Successional Planting (aka keeping the beds full through the year)

Vegetables are not restricted to being sown one or two days a year.

Do a bit of research and find out how long it (usually) takes a crop to come to maturity from seed.   About 1/4 of the way through that lifespan plant more of the same, so when your first crop is coming to an end you have more of the same to provide you with more food.

I've been gardening for "a wee while" and I still have gluts and dirths so don't get too emotional about it.    Look at the problem (or adventure) bit by bit, crop by crop.

Hope this helps?    Cheers,     Tony.

Tony - the 1/4 way through idea sounds great - I've been thinking of sowings in 2 week blocks really but that grinds to a quick halt when I run out of space.

I'm thinking another gardening spreadsheet may be in order along with another evening of studying the seed packets!

AmandaLouise - it's all so very vague - still, this forum is fab for helping us newbies along our veg growing way and it definitely keeps me a little bit sane too 

Oooh now I've been wondering what to do with the free sweetcorn seeds I acquired from a link on another thread - excellent!   Thank you!

I'm putting over-wintering brassicas (cabbage/kale/brussels/psb) in when the garlic comes out in July and the leeks will go in to the spring cabbage bed.
Swiss chard and perpetual spinach is soon finishing in one bed and starting in another to go through the winter. More carrots will go in to the finished bed. Autumn cabbage will go in when the early carrots are finished and then the garlic again in November. Winter lettuce goes in as the beetroot come out. Parsnips are there for months and are followed by early peas/b.beans.
I can usually fill any bare bits quite easily if I've got stuff waiting in trays or 3" pots and late direct sowings of beans/sugarsnaps work quite well.
Last year I did 2 sowings of black kale and the late one didn't grow much but I left it in. It went beserk in February and we've been eating it for weeks and it hasn't bolted yet.
Only problem I have (apart from slugs/birds etc) is making sure crops that get hit by insects (leeks/carrots/brassicas) are under debris netting. I only net half of my raised beds because some crops need pollination and it's such a chore to move the netting set-up.
Because of this my crop rotation tends to be a bit erratic!!!
You will soon slip into a pattern of sowing/planting/cropping and find your own system.
It's taken me years and I've learned not to sow too early and to do a couple of sowings so the season is extended.

Sounds abit like my plan Pembspanther..Haphazard!! Its my first year too and I only have 2 of my 4 raised beds up and running (already waiting to see if the cabbage, carrots, onions, beetroot, spinach, lettuce, radish and spring onions develop!).
Ive also got a large 2ft x 4 ft tray under a cloche where my leeks and brassicas can grow so I can use their bed for quick salad crops until they are big enough to transplant). Im splitting my beds in the square foot technique so I can stagger sowings and keep juggling crops when I see a space!!

Loads of great suggestions.  I'll be re-sorting my seed packets (again...again...again) and seeing what I can plant later.

Posted by: compostqueen
Remember this is supposed to make you happy, so just hang loose, relax and enjoy it. that's an order by the way