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Harvest More, Waste Less with Successional Planting

Are you tired of peak harvest seasons yielding more produce than you can manage, only to leave your garden barren for the rest of the year? Successional planting could be the solution. This method involves strategically planning and timing your plantings to ensure a continuous and diversified harvest. Not only does this keep your garden productive year-round, but it also maximises yields and minimises waste. Whether you’re an avid gardener, a horticulture enthusiast or someone dedicated to sustainable living, understanding successional planting will transform your growing season.

What is Successional Planting?

Successional planting is a gardening technique aimed at maintaining a continuous supply of fresh produce by staggering plantings of crops over time. Rather than planting everything at once and facing a single, overwhelming harvest, successional planting ensures that you have a steady stream of fruits, vegetables and flowers throughout the growing season.

There are several methods to achieve this, including:

Sequential Planting: Planting the same crop at staggered intervals.

Intercropping: Growing different crops together to maximise space and resources.

Relay Planting: Planting a second crop immediately after the first has been harvested.

Each method caters to different types of plants and gardening goals, offering flexibility to suit various needs and preferences.

What are the Benefits of Successional Planting?

Optimised Harvests

One of the primary benefits of successional planting is the ability to optimise your harvests. By staggering your plantings, you can avoid the glut that often comes with a single, large harvest. This not only makes your workload more manageable but also ensures a steady supply of fresh produce throughout the year.

Efficient Use of Space

Successional planting allows you to make more efficient use of your garden space. Instead of leaving beds empty after the initial harvest, you can immediately replant with another crop. This method maximises the productivity of your garden and ensures that no space goes to waste.

Pest and Disease Management

Rotating crops and staggering plantings can help manage pests and diseases. Many pests and diseases are specific to certain plants; by changing what you grow in a particular area, you can break the life cycles of these harmful organisms. This leads to healthier plants and higher yields.

Are There Any Disadvantages?

Complexity in Planning

While the benefits are substantial, successional planting does require careful planning and organisation. You’ll need to consider the growing requirements and harvest times of each crop to avoid overlaps and ensure continuous production. This can be time-consuming, especially for novice gardeners.

Increased Labour

Successional planting can also mean more frequent planting and harvesting, which translates to increased labour. Gardeners need to be prepared for this additional work and have the necessary tools and resources on hand.

Risk of Soil Depletion

With continuous planting, there’s a risk of depleting soil nutrients. To mitigate this, it’s crucial to practice good soil management techniques, such as incorporating organic matter and rotating crops to maintain soil health.

What Do You Need to Consider When Planning for Successional Planting?

Choose the Right Crops

Selecting suitable crops is essential for successful successional planting. Take into account the climate, soil type and seasonality of your region. Some crops, like radishes and lettuce, have short growing periods and are ideal for sequential planting. Others, like tomatoes and peppers, may require more extended periods but can still be incorporated into a successional plan.

Create a Planting Calendar

A planting calendar is a vital tool for organising your successional planting efforts. This calendar should detail when to plant each crop and when to expect harvests. By mapping out your planting schedule, you can ensure that you always have something growing and avoid gaps in production.

Monitor and Adjust

Monitoring your garden closely is crucial for success. Keep track of growth rates, harvest times and any issues that arise. This will help you make informed adjustments to your planting schedule as needed. Flexibility and adaptability are key components of effective successional planting.

How Can Successional Planting Improve Your Harvest Yields?

Maximising Crop Rotations

By practising crop rotations through successional planting, you can improve soil health and reduce the likelihood of pest infestations. Different crops have varying nutrient requirements and root structures, which helps maintain a balanced soil ecosystem and enhances overall productivity.

Utilising Intercropping Techniques

Intercropping allows you to grow multiple crops in the same space simultaneously. This not only maximises space but also enables you to take advantage of complementary plant relationships. For example, planting beans with corn can provide mutual benefits, as beans fix nitrogen in the soil, which corn utilises for growth.

Continuous Harvest

The most significant advantage of successional planting is the ability to enjoy a continuous harvest. By carefully planning your plantings, you can ensure that there’s always something ready to be picked. This steady supply of produce reduces waste and allows you to make the most of your garden’s potential.

Successional planting offers a powerful method for maximising your garden’s productivity. By staggering plantings and rotating crops, you can enjoy continuous harvests, make efficient use of space, and manage pests and diseases more effectively. While it does require careful planning and increased labour, the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

Ready to take your gardening to the next level? Start implementing successional planting techniques today and experience the joy of a bountiful, year-round harvest.

