What Is Succession Planting and How Do I Use It?
Succession planting means staggering your plantings so crops mature at different times, giving you a continuous harvest instead of a feast-then-famine cycle. It is one of the most useful techniques for small gardens.
The simplest form is repeat sowing: plant a short row of lettuce, wait 2 to 3 weeks, plant another row, and repeat. By the time you have harvested the first row, the next is ready. This works beautifully with fast-growing crops like lettuce, radishes, arugula, cilantro, beans, and beets. UC ANR's home vegetable gardening guide recommends succession planting as a key strategy for maximizing harvest from limited space.
In Santa Cruz County, our long growing season makes succession planting especially productive. You can sow lettuce from February through November. Beans can go in the ground from April through August. Radishes take only 25 to 30 days, so you could fit 8 or more successions in a single season. Coastal microclimates extend cool-season crop windows even further, since the fog keeps temperatures mild well into summer. The UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County notes that a carefully planned succession garden provides continuous harvests for months until the next seasonal transition.
There are three main approaches. First, repeat sowing (same crop, staggered dates). Second, relay planting (as you harvest one crop, immediately plant the next in that space). Third, variety staggering (plant an early, mid, and late-maturing variety of the same crop at the same time so they ripen in sequence). You can combine all three for maximum efficiency. The key is keeping a simple calendar or notebook so you remember when each planting went in and when the next one is due.
This week: Pick one fast-growing crop you eat regularly (lettuce, radishes, or beans) and plant a small row today. Set a reminder on your phone for 2 to 3 weeks from now to plant the next round.
Our free Planting Calendar includes sowing windows for all the major succession crops in Santa Cruz's climate. For seasonal timing on what goes in when, check out our Vegetables by Season Chart.
Keep Reading
Is Fall Actually the Best Time to Plant in California?
How Do I Plan My Garden for Next Year?
Can I Grow Lettuce and Greens Outdoors All Winter in Santa Cruz?
How Do I Transition My Summer Garden to a Fall/Winter Garden?
Where to get seeds: For varieties that do well in our climate, we like Seeds Now, a California company selling non-GMO, open-pollinated, and heirloom seed. (Affiliate link, see our disclosure.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which crops are best for succession planting?
Fast-growing vegetables like lettuce, radishes, arugula, cilantro, beans, and beets work especially well. Radishes mature in just 25 to 30 days, so you can fit several plantings into a single season.
How far apart should I space my plantings?
A simple and reliable interval is two to three weeks. Sow a short row, wait two to three weeks, then sow again, so that by the time you finish harvesting the first row the next is ready.
Does Santa Cruz's climate help with succession planting?
Yes. Our long growing season lets you sow lettuce from February through November, and coastal microclimates stay mild enough to stretch cool-season crops even further. Keeping a simple calendar of planting dates makes it easy to stay on track.
