Succession Planting for Continuous Vegetable Harvests 2024 60 mins.pdf
- 1. Succession Planting for Continuous VegetableHarvests ©Pam Dawling 2024 author of Sustainable Market Farming, 2nd Edition and The Year-Round Hoophouse www.sustainablemarketfarming.com
- 2. What’s in thisPresentation • Introductions • Finding space for succession crops • Several approaches to scheduling succession crops • My method - making graphs step by step • Summer crops • Year-round lettuce • Winter hoophouse succession crops • Extra benefits of succession crop scheduling • Other factors in crop scheduling • Resources
- 3. I live andfarm at Twin Oaks Community, in central Virginia. We’re in zone 7a, with an average last frost April 30 and average first frost October 14. Our goal is to feed our intentional community of 100 people with a wide variety of organic produce year round. www.twinoaks.org
- 4. Land Acknowledgement I liveand work on the ancestral and traditional territory of the Monacan Nation, who lived in what is now Louisa County and other parts of Central Virginia before white settlers pushed most of them out in the 1700s. I am making this Land Acknowledgement as a way to counter obliteration of Indigenous history.
- 5. Our Gardens We garden3.5 acres of land, producing vegetables and berries for 100 people all year. We have a mixed garden system: • 60 permanent raised beds, each 4' × 90' (1.2 × 7.4 m), • 10 plots of 9,000–10,600 ft2 (836–985 m2), in three areas of “flat” garden (row crops).
- 6. Twin Oaks Community - Ourgardens
- 7. This Workshop: Avoid Glutsand Shortages Many crops can be planted several times during its season, to provide a continuous supply. Use your land and time to provide seamless harvests of summer crops; year- round lettuce and cold-weather hoophouse greens. Don’t stop too soon! Photos Kathryn Simmons. Cucumber Generally. Lettuce Freckles.
- 8. Examples of SuccessionCrops • Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, kale, kohlrabi, spinach, turnips can be grown in spring and again in the fall in the Southeast. • Beans, edamame, cucumbers, muskmelons, squash, sweet corn can be produced through the frost-free period, if you sow several times. • Lettuce can be grown year-round • Lettuce, spinach, turnips, radishes, scallions, tatsoi and some other Asian greens can be sown in succession in a winter hoophouse
- 9. East Garden 227’ x265’ Plots are 9,275 -10,600 ft2 Finding Spaces for Summer Succession Crops: Measure and Map
- 10. First Fit inyour Major Crops Then use leftover spaces for summer succession crops
- 11. For all thedetails, see my slideshow Crop Rotations for Vegetables and Cover Crops on SlideShare.net Garden 10- Year Crop Rotation Pinwheel
- 12. Our Summer SuccessionCrops After locating the major crops (including sweet corn), following our rotation plan, we look for extra spaces in the plots, to fit in the smaller succession plantings of beans, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, edamame and cantaloupes. Green bean flowers, Photo Kathryn Simmons
- 13. Summer Succession Crops Planning Chart •On the left we list the spare spaces in the plots (in order of availability) • On the right are the crops we hope to plant (in date order).
- 14. Succession Crops Planning Chart ➢Wepencil in arrows, fitting the succession crops into the spaces. ➢At the beginning and end of the season, and in mid- season when space in the main plots is tight, we also look for spaces in our raised beds.
