Vegetable Garden Staggered Planting Every Two Weeks

Depending on the growing time to maturity (time to harvest) for a given vegetable you might consider a two week staggered planting delay instead of starting everything all at once.

Why might this be a good idea?

One of our readers recently said this:

 

“I learned that planting an entire garden at one time was a disaster when everything matured at the same time as well. We could not eat it fast enough nor could we preserve it all as required.”

“My answer is to successively plant every two weeks or so, depending on the crop. The following pictures show the growth from some plantings over the last month. About two weeks between each planter full.”

-hermit us

 

[Ken adds:] Some of us northerners may not have the luxury of an extended growing season to do this for all (or many / most) vegetable varieties, however for some crops I don’t see why you couldn’t get several staggered planting starts to maturity before the weather shuts you down in the Fall.

This is particularly feasible if you start in a greenhouse type environment or even indoors.

Example: DIY Raised Garden Bed Planters -Cold Weather Short Growing Season

 
Here’s a chart which indicates some staggered planting times for radish, lettuce, peas, spinach, carrots, chard, turnips:

source: iastate.edu

 
Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting

 
Question: How many of you have staggered (delayed – offset) your planting starts and how has it worked out for you? I’m jealous of those who live in regions of very long growing seasons and can achieve multiple harvests! Although I think you pay the price with extra heat and humidity during that long summer…