The successful sustenance garden will have successive crops. Plan on replacing a spent crop with a new planting to maximize yield for both fresh eating and storage. You may be able to
replace a tomato crop with a second planting of the same or you may replace it with another crop depending on the length of your growing season. There is an art and science to succession planting. In 1942 the state of Illinois government published a succession crop planting guide during the WW2 Victory Garden campaign. See the link below for that guide. The planting guide remains relevant even today. Succession cropping can be utilized in raised beds, deck planting, anywhere you grow food
crops.
https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/teaching_packages/illinois_at_war/doc10.html
Succession cropping requires reverse engineering. Figure what
your end game is regarding fresh eating or storage food. For example, it takes seven pounds of Roma type tomatoes to make a quart of tomato sauce. How many quarts of tomato sauce would you like to put up for the winter? Plant enough Roma tomatoes to accomplish your goal. Each Roma tomato plant can produce ten pounds of tomatoes. Conservatively that equals a quart of tomato sauce for each Roma plant. Next, figure when your Roma tomato crop will be harvested. You’ll need to make a call here
if you want a succession crop to follow your tomatoes. Pull your tomato plants up when they have produced their main crop and are on a downward spiral. Don’t hold on to your tomato plants in if they have a straggling two or three tomatoes. Rip them out and get your next crop in.
The War Department of Illinois suggests following tomato crops with early cabbage. Most U.S. temperate zones allow for two if not three and four succession crop plantings. Every state county Ag extension publishes a month-by-month vegetable planting guide. Check that planting guide out and plant accordingly. Most vegetable crops produce in sixty to ninety days allowing
enough time for succession follow up planting before the killing frosts sets in. And, the Lord has provided antifreeze properties in many vegetable plants. Spinach and kale are nearly indestructible to cold. I have harvested kale after digging it out from the snow in upstate NY (Zone 4). Carrots, turnips, beets, and other root crops can handle some cold and can usually overwinter with a mulch covering. Choose varieties that are bred for cold hardiness. Cabbage is also a good candidate for
a fall succession planting as it is tough in cold and can also be mulched with woodchips, pine straw or leaves. I’ll be planting cabbage and root crops in my fall succession garden this year.
I’ve begun a live Q&A coach call on our YouTube channel – subscribe to be notified:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCGEUQ8zDd26bMn6ompUQ6CA
Get out there and experiment with growing your own food and succession cropping. You might even want to take a tip from the Illinois Department of War and use their Victory Garden succession planting guide.
