The most common frustration in vegetable gardening is the feast-or-famine cycle. You plant everything in spring, enjoy an overwhelming glut of lettuce in May, an avalanche of zucchini in July, and then stare at empty beds by September wondering where the season went. Succession planting eliminates this problem by staggering plantings so that fresh harvests arrive continuously rather than all at once.
Succession planting is simply the practice of planting the same crop (or a new crop) at regular intervals throughout the growing season so that as one planting finishes producing, the next one is ready to harvest. It is the single most effective technique for maximizing both the quantity and the duration of your garden’s production — yet it is surprisingly underused by home gardeners who assume their spring planting is a one-time event.
This guide explains the principles of succession planting, provides specific timing schedules for popular vegetables, and shows you how to plan a garden that produces fresh food from the last spring frost all the way to the first fall freeze and beyond.
Key Takeaways
- Succession planting means sowing the same crop every 2 to 3 weeks so you always have plants at different growth stages — some ready to harvest, some growing, some just planted
- Combine three strategies: same-crop staggering, relay planting (replacing finished crops with new ones), and season-extending techniques for maximum production
- Quick-maturing crops like lettuce, radishes, bush beans, and spinach are the best candidates for succession planting with 3 to 6 potential plantings per season
- The key to success is knowing each crop’s days to maturity and counting backward from your first fall frost to determine the last possible planting date
- Even a small garden doubles or triples its total production with succession planting because every square foot produces 2 to 3 harvests instead of one
Three Succession Planting Strategies
Strategy 1: Same-Crop Staggering
The simplest form of succession planting involves sowing the same vegetable at regular intervals. Instead of planting your entire lettuce allotment in April, plant one-quarter of it every 2 weeks from April through September. This way, you always have fresh lettuce at the perfect harvest stage rather than a mountain of lettuce that all matures the same week and bolts before you can eat it.
The interval between sowings depends on the crop’s harvest window — how long it produces edible food before declining. Lettuce and radishes have short windows (1 to 2 weeks of prime harvest), so plant every 2 weeks. Bush beans and peas produce over 3 to 4 weeks, so plant every 3 to 4 weeks. Tomatoes and peppers produce continuously for months, so staggering is less necessary (though planting an early and a late variety extends the overall season).
Strategy 2: Relay Planting (Crop Replacement)
Relay planting replaces a finished crop with a completely different one in the same space. When your spring peas finish in June, pull them out and plant bush beans in the same spot. When your spring lettuce bolts in July, replace it with fall carrots. When early potatoes come out in July, fill the space with fall broccoli transplants.
This strategy treats your garden as a series of productive time slots rather than fixed annual plantings. Every square foot can produce two or even three different crops per season. The key is timing — know when each crop finishes and have the next crop’s seeds or transplants ready to go immediately. Even a brief gap between crops wastes productive growing time.
Good relay combinations include spring peas followed by summer beans followed by fall lettuce, early potatoes followed by fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale), spring radishes and lettuce followed by summer cucumbers or squash, and spring spinach followed by summer peppers. Companion planting principles can guide which crops follow each other successfully.
Strategy 3: Season Extension
Extending the growing season at both ends — starting earlier in spring and continuing later in fall — dramatically increases total production. Cold frames, row covers, and hoop tunnels protect crops from frost and allow cool-season vegetables like lettuce, spinach, kale, and carrots to grow weeks or months beyond the normal outdoor season.
A simple floating row cover (lightweight fabric draped directly over plants) provides 4 to 8 degrees of frost protection and extends the growing season by 2 to 4 weeks on each end. A cold frame or low tunnel with clear plastic provides 10 to 15 degrees of protection and can keep hardy greens producing through most of winter in zones 6 and above.
Best Crops for Succession Planting
Top Tier: Plant Every 2 Weeks
Lettuce and salad greens are the poster crop for succession planting. Each sowing provides prime harvest for about 2 weeks before the plants either become bitter, bolt, or are fully cut. Plant a short row every 2 weeks from early spring through early fall (pause during the hottest 4 to 6 weeks of summer when lettuce struggles — use heat-tolerant varieties like Jericho and Summer Crisp during this window). A 3-foot row per sowing provides salad for a family of four for 2 weeks.
Radishes mature in just 21 to 30 days and make perfect gap-fillers between other plantings. Sow every 2 weeks from early spring through fall, skipping midsummer when heat makes them pithy and bitter. They are ideal interplanted with slower crops like carrots — radishes mark the row, break soil crust for delicate carrot seedlings, and are harvested before carrots need the space.
Spinach bolts quickly in warm weather, making succession planting essential. Sow every 2 weeks in spring (starting 4 to 6 weeks before last frost), skip the hot summer months, then resume in late summer through fall. Fall spinach is often the best of the season — cooler temperatures produce sweeter, more tender leaves.
Second Tier: Plant Every 3 to 4 Weeks
Bush beans produce heavily for 3 to 4 weeks, then decline. Sow every 3 weeks from last frost through 10 weeks before first fall frost. Each sowing provides a generous harvest of tender green beans followed by a fresh planting ready to take over. Four successive sowings keep beans on the table from July through October in most climates.
Cilantro bolts rapidly in warm weather — often within 3 to 4 weeks of reaching harvest size. Plant every 2 to 3 weeks for a continuous supply. Slow-bolt varieties like Calypso and Santo extend the useful harvest window. In summer heat, plant cilantro in partial shade or switch to culantro (Eryngium foetidum), a heat-tolerant herb with similar flavor.
Cucumbers produce prolifically for 4 to 6 weeks before plants decline from disease and exhaustion. Two sowings 4 weeks apart extend the cucumber season significantly. The second planting produces into fall when cooler temperatures reduce cucumber beetle pressure and mildew development.