Further Reading: Leverage your Garden to Combat Rising Food Prices RHS Successional Sowing

The Benefits of Growing your own Vegetables

Growing your own vegetables is a practical and satisfying. There’s no better joy than eating the vegetables you’ve cultivated yourself. It’s a healthy and rewarding way of living a more intentional lifestyle. We are here to guide you through the benefits of growing your own vegetables.

Saving on Grocery Costs: Growing your own vegetables not only helps you save on grocery expenses but also offers you healthier alternatives. You can purchase a packet of seeds at a lower price than what you would pay for produce in the supermarket. For instance, a single seed of the Beefsteak Tomato variety can produce around 100lbs of tomatoes throughout the growing season. Imagine how much you can harvest! Not only will you save on costs, but you’ll also enjoy fresh and chemical-free vegetables to use in your cooking.

Sustainable and Environment-Friendly: Growing your own vegetables reduces your carbon footprint and contributes positively towards a sustainable environment. The process of planting and harvesting your vegetables conserves water and reduces soil erosion – leading to healthier soil, plants and animals. You’ll also eliminate the carbon footprint of transporting the vegetables from far-off places. By taking up vegetable gardening, you’re playing a part in reversing the impacts of climate change.

Physical and Mental Health Benefits: Gardening is an excellent way to exercise without going to the gym. Spending time tending to your vegetable garden strengthens your muscles, increases flexibility, and builds endurance. The fresh air and sunlight you get also contribute to your mental health, reducing stress levels and promoting relaxation. Moreover, harvesting and sharing your crop with your community can uplift your mood and provide a sense of achievement – making the time spent in your vegetable garden ‘feel-good’ moments.

Enhancing Your Culinary Skills: Growing your vegetables provide you with an exciting way of experimenting with new recipes. Incorporating fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits from your garden into your meals can completely enhance the taste and quality of your food. You can also get creative with preserving your vegetables with pickling and canning to use them beyond their season.

Connecting with Nature: With vegetable gardening, you get to reconnect with nature and acknowledge your relationship with it. You become more attuned to the cycles of life in nature, and this helps you appreciate it more deeply. Gardening is an excellent way to spend more time outdoors and observe the different species of birds, insects, and trees in your garden. You’ll gain more appreciation for biodiversity and reduce the risk of environmental stress and degradation.

Growing your vegetables is a fulfilling way of engaging in sustainable and healthy living. It connects you with nature, saves you money, provides you with healthier alternatives, and is an excellent way to remain physically and mentally active. By incorporating the practices mentioned above, you can reap the numerous benefits of growing your own vegetables. We hope that this guide inspires you to create your vegetable garden and start the journey of cultivating your food. Happy gardening!

Further Reading: RHS – Grow your Own Fruit, Vegetable and Herbs, Grow stronger together with companion planting

Skirret – The Forgotten Vegetable – Herbaceous Perennial

Sium sisarum – Skirret Other common names: crummock, jellico

Skirret, a starchy root vegetable that belongs to the carrot family, was once a popular crop in Europe during Roman times. The Emperor Tiberius was particularly fond of it, and even demanded it as a tribute from the Germans. It was the main root crop eaten in Europe before the potato was introduced. Skirret has a unique taste between a carrot and parsnip and can be found in sweet and savoury dishes. The name “skirret” is derived from a Germanic origin meaning “sugar root”. However, despite its popularity in the past, skirret has faded from gardens and tables over time.

Skirret is a vegetable that is quite easy to grow once you know how. Unlike most of its relatives, it is a perennial plant that produces a bunch of roots, making it easy to lift and replant. Skirret can be grown from seed and produces a single “crown” consisting of several shoot buds around the base of a stem, with a cluster of roots attached. To form a clump made from several crowns, a crown can be divided easily. However, some of the roots in a cluster are not worth picking, so it’s best to dig up the clump, snip off the roots that are worth having, and replant.

Skirret roots can sometimes have a woody core that can’t be softened even after prolonged cooking. This issue is more common in young plants but may disappear as they grow older. It can also be caused by insufficient water during the growing period. Alternatively, it may be due to genetic factors that vary from plant to plant.

Another yield from skirret is the immature flower stems, which have a nice carroty taste when boiled or steamed. They are fairly substantial and produced in reasonable volume, but they are fast-growing and soon harden off, so if you want more than a brief harvest you will have to freeze some.

Skirret can be grown from crowns, but it’s not easy to obtain them. You either have to spend a lot of money or start from seed. Skirret is not easy to grow from seed because it needs a period of winter cold to germinate. If you’re planning to grow Skirret from seed, make sure you source current-year seed in the autumn and stratify it right away. The seed loses viability quickly, like many plants in the Apiaceae family.