Succession planting calculator
Sow a little, often, and you pick salad for months instead of drowning in it for two weeks. Choose a crop and an interval; Seasonwise lays out every sowing from spring to the last date that still beats your first frost.
For Columbus, Ohio (example). Each bar is one sowing's roughly two-week picking window; watch gaps open or harvests pile up as you change the interval.
- Sowing day
- Harvest window
- Average first frost
9 sowings, last one on Aug 24. No gaps in the harvest. Faded rows would mature in midsummer heat, when lettuce tends to bolt, so skip those.
Sowing dates
| # | Sow | First harvest about | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 23 | May 7 | |
| 2 | Apr 6 | May 21 | |
| 3 | Apr 20 | Jun 4 | |
| 4 | May 4 | Jun 18 | |
| 5 | May 18 | Jul 2 | skip: summer heat |
| 6 | Jun 1 | Jul 16 | skip: summer heat |
| 7 | Jun 15 | Jul 30 | skip: summer heat |
| 8 | Jun 29 | Aug 13 | |
| 9 | Jul 13 | Aug 27 | |
| 10 | Jul 27 | Sep 10 | |
| 11 | Aug 10 | Sep 24 | |
| 12 | Aug 24 | Oct 8 |
How to succession plant
Match the interval to the harvest window. If one sowing of bush beans gives you about two weeks of picking, a new sowing every two weeks keeps the basket full. Sow more often and harvests overlap; less often and you get gaps.
Sow smaller amounts. A 3-foot row of lettuce every two weeks feeds a household better than a 20-foot row once.
Rotate what follows what. The other kind of succession is replacing a finished crop with a different one: garlic out in July, bush beans in; spring peas out, fall carrots in. The garden planner shows fall windows for each crop.
Know your stop date. The last sowing has to mature before frost. For tender crops like beans that's the first frost minus days to maturity; hardy crops like carrots and spinach get about two extra weeks because they tolerate light frost.
Succession planting FAQ
What is succession planting?
Succession planting means sowing small batches of the same crop at regular intervals, or following one crop with another in the same bed, so you harvest steadily through the season instead of all at once.
How often should I succession plant?
Roughly as often as the harvest window lasts: radishes every 7–10 days, lettuce, bush beans and sweet corn every 2 weeks, carrots and beets every 3 weeks. Keep going until the last sowing date that still matures before your first frost.
Which crops are best for succession planting?
Quick crops that are harvested once: radishes, lettuce, spinach, bush beans, carrots, beets, sweet corn, cilantro and cucumbers. Long-season crops like tomatoes, peppers and winter squash keep producing and do not need it.
When should I stop succession planting?
Stop when the days to maturity no longer fit before your first fall frost. Seasonwise calculates that last sowing date from your ZIP code and adds a small allowance for hardy crops that tolerate light frost.