You just pulled your last batch of lettuce or tomatoes—now what? If your raised beds are sitting empty, you're missing out on one of the biggest secrets to a thriving garden: succession planting.
Succession planting means keeping your garden productive by rotating crops in the same space throughout the growing season. It's how smart growers double their harvest without doubling their space.
Here’s how you can master it.
1. Think in Seasons, Not Just Crops
Your growing season is more dynamic than you think. Some crops thrive in cool spring weather (like spinach), while others peak in mid-summer (like squash or cucumbers). Planning your garden by temperature and days-to-maturity ensures you’re always growing something.
Example:
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Spring: Peas, lettuce, radishes
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Summer: Tomatoes, peppers, beans
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Fall: Carrots, kale, broccoli
2. Avoid Replanting the Same Plant Families
Plants like tomatoes and peppers belong to the same family (nightshades), and planting them back-to-back in the same bed depletes soil nutrients and invites pests. Rotate crops to give your soil a break and maintain balance.
Pro tip: Follow the cycle: Leaf ➔ Fruit ➔ Root ➔ Legume.
3. Use Succession Pairings to Boost Your Yield
Here are a few of our favorite combos:
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Lettuce ➔ Carrots
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Spinach ➔ Bush Beans
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Radishes ➔ Cucumbers
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Peas ➔ Tomatoes
These pairings keep the soil healthy, maximize harvest time, and help crowd out weeds.
4. Let Harvest Hub Do the Planning For You
If you’re tired of guessing what to grow next, we’ve got your back. Our garden management tool:
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Remembers what you grew last
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Recommends what to grow next based on your zip code
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Suggests the best companion plants
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Generates a weekly task list (with reminders!)
Spend less time planning, more time planting.
5. Grab Your Free Guide
We put together a downloadable multi-page cheat sheet: "What to Plant Next: A Guide to Smarter Succession Planting". It includes:
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Crop rotation chart
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Succession combos
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Seasonal planting calendar
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Companion planting tips
👉 [Download the Free Guide Here]
Final Thought: Succession planting is how local growers and gardeners like you keep fresh veggies coming year-round. With a little planning (and a lot of help from Harvest Hub), your raised beds can keep giving—season after season.
Comment below if you have tried succession planting or plan to try succession planting.
Start now. Join Harvest Hub’s garden planning app and grow smarter.
📅 Bonus: Join today and get $25 Market Dollars to spend on any item from a local grower in the Harvest Hub marketplace.
