🌱 How Succession Planting Works - Avoiding "Feast or Famine"

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Have you ever had all your lettuce bolt (go to seed and turn bitter) in the same week?

...Or harvested a mountain of bush beans all at once, scrambled to use/preserve them… and then had nothing for the rest of the season?

That's "feast or famine". And succession planting is how you fix it.

🌿 𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Succession planting just means spreading out your plantings over time instead of putting everything in the ground at once.

Instead of planting all your lettuce seeds on the same day, you plant a small batch, wait a couple of weeks, plant another small batch, wait again, and keep going.

The result? Instead of 20 heads of lettuce all ready on the same Tuesday, you get fresh lettuce coming in steadily for weeks, or even months!

It’s a fairly simple practice, with a big payoff!

🥗 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:

Some plants are natural candidates for succession planting because they tend to produce their harvest all at once, and then they're done.

𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗲, 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀 — Classic examples. Heat makes them bolt fast. Planting every 2–3 weeks keeps the salad bowl full from spring into early summer (and again in fall).

𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 — Unlike pole beans (which climb and keep producing), bush beans give you a big flush of pods over just a few weeks, and then they're mostly finished. Successive plantings every 2–3 weeks stretch that harvest 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺 out.

𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 — These mature in as little as 4 weeks, which means a single planting is gone before you know it. Succession planting radishes every 1–2 weeks keeps a continuous trickle coming.

𝗣𝗲𝗮𝘀 — Cool-weather lovers that stop producing and die off once summer heat hits. Plant in waves in early spring & again in late summer/early fall to maximize the growing windows.

𝗖𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼/𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 — This herb bolts (goes to seed) incredibly fast in warm weather. Planting a short row every 2–3 weeks is basically the only way to have it reliably all season. (At least, it is for me in Texas 🥵)

𝗕𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘁𝘀 — Root vegetables don't all go bad at once, but staggering them means a steady supply instead of a giant pile to deal with all at one time.

📅 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁

The standard starting point is every 2–3 weeks, but the right interval really depends on how fast the plant matures.

A good rule of thumb: look at the "days to maturity" number on your seed packet, (that's the average days from germination to harvest.) For quick crops like radishes (25–30 days), a 1–2 week interval makes sense. For something like carrots (60–90 days), you can space plantings further apart.

You don't need a big garden for this to work! You're planting less at each planting, not more. If you'd normally plant a full row of lettuce, break it into thirds and plant one-third every couple of weeks instead.

❄️ 𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸: 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿

Succession planting pairs really well with season extension tools like row covers (lightweight fabric tunnels you put over your plants to protect them from cold) or cold frames (basically a mini greenhouse made with a frame and a clear lid).

These let you start your first succession a bit earlier in spring and keep your last one going a bit longer into fall, which can add weeks, or even months, to your overall harvest window.

⚠️ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀

There's a limit to how many successions you can fit in before the season ends.

If you start planting beans every two weeks but only have 6 weeks left before first frost, that third sowing may not have time to mature.

You can look up your frost dates at the Old Farmer's Almanac or just search "[𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺] 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦."

✏️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁

Pick just one crop this season and try it! Lettuce or radishes are perfect for beginners because they're fast, cheap, and very forgiving. Plant a small patch, set a reminder on your phone for 2 weeks, plant again. That's it!

🌻 What's one crop you always seem to have too much of all at once?

Or not enough of when you want it?

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🌱 How Succession Planting Works - Avoiding "Feast or Famine"