Keep Them Going Planting A Second Crop Can Keep Them Going. Every gardener who has been raising crops for any time knows the value of planting successions of certain crops. Lettuce, radishes, cabbage and other spring crops are commonly planted in successions of smaller plantings in order to extend the length of time that these crops can be enjoyed. Bush beans also have always been planted in successive plantings of about two weeks between plantings. But what about all of the other things you grow? Have you ever taken the time to notice how tomatoes tend to get smaller and less tasty after about two to three weeks of producing profusely? New potatoes are a delicacy that is often greatly missed after that week or two when they are setting tubers and onions all to soon are past that scallion stage and newly pulled onion bulbs are juicier and sweeter. Cucumbers tend to get less tasty and sweet after about three weeks of producing for you and herbs loose their zest and become determined to set seed regardless of how much pinching you do. If you like the taste that only new crops can provide, try these tips to keep that new taste and vigor coming: Plant smaller plantings of each crop, but more often - unless you are desiring to harvest a crop to be preserved for winter and want to get it all done at once. The main purpose here is to enjoy that "new crop" taste as long as possible. In most cases, you can and will consume or use only so much at once, so plan your plantings to produce approximately as much in a harvest period (normally 2-3 days) as you can use. This crop can also be a secondary crop to your main crop if you want to harvest for winter use, thus giving you a "fresh eating" crop and a "preserving" crop. Each one with its own unique flavor. Never remove a crop - without replenishing the soil by adding compost or other organic matter. In most cases you will be harvesting produce during the most active part of the plants life-cycle. Therefore, it is imperative to take advantage of removing a crop to immediately build the soil back up to replace what was removed. Lettuce and other salad greens - plant successive plantings about 7-10 days apart for about four weeks. You can plant beyond this time, but remember that the later plantings will be maturing during hotter weather and will become bitter and tend to bolt (set seed) quicker. Heavy mulch and additional water will help counteract this. Radishes - tender young radishes are hard to beat and are best enjoyed while of a smaller size. Like lettuce, plant successive plantings of these about 7-10 days apart for about 4-6 weeks. Remember though, that like lettuce, the later plantings will be maturing during hotter weather and will tend to get hot and bolt quickly. Heavy mulch and additional watering will help, but often some varieties of radishes will not form a bulb at all after the temperatures are consistently in the upper 80's to low 90's with nighttime temperatures in the 70's and above. They will instead go directly to flowering and seed production. Quite often, any radish they form will be immediately hot from the beginning, so plan accordingly with heat resistant varieties. Brassica's - include all of the cabbage family which includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kales and brussel sprouts. Contrary to popular belief, as a general rule these will perform fairly well during hot weather providing they are mulched heavily and watered more often. The exceptions being brussel sprouts and the kales. Most of these are true cool weather crops and will tend to get tough and bitter during hot weather. Plant small plantings of brassica's about every two to three weeks for 6 weeks to enjoy these tasty crops all season long and pick them smaller as the weather heats up. Mulch heavily and keep the moisture level high as the weather heats up. Bush beans - Every gardener who has gardened long knows that bush beans tend to produce the bulk of their crop over a 7-10 period and after a couple of pickings the harvest gets smaller with each picking. A new planting should be made about every 7-10 days throughout the season. After the second or third planting start transitioning to one of the newer hybrids bred for good performance during hot weather. Toward the end of the season, usually the end of July to first of August, start transitioning toward one of the hybrids bred to perform well under cooler temperatures. Pole beans - by their nature tend to produce consistently over a long period of time. But even these tend to slow down and loose their "new bean" flavor as the season drags on. I like to plant a second crop of these about four to six weeks after the first crop to enjoy that "new bean" flavor and new vigor. Tomatoes - are enjoyed by virtually every gardener and are seldom replanted. Most gardeners tend to plant one or two varieties and then accept less than superior crops as the season progresses. This should not be accepted by any gardener, with the immense variety of types of tomatoes available today. More hybridization efforts are poured into tomatoes than any other vegetable crop, thus giving gardeners in virtually every climate varieties that will perform well. Here in the southern Midwest, we can easily enjoy three crops of tomatoes in an average season. Start your season with one of the hybrids developed to perform well with earlier planting and cooler temperatures. Follow this in about 4-6 weeks with a main crop tomato that will set fruit well under hot conditions and a third crop in about 4-6 weeks that will set fruit during hot weather yet tolerate the cooler temperatures of fall. Most seed catalogs have varieties by different names that will fit these conditions. Potatoes - for some reason are treated as a "one planting" crop. Where this practice came from is a mystery to me. Most potatoes do set fruit best during the warm temperatures of summer, but this time period spans many weeks and few vegetables are enjoyed more than "new" potatoes dug while they are just forming. Potatoes can successfully be planted in successive plantings of about 3 week intervals, starting when the soil reaches about 60-65 degrees F. unless you live in a short growing season area. For variety, try planting a different variety every week for three or four weeks. Sweet corn - is the second most popular vegetable crop, and like tomatoes, hybridization efforts have given virtually every gardener an immense selection of varieties to choose from. These include sugar content, time of maturity, insect and disease resistance, etc. Because most varieties of corn only produce one or two pickings per plant (one or two ears), most gardeners already know the value of successive plantings. It is common practice to plant two or three varieties with different maturity times at the same time to produce a succession of harvests. But why stop there? About 7-10 days after the planting the latest maturing variety, plant a second crop followed by a third. This can often be followed by a fourth planting of an earlier maturing variety to carry the harvest into the fall in long growing season areas. Following this pattern, a total of six plantings or more per growing season is possible in some areas for fresh sweet corn all season long. Onions - tend to be thought of and treated as a "one-planting" crop like potatoes. In earlier gardening times this was necessary because varieties were limited and onions depended on the length of daylight to trigger bulb set and therefore only had a relatively short period of time in which they would produce well. Today, it is possible to have onions setting bulbs and maturing all season long. Through extensive plant selection and breeding efforts, gardeners now have four basic types to choose from: Long Day - onions, which are the most commonly planted, need 15 or more hours of sunlight each day to trigger bulb formation. Intermediate Day - onions are less common but can be found if sought. These onions require 12-13 hours of sunlight to trigger bulb set. Short Day - onions are becoming increasingly easy to find and are preferable for gardeners in short season growing areas. These onions require only 9-10 hours of sunlight to trigger bulb set. And lastly - Day Neutral - onions are not triggered by length of sunlight, but rather are hardwired to produce bulbs at a particular point in their growing cycle.