- 15. Veg Finder Example: Squash #3WEST Plot J Plant 6/23 120’ Planted….. Harvesting… Finished….. BEANS CUKES SQUASH CORN CARROTS EDAMAME #1 29W, 29E Plant 4/16 180' dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #1 BED 13W Plant 4/20 90' Planted Harvesting Finished #1 BED 23W Plant 4/20 90' Planted Harvesting Finished #1 EAST Plot G 4x265’ Plant 4/26+4/29 1060' Bod Planted Harvesting Finished #1 BED 9E Plant 2/14 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #1 BED 21W Plant 4/26 90’ Planted Harvesting Finished #2 EAST Plot G Plant 5/14 176’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #2 EAST Plot I Plant 5/24 180’ slice 90' + pickle 90' Planted Harvesting Finished #2 EAST Plot I Plant 5/24 88’ Planted Harvesting Finished #2 EAST Plot G 4x265' Plant 5/21 1060' Bod/KK/SQ Planted Harvesting Finished #2 BED 25E Plant 2/28 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #2 EAST Plot G No-soak Plant 5/18 88’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #3 WEST Plot J Plant 6/7 240’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #3 WEST Plot J Plant 6/23 120’ Planted Harvesting Finished #3 WEST Plot J Plant 6/23 120’ Planted Harvesting Finished #3 WEST Plot A north 4 x 180' 6/6 1080' Sug Pearl /KK/SQ Planted Harvesting Finished #3 BED 12W Plant 3/13 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #3 EAST Plot I Plant 6/7 60’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #4 EAST Plot K Plant 6/29 175' dbl (5x35’) Planted Harvesting Finished #4 CENT Plot D Plant 7/15 240' slice 120' +pickle 120' Planted Harvesting Finished #4 EAST Plot K Plant 7/15 105’ (3x35’) Planted Harvesting Finished #4 WEST Plot A 6 x 180' 6/19 1080' Bod/KK/SQ Planted Harvesting Finished #4 BED 12E Plant 3/27 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #4 CENTRAL Plot D Plant 6/26 60’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #5 25E 22W Plant 7/19 180’ dbl (2x90’) Planted Harvesting Finished #5 BED 15E Plant 8/5 90' slicers Planted Harvesting Finished #5 BED 13E Plant 8/5 90’ Planted Harvesting Finished #5 WEST Plot A 6 x 180' Plant 7/2 1080' Bod/KK/SQ Planted Harvesting Finished #5 BED 19W Plant 4/10 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #5 EAST Plot K Plant 7/14. 70’ (2x35’)dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #6 BEDS 9W, 9E Plant 8/3 180’ dbl Planted Harvesting Finished #6 CENTRAL Plot D 7 x 200' Plant 7/16 1400' Bod/KK/SQ Planted Harvesting Finished #6 BED 17W Plant 5/14 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #8 BED 1 CARROTS#8 BED 30W Only if needed Plant 7/8 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #7 Not this year, perhaps never again #7 BED 27E Only if needed Plant 6/11 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished #8 BED CARROTS #9 Overwinter Raised Beds Plant 7/28 Danvers Planted Harvesting Finished
- 16. Scheduling Succession Crops- 1 ➢ To get harvests starting an equal number of days apart, vary the interval between one sowing date and the next according to the number of days needed to reach maturity under the prevailing conditions. ➢ As temperatures and day-length decrease in the fall, the time to maturity lengthens and you need longer sowing intervals to get evenly spaced harvests. (A day late in fall sowing can lead to a week’s delay in harvesting.) Tatsoi. Photo Ethan Hirsh
- 17. Scheduling Succession Crops- 2 ➢As temperatures and day-length increase after the Winter Solstice, crops mature in fewer days. and to get harvests starting an equal number of days apart, shorten the interval between one sowing date and the next. ➢Keep records and use information from other growers in your area to fine-tune your planting dates. ➢Use our graph-making method for best results Bean bed in June. Photo Pam Dawling
- 18. Several Approaches toSuccession Crop Scheduling – Which Suits You? 1. Rough plan for summer crops: “every two weeks” 2. “No paperwork” methods 3. Sow several varieties with different days to maturity on the same day 4. Plan a sequence of sowings to provide an even supply, using graphs 5. Use Accumulated Growing Degree Days (not covered in this presentation) Squash drawing by Jessie Doyle
- 19. Rough Plan ➢Every 2weeks for beans and corn, ➢Every 3 weeks for squash and cucumbers and edamame ➢Every 4 weeks for carrots ➢2 or 3 plantings of muskmelons (cantaloupes) at least a month apart. PHOTO: Kathryn Simmons.
- 20. “No Paperwork” Methods ➢Sowmore lettuce when the previous sowing germinates ➢Sow another planting of sweet corn when the previous one is 1”–2” 2.5 – 5 cm) tall ➢Sow more beans when the young plants start to straighten up from their hooked stage Lettuce seedlings nudge you to sow more. Photo Pam Dawling
- 21. Use varieties withdifferent days- to-maturity sown on the same day. We do this with broccoli, lettuce, sweet corn. Sow Several Varieties on One Day Photo Small Farm Central
- 22. Determine your FirstSpring Planting Date • Most growers are probably adept at planting as soon as possible in the spring. • Don’t plant too early! • Keeping old cucumber transplants on hold through cold early spring weather is just not worthwhile. • I finally grasped this the year we transplanted our first and second cucumber plantings side by side on the same date one cold spring. • The second ones did better than the first, and were ready just as soon! Spacemaster bush cucumber in the hoophouse Photo: Kathryn Simmons.
