Succession Planting in My New Vegetable Garden
Whenever possible, we always practice succession planting here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Succession planting is the practice of following one crop with another to maximize a garden’s yield. It is a very efficient use of gardening space and time. This year, we're all so excited about my new vegetable garden where we've already seen such amazing growth. If you follow my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen some of the first vegetables we've harvested - the cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli are some of the largest I've ever grown. Over the last couple of weeks, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, has also planted more seeds, so we have a consistent supply of harvestable produce throughout the season. He planted crops of beans, parsnips, and three rows of sunflowers, Helianthus - the popular and cheerful annuals whose giant, round flower heads look like the sun.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This time of year, we are constantly working in the vegetable garden to maintain what is growing and to plant more seeds for new crops. My gardeners keep seeds well organized in these baskets, so they’re ready to bring out to the garden when needed.
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- On this day, Ryan planted beans – soy beans, bush beans, pole beans and runner beans. Ryan uses this bed preparation rake from Johnny’s Selected Seeds to create furrows in the soil. Hard plastic red tubes slide onto selected teeth of the rake to mark the rows. The furrows don’t have to be deep. In general, seeds should be planted at a depth of two times the width, or diameter, of the actual seed.
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- These soy bean seeds will be planted about an inch to an inch-and-a-half deep. Ryan plants the seeds in rows that are about a foot apart. All the beds are raised slightly and all surrounded by wood frames – more than 40 beds in this half-acre garden. Raised bed gardening allows good drainage, prevents soil compaction, and provides protection for those plants that may otherwise get trampled.
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- Here is one of the seeds dropped along the length of the furrow. For maximum yield, these soy beans need some space – about six inches in between them.
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- Both bush and pole bean cultivars are members of the same species, Phaseolus vulgaris, also called “common beans.” Bush beans are one of the easiest vegetables to grow. They grow in small bushes 12 to 24 inches tall and don’t require any trellising. Here are some of the bush beans Ryan is planting. Once the seeds are sown, the harvest of fresh beans usually begins in seven to eight weeks and lasts for around three weeks.
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- Ryan writes out small markers, so we can keep track of what varieties are growing and which ones we want to grow again.
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- And, instead of growing in bushy form, pole beans and runner beans, Phaseolus coccineus, are vining and climbing plants. Ryan planted both types. And do you know… runner beans twine around their supports in a clockwise direction, while pole beans twine in a counter-clockwise direction? This is helpful to know when training beans to climb.
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- For these beans, Ryan pushes the bean into the soil about two inches deep and at least six inches from the last one.
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- Here’s a view from above. The beans are planted close to the trellis, so they can find their way once they begin to grow.
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- Our parsnip seeds are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in central Maine – a company I’ve been using for quite some time. Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a privately held, employee-owned organic seed producer. Johnny’s offers hundreds of varieties of organic vegetable, herb, flower, fruit and farm seeds that are known to be strong, dependable growers.
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- These are Johnny’s Warrior F1 hybrid parsnip seeds, a flavorsome, chunky parsnip with, gradually tapering roots that measure up to 11-inches in length.
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- These are Johnny’s Albion Pelleted F1 parsnip seeds – another dependable grower. Some seeds are coated with a layer of clay to increase size for easier handling. This also makes spacing the seeds faster and increases evenness in germination.
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- Ryan carefully plants the bed with these seeds spaced about three inches apart with the rows about one foot apart.
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- This is called a rolling dibbler available at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It comes in single form like this one or with multiple wheels. It allows one to create evenly spaced impressions in the soil for accurate transplanting.
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- The actual dibbles are stored right on the wheel.
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- And then each one can be screwed onto the outside depending on the preferred spacing needed.
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- Ryan starts at one end to create the holes for the sunflower seeds using the twine as a guide, so the rows are perfectly straight.
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- Here is a view from behind. the spacing is about six to eight inches.
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- Ryan plants a variety of sunflowers from our favorite sunflower vendors, including Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Sunflower Steve Seed Co., Bear Creek Farm, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
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- Ryan plants one seed into each hole. Sunflowers grow quickly. Many can grow 12 feet in only three months. With the proper growing conditions, sunflowers should reach maturity in 70 to 100 days after planting.
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- Then Ryan carefully back fills all the furrows in the bed until all the seeds are covered with soil.
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- Meanwhile, look at some of the growing vegetables. This is a young artichoke. I like to harvest them when they are still small, but these need just a little more time.
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- We planted leeks, shallots, and onions back in late April. They are all growing so beautifully.
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- And do you know what this is? If you guessed parsley, you are correct. This is curly parsley. with round, curly leaves. The taste is stronger than that of the flat-leaf type.
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- Ryan checked on the carrots – these, too, need a little more growing time, but they’re developing so perfectly and with such great color.
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- Our peas also look fantastic – these are ready to pick. We have both shelling peas and edible pods.
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- This garden so amazing. I love visiting every day to see what is growing. I am so happy with its progress. Take a look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 to see more photos.
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