Based on these developments, it is easy to see how it is relatively easy to enjoy fresh onions all season long. Herbs - can be difficult to prevent from going to seed once they reach maturity. Once they are triggered to set seed, you can usually keep the flower stalks pinched out for a while to prevent this. But many times the herb will continue to put all of its effort into setting seed at the expense of quality of taste. Therefore, it is advantageous to plant a new crop of many herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, dill and others every two weeks throughout the growing season. This one case where I might now pull up the old crop unless I needed the room. The blooms of herbs like basil, parsley and dill are favorite of pollinating insects and herbs like parsley, dill, carrots and cilantro are a primary food and nursery plant for many butterflies. Additionally, the seed form of many herbs like cilantro, celery, carrot and dill become a valuable spice to use later. So plant often, but consider well your options before pulling the older plants.
Considering the options available to gardeners today, it is easy to see how every gardener can enjoy that fresh picked flavor of new vegetables and herbs throughout the growing season. Beyond the advantages given thus far for growing multiple plantings, there are other positive reasons for multiple plantings of crops: Your soil is constantly being rejuvenated because you are constantly improving small areas all over your growing space as you replace crops. Thus, every square foot of growing space can be improved at least once during the growing season instead of only in the spring. Less digging at any one time because you are planting smaller plantings more frequently. Therefore, you are only improving small areas at any one time. This is preferable to trying to dig and prepare large areas all at once. Allows a gardener to experience many different varieties and find new favorites. This is due to the fact that you will need to consider maturity times as much as characteristics of the variety in order to fit the maximum number of plantings into a single growing season. Allows the gardener to experience a much wider array of variety during the growing season rather than having many meals centered around a singular crop because that is what was producing at the time.
However, enjoying this fresh-picked, new taste does not come without at least some drawbacks: Because of current marketing techniques, most vegetables are only available for a relatively short time time each spring. Therefore, a gardener desiring fresh, renewed vigor vegetables must often buy seed far ahead of the time it is to be planted. This pre-bought seed should be stored in a cool, dark location until needed. Placing the seed in sealed glass jars with packets of desiccant and stored in the refrigerator works well for this purpose. Extending the harvest season requires a bit of planning in order to have the proper seeds on hand when needed. Maps of your garden to plot these plantings on will help greatly. Many, if not most of the transplants you will need, will need to be started at home because most nurseries follow the same practices as seed houses and offer transplants only for a short period of time in the spring. But, starting your own seed at home is an easy and fun process and much of your seed starting done later in the year can be done directly in the garden to be transplanted later. Enjoying extended harvests may require more growing space than you currently have because you will typically have two, three or more plantings of a particular crop growing at various stages at the same time. However, because the amount of any crop growing at any one time will be reduced, therefore the amount of additional space required need not be great. Because it is that "new" taste and renewed vigor that you are after, you will need to discipline yourself to pull up crops that may be still producing once the new crop starts. This can often be difficult to do for many gardeners. Especially if the old crop is still producing respectable harvests. But remember, it is that "new" taste and renewed vigor that you are after. Not necessarily bigger harvests overall. Additionally, failing to pull older plantings can leave you inundated with produce that you either can not or do not wish to use. Allowing older crops to continue to produce also allows these plants to use up nutrients in the soil unnecessarily and delays improving the soil where they were growing. Because your garden will be producing bountifully all season long, you may end up with many nosy neighbors wanting to know what your secret is and you'll feel the need to stop and talk over the garden fence and thereby get to know your neighbors better. If you're not careful, you may even gain a reputation as being some sort of "Master Gardener".
Considering all of the pro's and con's of extended season gardening, it is easy to see why every gardener should want to make their garden work to its fullest potential and get everything out of it you can. After all, the garden soil is there 12 months out of every year. Why settle for letting it benefit you for only one or two months during the growing season. Every gardener works hard for that extra special first harvest of the season. Why not enjoy that first harvest taste over and over throughout the year? the "Hillbilly Gardener" |
