At Rime Farm, we farm organically and we succession plant. Succession planting maximizes the efficiency of garden space. It keeps the soil covered and productive! This helps to reduce pest and disease pressure by avoiding large stands of single crops that are attractive to specific pests. It also ensures a steady supply of fresh vegetables over an extended period, rather than experiencing a single, large harvest.
It involves:
- Timed Planting: Sowing seeds at regular intervals, typically every 2-3 weeks, to ensure continuous harvest. This is commonly used for crops like lettuce, radishes, and carrots.
- Varietal Selection: Planting varieties with different maturity times, which allows the harvest to be staggered throughout the growing season. For example, early, mid-season, and late varieties of tomatoes or corn might be planted simultaneously.
- Relay Planting: Starting a new crop in the same space as a current crop that is nearing the end of its productive period. For instance, planting fall broccoli in the space where early potatoes have been harvested.
- Interplanting: Growing faster-maturing crops in the spaces between slower-maturing crops. As the faster crops are harvested, they provide more room and resources for the slower ones to develop.
This is a great calendar that will get you started on your gardening journey. Want to know more about success planting, and organic farming? Be sure to follow this blog and also give MOFGA’s website a looksy.
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