Succession Planting UK

What Is Succession Planting?

Succession planting is the practice of sowing the same crop in batches at regular intervals — typically every two to four weeks — so that you harvest a steady, continuous supply of fresh vegetables rather than getting one enormous glut followed by months of nothing. It is one of the simplest and most effective techniques any UK gardener can use to get more food from the same amount of space.

There are two main types of succession planting. The first is same-crop succession, where you sow the same vegetable repeatedly throughout the season. For example, sowing a short row of lettuce every fortnight from March to August means you have crisp salad leaves available for six months instead of six weeks. The second type is relay planting, where you replace one crop with a completely different one as soon as the first is harvested. When your early potatoes come out in June, you plant French beans or autumn brassicas in the same bed, keeping every square metre productive all season long.

Both techniques can be combined for maximum output. The key principle is the same: instead of sowing everything at once in a single weekend, you spread your sowings across the season so that harvests overlap and there are no gaps in supply. Professional market gardeners have used this approach for centuries — and it works just as well on a small allotment, a few raised beds, or even a collection of pots on a patio.

If you are new to growing your own vegetables, our planting calendar shows you exactly what to sow each month. Succession planting builds on that foundation by telling you how often to re-sow for a continuous harvest.

Why Succession Plant in the UK?

The UK growing season runs roughly from March to October — a generous eight months if you use protection at either end. That is more than enough time to grow multiple batches of fast-maturing crops. Yet most home gardeners sow everything in one go during a single spring weekend, then wonder why they are drowning in lettuce in June and have nothing to pick in August.

Avoid gluts and waste. The average UK household throws away around £60 worth of vegetables each year, according to WRAP. Much of that comes from harvesting more than you can eat at once. Succession planting solves this completely. Instead of 30 lettuces maturing on the same day, you get five or six at a time, every fortnight, for months on end. You pick what you need, and nothing goes in the bin.

Extend your harvest window. With careful timing, you can harvest fresh vegetables from April right through to November — and even into December with hardy crops like kale, leeks and winter spinach. The trick is to keep sowing. Every empty patch of soil is an opportunity. When one crop finishes, another goes in. Our March, April and May planting guides show you exactly what to start at each stage of the season.

Make the most of limited space. If you have a small plot, raised beds, or just a few containers, succession planting is essential. A single raised bed can produce three or even four crops in a season if you replant as soon as one crop finishes. You do not need a large allotment — you need good timing. Use our raised bed calculator to work out how much soil and compost you need to get started.

Save money on shop-bought veg. A packet of lettuce seeds costs around £2 and contains 500 or more seeds. Succession sowing that single packet could supply your household with salad from March to September. At supermarket prices, that is easily £50-100 worth of lettuce from a £2 investment. The same maths applies to radishes, rocket, spinach and spring onions — all of which are ideal for succession planting and all of which cost far more per kilo in the shops than they do to grow.

Best Vegetables for Succession Planting in the UK

Not every vegetable benefits from succession sowing. Crops that mature slowly and produce over a long period — like runner beans, courgettes and tomatoes — do not need it. The technique works best with fast-maturing crops that have a short harvest window. Sow them in batches, and you always have the next flush coming through.

The table below lists the ten best UK vegetables for succession planting, with recommended sowing intervals, timing, and approximate weeks to harvest.

All dates assume average conditions in central to southern England. If you garden in northern England or Scotland, delay your first sowings by two to three weeks and bring your last sowings forward by a similar amount. Check our frost date calculator to find the typical last frost date for your area.

Succession Planting Schedule — Month by Month

This month-by-month schedule tells you exactly which succession batches to sow and when. It assumes you are growing in central or southern England. If you are further north, shift everything forward by two to three weeks in spring and bring autumn sowings forward by the same amount.

January

January is too cold for outdoor sowing, but you can start planning. Order your seeds now while the full range is available. If you have a heated greenhouse or propagator, you can make a very early sowing of lettuce indoors for transplanting under cloches in March. This gives you the earliest possible salad crop.

February

Under cover or on a warm windowsill, sow your first batch of lettuce and spinach in modules. These will be transplanted outdoors under fleece in March. If you have cloches or a cold frame, you can sow radishes directly into prepared soil from mid-February in mild areas. This is also a good time to sow broad beans in pots indoors for planting out in March.

March

The succession planting season begins in earnest. Sow your first outdoor batches of lettuce, radishes, rocket, spinach, spring onions, peas, carrots, beetroot and turnips. If you started lettuce or spinach indoors in February, plant those out under fleece now. This is the month to establish the rhythm — note down your sowing dates so you know when to sow the next batch. See our full March planting guide for detailed instructions on each crop.

