Garden skills

Succession Planting: Never Run Out of Salad

Garden skills · 3 min read

If your lettuce always comes in a rush and then runs out, there is a simple fix. It is called succession planting, and it is the difference between a glut and a steady supply.

Why one big sowing lets you down

When you sow a whole row of lettuce at once, it all matures at once. You get ten days of more salad than you can eat, and then nothing. It is the most common reason a salad garden feels feast or famine.

The habit that fixes it

Instead of one big sowing, sow a short row every couple of weeks through the season. Each little sowing matures a few weeks after the last, so you are always picking something young and tender. That is succession planting, and it works for more than salad: radishes, bush beans, carrots, and cilantro all take to it.

A few tips

• Keep the rows short. A few feet (about a meter) at a time is plenty for most households.
• Consider mixing varieties. A slow-bolting lettuce in summer and a faster one in cooler weather keeps the quality up.
• In high summer, give greens a little afternoon shade so they do not bolt before you get to them.

Where Verna fits

Verna highlights which plants are recommended for succession, so you can continue to add each batch, and helps keep you in step with your garden through the season. The habit is yours; Verna just helps you track the timing and care for everything you are growing.

See what still has time in your garden

Verna maps sowing, transplanting, and harvest timing to your exact spot.