Third Tier: Plant 2 to 3 Times Per Season
Carrots are sown in early spring and again in midsummer for a fall harvest. Fall-sown carrots are often sweeter than spring ones because cool temperatures trigger the roots to convert starches to sugars. Our carrot growing guide covers timing and technique in detail.
Beets follow a similar pattern to carrots — plant in early spring and again in mid to late summer for fall harvest. Each sowing provides both root and green harvests, as beet tops are delicious cooked greens.
Peas thrive in cool weather and cannot tolerate summer heat. Plant in early spring for a June harvest, then again in late summer (8 to 10 weeks before first frost) for a fall crop. Fall peas often outperform spring peas because they mature during the cooling days of autumn rather than racing against approaching heat.
Creating a Succession Planting Schedule
Step 1: Know Your Frost Dates
Your succession planting schedule revolves around two dates: last spring frost and first fall frost. The span between them is your primary growing season. Cool-season crops extend weeks beyond these boundaries with minimal protection, but warm-season crops are strictly limited by frost.
Step 2: Calculate Last Planting Dates
For each crop, take the days to maturity listed on the seed packet and add 14 days (a buffer for slowing growth as days shorten and temperatures cool in fall). Count backward from your first fall frost date. The result is your last possible sowing date for that crop.
For example, if your first fall frost is October 15 and bush beans mature in 55 days: 55 + 14 = 69 days. Count back 69 days from October 15 = approximately August 7. Your last bean sowing should be no later than early August. This calculation ensures the final planting has time to produce a full harvest before frost ends the season.
Step 3: Map Your Sowings
Starting from your earliest possible planting date (which varies by crop and hardiness), mark sowing dates at regular intervals on a calendar. For lettuce sown every 2 weeks starting April 1 and ending September 1, that is approximately 11 sowings producing fresh lettuce from early May through October.
Sample Succession Schedule (Zone 6, Last Frost April 15, First Frost October 15)
March 15: Sow spinach and peas (direct seed, cold-tolerant). April 1: First lettuce, radishes. Second spinach. April 15: Second lettuce. Second radishes. Plant potatoes. May 1: Third lettuce. Third radishes. First bush beans (after last frost). Transplant tomatoes, peppers, squash. May 15: Fourth lettuce. First cucumbers. Second bush beans. June 1: Fifth lettuce (heat-tolerant variety). Third bush beans. June 15: Fourth bush beans. Second cucumbers. July 1: Sow fall carrots and beets. Fifth bush beans. Plant fall broccoli and cabbage transplants. July 15: Resume lettuce succession (heat-tolerant varieties). August 1: Sixth lettuce. Last bush bean sowing. Fall pea sowing. August 15: Fall spinach. Seventh lettuce. September 1: More spinach. Eighth lettuce. September 15: Final lettuce (with row cover). Garlic planting begins (see our garlic growing guide).
Practical Tips for Success
Keep Seeds Ready
The biggest barrier to succession planting is not having seeds available when it is time to sow. At the start of each season, buy enough seed for all planned successions. Keep packets organized by sowing date in a labeled box or envelope system. When calendar day arrives, the seeds are ready.
Prepare Beds Continuously
When you pull a finished crop, immediately add a thin layer of compost (half an inch), lightly work it in, and sow or transplant the next crop the same day if possible. Leaving a bed empty for even a week wastes growing time and invites weeds. Think of your garden as a factory floor where every station should always be producing.
Use Transplants for Speed
For relay plantings where timing is tight, use transplants instead of direct seeding. A 4-week-old broccoli transplant set into a just-cleared potato bed gains a month’s head start over direct-sown seed — often the difference between a successful fall harvest and plants killed by an early frost. Starting seeds indoors provides transplants on demand for precisely timed successions.
Interplant Fast and Slow Crops
Maximize space by interplanting quick crops between slow ones. Sow radishes and lettuce between newly transplanted tomato plants — the fast crops harvest before the tomatoes grow large enough to shade them out. Plant spinach at the base of trellised peas — the peas provide welcome shade as temperatures warm. This effectively stacks two crops in the same space during the same time window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does succession planting work in small gardens?
It works even better in small gardens because it multiplies the production of every square foot. A 4-by-4-foot bed producing one crop of lettuce yields about 4 pounds. The same bed with 6 successive lettuce plantings (clearing and replanting every 4 weeks) produces 20 to 24 pounds from the identical space. For small-space techniques, see our container gardening guide.
How do I succession plant in containers?
The same principles apply. When a container crop finishes, refresh the top 2 inches of potting mix with fresh material, add a light dose of fertilizer, and immediately sow or transplant the next crop. Container lettuce, radishes, and herbs are ideal for indoor and balcony succession planting year-round.
What if I forget to plant a succession on time?
Plant it as soon as you remember. A late sowing is better than no sowing. You may get a slightly smaller harvest or miss the ideal window, but the crop will still produce something useful. Set reminders on your phone for each sowing date if memory is a challenge.
Can I succession plant tomatoes and peppers?
Succession planting long-season crops like tomatoes and peppers is less practical because they take so long to produce. Instead, extend their harvest by planting both an early and a mid-season variety — the early variety begins producing in July while the mid-season variety carries production into October. This achieves a similar continuous-harvest effect.
Is succession planting more work than regular gardening?
Marginally. The actual planting takes minutes — a few seeds in a row or a couple of transplants. The planning is the real addition, and once you create your schedule (which you reuse year after year with minor adjustments), even that becomes routine. The dramatic increase in total garden production is well worth the modest extra effort.
