I love getting my hands in the dirt, every chance that I can get. Whether it is weed in the morning while it was soaked in the sun, or after a tough day it is intended. Over the years I have learned a lot and have continued to make changes to my vegetable gardens as I grew. One of these useful strategies is follow -up of planting.
If you ever want to take harvesting longer or if you could get more food from the same amount of garden space, this technique is worth learning. Follow -up planting can help to stretch your growing season and minimize waste. Moreover, gardening can make more fun, not more stressful.
What is follow -up planting?
Whether you are a house gardener with a few raised beds or you are planning a larger garden of the house, follow -up planting is a great strategy. It works in hardness zones and adapts beautifully to both traditional and container gardening. This allows you to also enjoy more from your favorite vegetables, from fast growers such as radish to more room control crops such as cucumbers and bush beans.
Follow -up planting is a garden method where crops are sowed or transplanted one one after the other, instead of all at the same time. Instead of planting all your lettuce, bush beans or arugula on the same day and at the same time seeing them mature are growing up, the plant data will falter. This helps you to enjoy the growing season with a continuous harvest.
It is as if you have a plant calendar that keeps your garden beds in action from early spring to late summer (and beyond). The key is to match your sowing schedule with your climate, frost dates and days to adulthood. If you are not sure how long every vegetarian takes to grow, check the back of the seed package.
There are a few different ways to follow up:
- Planting the same crop in different plant times. Such as sowing lettuce or radding every 1-2 weeks.
- Use different crops in the same room. For example, the early seasonal crops such as spinach or picking early season, followed by warm seasonal crops such as cucumbers or eggplant.
- Interplan your garden. Such as sowing fast crops such as arugula or coriander between larger, slower crops such as cauliflower or kohlrabi.
- Relay plants and starting transplants indoors while other crops grow outside.
Follow -up planning helps you to use your garden space more effectively. It is also easier to time your crops for the best quality, taste and nutritional value.
Why follow -up of plants works (and why you would like to try it)
We all know that person (or have been that person!) With a mountain zucchini for use or giving away. And if you have ever viewed a whole row of lettuce bolt in one go, you know the struggle to harvest everything at the same time. Follow -up planting helps to prevent both too many or too few products from eliminating things. But there are more strategic reasons to include this method in your garden planning.
Maximize your harvests
By consistently sowing seeds or replanting transplants, you use your space more efficiently. When one crop ends, you direct the following. It is as if you are holding your garden on a productive cycle that lasts throughout the season. This approach also offers a safety net for missed germination or unpredictable vermin. If one plants do not start, you will soon be one.
Extend the growing season
If you don’t know your regions yet USDA Hardiness Zone, That is important to know before you start. You want to see when your last frost date is at the start of the growing season and the first frost date at the end. In this way you can go time when different plants or seeds have to go into the ground.
By matching the matching of plant times on crop needs, you can grow heattetolerant vegetables in the early and middle summer in the beginning and in the middle of the summer, such as summer pumpkin and cucumbers. As soon as autumn is around the corner, switch to cool seasonal crops such as beets, radish and Swiss Chard. Depending on your environment, you can even extend the growing season with these fall garden tips.
Avoid waste
No more three times a day of eating radish or giving away baskets from bush beans. By sowing smaller quantities with different intervals, you get more manageable harvests spread over time. This not only helps in the kitchen, but also reduces food waste and the stress of sudden, massive harvests. You can also still use the follow -up of plants, even if you Doing Want a couple of one crop at the same time for the preservation of food.
Improve soil and pest control
Rotating brassicas, greens and legumes through the same bed keeps your soil in balance and can interrupt plague cycles. Frequent replanting stimulates various root systems, which in turn promote better soil biology and nutrients. Moreover, many autumn crops such as turnips, kohlrabi and cauliflower get better after a light frost.
How to do follow -up planting
Fortunately, you don’t need anything enthusiasts to get started than a little investigation and a pen and paper! A notebook, some seed packages and knowing that your local prince dates get you going. Here are the most important things to keep in mind:
When a follow -up plant
Your plant calendar strongly depends on the frost dates of your region. Early spring is usually a great time to direct fast -growing cool again such as spinach, radish and arugula. By the time they are harvested, you can follow up with warm seasonal crops such as bush beans, aubergines, tomatoes or cucumbers. You can even use TRELLISES to make a vertical garden for more space.
Halfway through the summer it is time to look ahead to fall crops. Start seeds indoors or direct seed things such as beets, Swiss Chard, Cilantro and Brassicas. Depending on your zone, you usually want to start it at the beginning of August. Make sure they have enough time to mature for the first frost.
Keep an eye on your plant dates and always take into account the days of maturity. A good rule of thumb is to add about 10-14 days for autumn crops to take into account slower growth as the daylight shortens.
If you have raised beds, planting follow -up is even easier. Their well -drained soil heats faster in the spring and is easier to replant between crops. Some Huizentuiniers even prepare different mini beds for larger raised beds for specific seed intervals. This makes more efficient use of space possible and reduces competition between different plantations.
What to plant and when
Some crops work better than others for planting follow -up. In general you want to tolerate plants with shorter days to adulthood and the ability to tolerate cool or warm weather, depending on the season. Washed with fast germination or heat tolerance are doing well with follow -up planting.
Best crops for follow -up plants:
- Radish (sow every 7-10 days)
- Arugula and lettuce (sow seeds every 10-14 days)
- Bush beans (sow every 2 weeks to summer)
- Beets (sow every 2-3 weeks)
- Coriander (every 2-3 weeks; the best in early spring and late summer)
- Kapen and Kohlrabi (ideal for sowing in late summer)
- Spinach and Swiss Chard (Great as autumn crops)
- Cucumbers and summer pumpkin (replanted as older plants fade)
- Cauliflower, kale and other brassicas (in cooler weather)
Make sure you check the seed package or company website for every variety that you grow. The days to adulthood help you count back from your average first frost. You want to ensure that it has enough time to mature for the harvest! If it snows in November, it makes no sense to plant cucumbers in October.
If you sow outside immediately, make sure that the soil temperature is not too high or too low. Different seeds germinate the best within certain temperature ranges. This source Offers a great guide to keep an eye on the temperature while your seed starts.
Tips for successful follow -up planting
When you are ready to get started, there are a few things to help the process.
- Use a Trellis to grow rim plants vertically and to release more bedroom. Cucumbers, small melons and finger beans work well for this.
- Try different varieties of the same veggie. Mixing things offers more diverse food and taste.
- Certain crops (such as spinach, garlic or parsnip) overcomes to get a lead next year.
- Keep track of the germination and harvest dates in a garden journal or digital app.
- Plan ahead with a plant calendar based on your USDA zone.
- Use direct sowing for fast crops and transplants for slower growers.
- Replant as soon as a bed is harvested to prevent production hiates and bare soil.
- Try companion of plants and interplanning to get the most out of mixed beds.
- Cover bald soil with mulch or compost between plantations. This helps to maintain moisture and suppress weeds.
Last thoughts about succession planting
In the beginning, follow -up planting may seem a bit overwhelming if you are not used to planting this way. The key is to plan ahead, so you don’t always wonder what you should do next and when! It is a great way to have fresh vegetables all season. Moreover, it is good for soil health and harvesting makes less overwhelming.
This approach can be both a practical and rewarding way to enjoy a continuous harvest during the growing season!
Have you ever followed up before? How do you plan your garden? Leave a comment and let us know!
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