As a small-scale organic vegetable grower, I can assure you that we seed and plant well into the summer and autumn to ensure an (almost) year-round harvest.

Greenhouses, of course, make this easier, but they are not necessary for over-wintered crops like parsnips or quick-growing crops like radishes.Even up here in snowy New England, planting carrots as late as September will offer a delightfully sweet and crunchy treat come fall.

Whether you're a first time gardener or a veteran homesteader, don't forget to relish in this opportunity to get things in the ground. When temperatures turn colder and the days get shorter, you'll thank yourself for the forethought you put in during these bright sunny days.

Succession Planting

Succession planting is a way to stagger the planting of crops for different harvest windows. We don't want broccoli, carrots, or sugar snap peas just once in the season- we want to have a continuous source of these popular veggies! Successions are the backbone of a diversified vegetable farm.

For example, we sow carrots every 3 weeks throughout the main growing season. We also seed lettuce, salad mix, radishes, and salad turnips every 2–3 weeks for a continuous supply. Successions of cauliflower or cabbage can be a bit more spread out.

The garden is wide open for experimentation (plus sometimes we forget a succession or two!) There are no rules with Mother Nature!

Just think about how long you will be harvesting off a given planting (the harvest window), and that will help you determine how many successions you want to plant. Or, just get some seeds or transplants in the ground whenever you have time.