sweet corn between potato rows.

Crops subject to attack by the same diseases and insects should not follow each other.

In the extreme North, where the season is relatively short, there is very little opportunity for succession cropping. In dry-land areas, inter-cropping generally is not feasible, because of limited moisture supply. Therefore, plenty of land should be provided to accommodate the desired range and volume of garden crops.