Succession Planting Intervals Explained

Succession planting keeps harvests steady instead of arriving all at once. The key decision is the gap between sowings.

Key points

Pick the interval from crop speed, harvest window and weather.
Use ranges as a start and adjust with your own notes.
Pause plantings of heat-sensitive crops in the hottest weeks.
Count back from fall frost and add days for slow growth.

What is succession planting?

Succession planting is the practice of sowing in repeated batches so that a crop comes in over many weeks. It can mean repeated sowings of one crop, a new crop in a bed as soon as the last one finishes, or planting early, mid and late varieties at the same time.

The aim is a steady supply without a glut, and also better use of space and time.

If you are new to the idea, begin with one fast crop such as leaf lettuce and sow a small row every week or two. The experience shows you how the interval feels in practice.

How do you choose the gap?

Base the interval on three things: how fast the crop grows, how long it stays harvestable and what the weather is doing. A crop that bolts or goes past its best within days needs more frequent sowings than one that holds in the field for weeks.

Starting guidance from one grower education source suggests sowing very fast crops such as leaf lettuce, radishes and spinach every 7 to 10 days, and slower crops like beets, bush beans, broccoli and kale every 10 to 14 days. Carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and cucumbers are suggested at about two to three weeks. Treat these as starting points and adjust to your climate.

Fast crops: about 7 to 10 days.
Medium crops: about 10 to 14 days.
Slower crops: about 2 to 3 weeks.

How does weather change the interval?

Heat speeds growth in some crops and shuts down germination in others. In summer, lettuce and spinach may refuse to sprout or bolt quickly, so pause sowings in the hottest stretch and resume when it cools. In fall, growth slows as days shorten, so plantings spaced a week apart in summer may arrive nearly together in autumn.

Use soil temperature and the forecast, and keep notes on how many days each batch really took from sowing to harvest.

A short log pays off here. Note the sowing date, the first harvest and the last good harvest for each batch. After a season, you will have your own interval for each crop in your own climate.

What about follow-on crops and varieties?

Follow-on cropping means putting a different crop in the bed when the first one comes out. A spring crop of peas can give way to a fall crop of lettuce, for instance. Check days to maturity and the first fall frost date before you commit.

Staggered varieties work by planting early, mid and late types together. This is useful for crops like sweet corn and broccoli, where one sowing date can still give an extended harvest.

How do you keep it all organized?

Make a table with the crop, sowing dates, expected harvest and bed. Mark the next sowing date as soon as you plant the current one. Add notes about germination and harvest quality.

For example, if you sow lettuce every ten days and the third batch bolts early, shift the next ones to a shadier bed or delay them until the weather cools.

Give each batch a bed label or a stake with the date, so you can see which sowing is which when the rows look alike.

What mistakes should you avoid?

Sowing more than you can harvest and use is the most common one. Others are keeping the same interval all season, ignoring heat and forgetting that sweet corn needs blocks for pollination and separation from other corn types.

Plan around your labor too. A schedule that needs a sowing every three days is hard to keep, while one that fits your normal week is easier.

How do you adjust in fall?

Count back from your first fall frost using the days to maturity listed on the packet, and add extra days for slower fall growth. Colorado State University Extension suggests that July and early August are the seeding months for fall harvest in its area, based on this kind of count.

Cool-season crops tolerate light frost and give you a longer window, while frost-tender crops such as beans and cucumbers need to be planted early enough to finish before the first frost.

If fall is cold where you live, favor crops that tolerate a light frost for late sowings, and cover them on freezing nights to stretch the harvest.

When to get local help: A certified crop adviser or your county extension office can help set sowing intervals for the crops and varieties that perform well in your area.

Sources and further reading

Last reviewed: November 2026. Educational information, ranges only. Confirm timing with your county extension office.

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