April

Sow your second batch of lettuce and radishes (they went in a fortnight after the March sowing). Sow the second batch of rocket, spinach and spring onions (three weeks after the first). Make another sowing of peas, carrots and beetroot. The soil is warming now and germination will be much faster than March. This is also a good time to sow turnips for the first succession batch. Check our April planting guide for the full list.

May

Keep the fortnightly lettuce and radish sowings going. Sow another batch of rocket, spinach, spring onions, carrots and beetroot. French beans can now go in for the first time — they are tender and need soil temperatures above 12°C. Make your last sowing of peas this month (they dislike hot weather). This is peak succession sowing season — there should be something going in the ground every week. See our May planting guide for full details.

June

Continue lettuce (choose bolt-resistant varieties now), radishes, rocket and spinach. Sow your second batch of French beans. Last chance for spring onions. Last chance for peas (a final sowing in early June gives a September harvest). Your earliest March-sown radishes, lettuce and rocket should be ready to harvest now — the succession is working.

July

The relay planting season begins. As you harvest early potatoes, broad beans and peas, replant those spaces immediately. Sow lettuce (bolt-resistant varieties only — Little Gem, Batavia types), radishes, rocket (in partial shade), spinach (prefers cool, so choose a shaded spot), and the last batch of French beans, carrots and beetroot. This is also a good month to sow fast-growing turnips for an autumn harvest.

August

Last month for most succession sowings. Make final sowings of lettuce, radishes, rocket, spinach and turnips. These will mature through September and October as the weather cools. Sow spring cabbage and winter lettuce for overwintering. Plant out any autumn brassicas (purple sprouting broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts) that you started in modules earlier in the summer.

September

A final sowing of radishes and rocket under cloches or in a cold frame will give you leaves into November. Sow winter spinach and lamb's lettuce (corn salad) — both are extremely cold-hardy and will provide salad through the winter months. This is also the time to sow overwintering onion sets for a head start next spring. Prepare the soil for next year by digging in compost — use our compost calculator to work out how much you need.

October

Most succession sowing has finished, but under cover you can still sow winter lettuce, lamb's lettuce and winter spinach. If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel, these will keep producing leaves through the winter. Outdoors, plant garlic cloves and overwintering broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia) for an early start next year. Clear spent crops and add a thick mulch of compost or well-rotted manure to empty beds.

November

The outdoor growing season is effectively over for succession sowing, but under cover you can still sow winter lettuce varieties and mustard greens for cut-and-come-again salad. Outdoors, focus on soil improvement — spread compost, manure or leaf mould over empty beds and let the worms work it in over winter. Plan next year's succession sowing schedule while everything is fresh in your mind.

December

Time to rest, reflect and plan. Review what worked this year and what did not. Order seed catalogues (or browse online). Work out your sowing intervals and write them into a diary or calendar. If you have a heated greenhouse, you can sow a small batch of lettuce for winter salad, but otherwise December is about preparation, not planting. Use our planting calendar to start mapping out next year's growing plan.

How Often to Re-Sow: Intervals Explained

The sowing interval is the gap between each batch. It depends on two things: how long the crop takes to mature, and how long its harvest window lasts. Fast crops with short harvest windows need frequent re-sowing. Slower crops with longer harvest windows need less frequent batches.

2-week intervals are for the fastest crops: lettuce and radishes. Radishes mature in just four weeks and are past their best within a few days of being ready. If you sow a new batch every fortnight, you always have a flush approaching maturity as the previous one is being picked. Lettuce is similar — once a head matures it will bolt within a week or two, so overlapping batches ensure a constant supply.

3-week intervals suit crops like rocket, spinach and spring onions. These have a slightly longer harvest window than lettuce — you can cut rocket and spinach as baby leaves for several weeks before the plant bolts — so a three-week gap between sowings is enough to maintain continuity.

3 to 4-week intervals work for carrots, beetroot, French beans and peas. These are slower to mature (8 to 14 weeks) and can often be harvested over a longer period. Carrots, for example, can sit in the ground for weeks after reaching maturity without deteriorating, which gives you more flexibility on timing.

4-week intervals are for turnips and other crops where the harvest window is generous and you do not need a new batch quite as often.

A simple rule of thumb: sow the next batch when the previous batch shows its first true leaves. This visual cue works for most crops and takes the guesswork out of interval timing. You do not need a complex spreadsheet — just look at your seedlings and sow the next row.

