Think about it, if you keep the soil in your garden covered, there is less room for weeds. So what do you keep your soil covered with? Plantings of new crops! Plant a new crop as soon as you harvest a crop and pull up the crop that is finished. For example, you can have a cool weather crop in the ground now, and then pull up that crop as the temperatures rise and it's time to plant something like tomatoes or squash.
So what about relay planting? Let's say I have a cool crop in the garden such as cabbage and it's going to be ready to harvest soon. I can plant bean seeds next to the plants or slightly under the leaves of the plant a couple of weeks before you want to harvest. When you harvest the cabbage, you have your beans well under way and ready to fill in the space. You can do this again in the fall. In an area where you have something like squash, start putting in seeds for a new crop like lettuce or broccoli.
I plant lettuce, radishes, and carrots at regular intervals using the shade of other plants to get through the hot summer months and then when fall comes around you have a good foundation started for your fall harvest.
Great tips, thanks. I have always continue to plant lettuce and spinach in the shade of other plants throughout the summer. They sometimes do well, other times not. But they get there second wind in the fall, so nothing is lost.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog. Glad I stumbled across it. Have a happy gardening day!
Thank you so much! I appreciate the feedback and I enjoy sharing what I observe in my garden. The great part about gardening is the fact that you get to try something new each year while using what you've learned along the way. Happy Gardening!
ReplyDeleteGood advice but I'm still having trouble with the timing. I was going to replace my peas with cucumber. But it's almost time to plant the cucumber and the peas are still tiny little plants, not even close to producing fruit. This seems to take practice to get right.
ReplyDeleteYou may find that you plant your cucumbers while the peas are still producing. Sometimes Mother Nature does not cooperate! My peas are about 2 1/2-3 weeks behind so I will be planting while they're still producing. Hang in there!
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