SUCCESSIONAL GROWING - Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Growing in Small Spaces - page 15

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SUCCESSIONAL GROWING
The secret to maximizing your crop from a given space and enjoying the fruits of your labour
at their best is successional growing. A good example of this would be the lettuce. If you
sowed a row of seed directly in place, then the space is going to be tied up for ten weeks
while they grow to usable size. Then you would harvest maybe two or three in the week when
they're perfect and the rest would bolt making them unusable. Bolting is the term we use to
describe a plant going to seed.
With successional growing we start by sowing into modules or small pots each week or
two. These are then planted out after three weeks or so and grown on to harvest. This way
we use less space for less time and don't waste time and space growing more crops than we
need.
Some plants are not suited to this method, basically the root crops like carrots and parsnips
as transplanting tends to result in misshaped roots, but for most vegetables it's an effective
way of getting more from less.
With the bean family it can take between two and three weeks before the seed germinates
so they're well worth starting in pots even if you're not looking for successional crops. The
cabbage family may germinate faster but they do take a while to become large enough to need
planting in their final spot. If you consider the fact that bean seeds are huge in comparison to
the tiny cabbage seed, it makes sense that the bean, once germinated, shoots away whereas
the cabbage grows on much more slowly.
Take a seed tray, insert a 15 cell module and fill with multipurpose compost. Sow four or
five seeds in three modules and label with the variety and date. Two weeks later, sow into the
next three modules and thin out the first modules to one seedling per module by just pinching
off the unwanted seedlings.
Keep an eye on the modules by lifting from the tray and once the roots start to poke through
the holes, move the whole module into a 3 inch (8cm) square plastic pot on top of some more
compost.