Grow To Eat

Productive Gardening

Maximize your harvest with succession planting

Last Updated: November 25, 2025 by Editorial Team |Reviewed by: Christin

plants for succession planting

By making sure you always have plants in the ground across your entire growing area — throughout the whole season — you ensure that you:

  • Get the maximum possible harvest
  • Can grow more crops and varieties in the same season
  • Can harvest fresh vegetables for most of the season

An extra bonus is that weed pressure decreases when you don’t leave bare soil in the kitchen garden.

How to plan for succession planting?

If you want to stay organized in your garden and truly maximize your harvest, it can be helpful to divide your crops into different groups.

This makes it easier to track which plants will be harvested first and will free up space for a second — or even a third — crop in the same spot.

It also helps you prepare so you’re ready to sow or plant out new crops right after harvesting.

🌿 Group 1 – spring harvest:
These can include overwintered crops harvested early in the season, or early-sown crops that germinate in cold temperatures, grow quickly, and provide an early harvest.

Examples of crops in this group are lettuce, radishes, early carrots, spinach, or arugula.

After Group 1, it’s a great time to sow or plant another round of a fast-growing crop, or crops that will grow well in that spot for the rest of the season.

🌿 Group 2 – summer harvest:
These are early vegetables such as beets, early potatoes, sugar snap peas, scallions, kohlrabi, beets, or Asian greens.

After Group 2, fast-growing crops that don’t bolt in the brightest part of the season are your best choice.

🌿 Group 3 – late-summer harvest:
These include crops like peas and beans, broad beans, onions, and carrots.

After Group 3, it’s smart to choose crops that grow quickly and can handle somewhat cooler temperatures.

Ho to find crops that are suitable for succession planting

At Grow To Eat, we have grouped the plants in the plant Library A–Z into the categories: pre-culture, main crop, mid-season crop, successive crop, and autumn sowing. A single crop can appear in multiple categories.

These categories give an indication of when it’s best to sow a crop and how long it typically takes from sowing to harvest.

For example, in June and July, it’s perfect to choose plants from the Mid-Season crop category.

With just a few clicks in the app, you can find the crops you are looking for.

Simply open the filter function above the Plant Library, scroll down to “Type of crop”, and select Mid-Season Crop.

pollinators in the kitchen garden

Crop categories explained

Pre-culture:
Some crops develop quickly, germinate at cooler temperatures, and can be sown early to provide an early harvest before the main crops are sown or transplanted. Examples of suitable pre-culture crops include radishes, lettuce, and spinach.

These crops are perfect to sow or plant as part of Group 1 – Spring Harvest.

Main crop:
Some crops have a relatively long growing season and need to grow in the same spot all season. These are categorized as main crops. Examples include leeks and kohlrabi.

Main crops are best planted after an early harvest of Group 1 in the spring.

Mid-season crop:
These are fast-growing crops that take a short time from sowing to harvest. They are ideal to plant between other crops and generally do not bolt in the middle of summer. Examples include beets, sugar snap peas, and scallions.

These crops are perfect to sow or transplant after the harvest of Group 2 – Summer Harvest.

Successive crop:
After the main crop has been harvested, there’s an opportunity for an additional harvest of a fast-growing crop in the fall. Plants suitable for a successive crop can tolerate cooler temperatures. Examples include radishes, arugula, spinach, or winter lettuce.

These crops are ideal to sow or plant after the harvest of Group 3 – Late-Summer Harvest.

Autumn sowing:
Some crops can be sown late in the fall for harvest the following year. They lie dormant in the soil and germinate only when the warmth of spring arrives.

Examples include garlic and parsnips.

What about succession planting and crop rotation?

The crops used in succession planting are usually fast-growing enough that they don’t cause issues with soil-borne diseases. It’s the main crops that you need to keep an eye on, to make sure they aren’t grown in the same spot too frequently.

Good luck with your succession planting!

Want some help?

Gardening is full of decisions — what to plant, when to water, how to stay on track. Grow To Eat app gives you a clear plan from start to finish. Week by week, you know what to do, what can wait, and can focus on enjoying your garden.

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