If you are growing in raised beds, the concentrated soil space makes succession planting even easier to manage. Use our raised bed calculator to make sure you have enough growing medium, and our soil calculator if you need to top up your beds with fresh topsoil.

Succession Planting in Raised Beds and Containers

You do not need an allotment to succession plant. Raised beds and containers are actually ideal for this technique because you can control the soil quality, drainage and spacing more precisely than in open ground.

Raised beds warm up faster in spring than ground-level soil, which means you can start your first succession sowings a week or two earlier. A standard 1.2m × 2.4m raised bed has enough space for four or five rows of lettuce at different stages of maturity, plus a row of radishes and a row of spring onions. As each row is harvested, rake the surface, add a handful of compost, and sow the next batch in the same spot. Use our raised bed soil calculator to work out how much compost you need to fill or top up your beds.

Containers work brilliantly for the fastest succession crops. A 30cm pot can hold a batch of lettuce or radishes. Keep three or four pots on the go at different stages and you will never run out. Spring onions, rocket and spinach also grow well in pots at least 15cm deep. Use multipurpose compost and feed with a liquid fertiliser every two weeks once the plants are established — our fertiliser calculator can help you get the dosage right.

Window boxes and grow bags are another option for small spaces. A single grow bag can hold two rows of radishes, sown a fortnight apart. Window boxes are perfect for cut-and-come-again lettuce and rocket — sow half the box now and the other half in two weeks.

The key to succession planting in small spaces is never leaving soil empty. The moment you pull out a finished crop, the next one goes in. This is where relay planting really shines — spring radishes give way to summer lettuce, which gives way to autumn spinach, all in the same pot.

Common Succession Planting Mistakes

Succession planting is straightforward, but there are five mistakes that catch gardeners out every year. Avoid these and you will get much better results.

1. Sowing Too Much at Once

The whole point of succession planting is to sow little and often. It is tempting to fill an entire bed with lettuce because you have the seeds and the space, but six weeks later you will have 40 lettuces ready at the same time and no way to eat them all. Sow a short row — no more than a metre — every two to three weeks. You will use far fewer seeds and waste far less food.

2. Forgetting to Label Batches

When you have multiple batches of the same crop at different stages, it is easy to lose track of which is which. Label every row or pot with the variety name and sowing date. This seems unnecessary until you are standing in front of three rows of beetroot with no idea which one was sown first. Simple wooden labels and a waterproof pen are all you need.

3. Ignoring Seasonal Limits

Not every crop can be succession sown all year. Lettuce bolts in midsummer heat, so avoid sowing in full sun during July (use bolt-resistant varieties and partial shade instead). Peas dislike hot weather and should not be sown after June. Spinach runs to seed quickly above 20°C. Respect the natural season of each crop and you will get much better results. Check our planting calendar to see the recommended sowing windows for each vegetable.

4. Not Preparing Soil Between Batches

Each batch of vegetables takes nutrients out of the soil. If you sow batch after batch in the same spot without replenishing the ground, your later sowings will be weaker and less productive. Before each new batch, rake the surface, add a thin layer of compost or well-rotted manure, and water well. It takes five minutes and makes an enormous difference. Use our compost calculator to work out how much compost you need for the season.

5. Giving Up After One Failed Batch

Some batches will fail. Seeds get eaten by mice. Slugs decimate a row of lettuce overnight. A late frost kills your first outdoor sowing. This is normal. The beauty of succession planting is that the next batch is already on its way. One failed sowing costs you a few weeks of harvest, not the entire season. Keep sowing, and the law of averages works in your favour.

Combining Succession Planting with Crop Rotation

Succession planting and crop rotation are different techniques, but they work brilliantly together. Crop rotation is about where you plant — moving plant families to different beds each year to prevent soil-borne diseases from building up and to balance nutrient demands. Succession planting is about when you plant — repeated sowings at intervals for a continuous harvest.

In practice, you can succession sow lettuce, radishes and rocket in any bed regardless of rotation, because they are fast-growing, shallow-rooted and not prone to the soil diseases that affect brassicas, legumes or alliums. For crops like carrots and beetroot, stick to your rotation plan and succession sow within the designated root vegetable bed. French beans and peas go in the legume section of your rotation — they fix nitrogen in the soil, which benefits the crops that follow them.

The relay planting aspect of succession planting fits naturally into a rotation scheme. When you lift early potatoes in June, the bed becomes available for a completely different plant family — perfect for autumn brassicas, late-sown beans, or a quick crop of turnips. This keeps the rotation intact while maximising the productive life of every bed. Plan your relay crops at the start of the season so you have transplants ready to go the moment a bed is cleared.

Frequently Asked Questions

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