The short version
The two things that make a growing year work are succession and rotation. Succession spreads the harvest out. Rotation stops the same family's pests and diseases building up in the same soil. Neither takes much effort, and both are hard to retrofit once the season has started.
What you need
A rough plan on paper
Beds, what went where last year, what goes there this year.
Your last and first frost dates
Everything else is counted from those two.
How to do it
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Write down your frost dates
Local ones. They move by weeks over short distances, and every timing depends on them.
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Split sowings into batches
A short row every two or three weeks, rather than a whole packet at once.
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Group by family, then move the groups
Keep each plant family together, and put it somewhere different next year. Three or four year gaps are the aim.
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Leave room for the gaps
Something always fails. A spare corner of fast salad fills the hole.
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Write down what happened
Next year's plan is only as good as this year's notes.
When it goes wrong
A glut, then nothing
- Succession
One big sowing instead of several small ones.
The same disease every year
- Rotation
The family has stayed in the same ground. Move it and leave a gap of years.
Empty beds in late summer
- Planning
Nothing was sown for the second half. Late salad, oriental greens and overwintering crops fill it.
Frequently asked questions
How strict does rotation need to be?
The gap matters more than the order. Three years before a family returns to the same ground handles most soil-borne problems.
What if I only have containers?
Rotation matters less, because you replace the compost. Succession still matters just as much.
