Keep It Continue, The Same Thing

Succession planting has been on my mind lately; luckily earlier than last year. The idea is to keep the garden going; to not have any or many bald spots through the season. As crops stop producing, you replace them with other crops. It is good to have seeds already started so you can just pop plants in when it is time.

Crops can be divided into four broad growing categories: 1. perennial crops like asparagus, rhubarb and chives, which come back in subsequent years; 2. crops that thrive in the early part of the season like lettuce, mustard, radishes and peas; 3. crops that stay in the ground during most of the season like tomatoes, beans, eggplant, cucumber, okra and peppers; 4. crops that thrive in the later part of the season into the fall like kale, beets, Chinese cabbage, lettuce spinach, collards and broccoli.

They thrive at different times of the season for varying reasons, but a popular one is sensitivity to hot summer temperatures; lettuce goes bitter, radishes get spongy and crops bolt and go to flower too quickly. While kale and broccoli are said to taste best after a light frost or two.

The "polycultural" bed pictured above is an attempt at succession gardening. It is going alright so far. I had to really thin out the lettuce in order to give some sun and space to the Swiss Chard. I also put in some pepper plants and Brussels sprout plants that we were given. I am going to start some seeds outside of the garden to pop in as we start to have plants fall out.

Last year we did not buy greens from about May until October-late October even. Sarah is quick to remind me of our CSA, but we had buckets of greens from the garden all season long. We did well with greens last year, but I am looking to get a little more serious about it. I am still in the planning stages, I will let you know what happens.

I am also going to learn when to capitalize plant names, it is bugging me. I have learned to spell lettuce, so proud.