- 23. Determine the LastSowing Date for Frost- Tender Crops Count back from the expected first frost date, adding: • the number of days from seeding to harvest, • the average length of the harvest period, • 14 days to allow for the slowing rate of growth in the fall, and • 14 days to allow for an early frost (unless you have rowcover - there is often a spell of warmer weather after the first frosts, and you can effectively push back your first frost date.) Zephyr Summer Squash CREDIT: Kathryn Simmons
- 24. Example: Yellow Squash •number of days from seeding to harvest 50 • average length of the harvest period 21 • 14 days to allow for the slowing rate of growth in the fall 14 • 14 days to allow for an early frost (but we have rowcover) 0 days before the first frost = total of these = 85 last date for sowing, with October 14 first frost date = July 21 But using rowcover to throw over the last planting during cold spells, the growing season is effectively 2 weeks longer, and we sow our last planting of squash on Aug 5. We sow our last beans 8/3, cucumbers 8/5. We sow our last edamame 7/14. We sow our last sweet corn 7/16 Credit Brittany Lewis
- 25. Making a Close-fitPlan Using Graphs • For each sowing of each crop, gather three vital pieces of info: the sowing date, first harvest date and last harvest date (thus the length of the harvest period). See the Veg Finder. • To provide an unbroken regular supply of a particular crop, make a graph of Sowing dates versus Date of first harvest of each sowing. • Keep good records and eliminate sowings that are too early or too late to give a worthwhile harvest.
- 26. Make a Graph- 6 Steps 1. Gather sowing and harvest start and finish dates for each planting of each crop. Even just one year’s data will work. 2. Make a graph for each crop: sowing date along the horizontal (x) axis; harvest start date along the vertical (y) axis. Mark in all your data. Join with a line. Smooth the line. 3. From your first possible sowing date find the first harvest start date. 4. Decide the last worthwhile harvest start date, mark that. 5. Use the harvest end dates to see how long a planting lasts (how often you want a new patch starting). Divide the harvest period into a whole number of equal segments of that length. 6. Mark in the harvest start dates and see the sowing dates that match those harvest dates Next we’ll take one step at a time
- 27. Step 1: Gather Sowing& Harvest Dates Sowing Date Harvest Start 4/18 6/1 4/21 5/19 4/23 5/25 5/14 6/3 5/15 6/21 5/20 7/5 5/25 7/4 5/29 7/7 6/12 7/20 6/15 7/20 6/30 8/2 7/1 8/8 7/2 8/11 7/4 8/8 7/5 8/10 7/14 8/14 7/18 8/17 7/19 8/28 8/3 9/9 8/4 9/5 8/5 9/15 8/7 10/2 8/9 9/25 8/12 10/5 (Summer squash example). For each crop, gather several years’ worth of planting and harvesting start dates in two columns. You can start with just one year of data. More will give a more representative graph.
- 28. 11-May 31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug 8-Sep 28-Sep 18-Oct 1-Apr 21-Apr 11-May31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug Y axis = Harvest Start Date Summer Squash Step 2. Plot a Graph Mark in all your data, and join with a line. This example has only one year of data. Graphs can be made by hand or with a spreadsheet program such as Excel, which calls them charts. X axis = Sowing Date, across the bottom
- 29. With several years ofdata you might get anvery uneven line. Summer Squash Succession Graph with 15 Years of Data
- 30. • The linejoining the points on the graph is often jagged, due to differences in weather from year to year, and to growing varieties with differing maturity dates. • Smooth the jaggedness by drawing a smooth line hitting most of your points, with equal numbers of points above and below it, equally distributed over time. • Practice with a pencil, drawing a line in the air just above the graph. • When you’re fairly confident, draw a smooth line. • With squash the curve is slight, but it’s there, and has a hump in June/July. Smoothing the Graph Line
- 31. Step 3: Markthe First Possible Sowing Date, and the Harvest Start Date for that Sowing ❑Draw a line up from your first possible sowing date on the x axis to the graph line. April 21 ❑Draw a horizontal line from the point on the graph line to the y axis. ❑This is your first harvest date. Ours is around May 19. 11-May 31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug 8-Sep 28-Sep 18-Oct 1-Apr 21-Apr 11-May31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug Y axis = Harvest Start Date X Axis = Sowing Date Summer Squash Graph
- 32. Squash Step 4:Set your Last Worthwhile Harvest Date • Decide your last worthwhile harvest start date • Draw a line across from this date on the y (harvest) axis to the graph line • Draw a line from this point on the graph line down to the x axis to show when to sow. • Our Aug 7 sowing gave an Oct 2 harvest start. Too late! Now we sow Aug 5 and harvest from Sept 24. Sowing 2 days earlier gives a harvest starting 8 days earlier. 11-May 31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug 8-Sep 28-Sep 18-Oct 1-Apr 21-Apr11-May31-May 20-Jun 10-Jul 30-Jul 19-Aug Y axis = Harvest Start Date Summer Squash Graph Oct 2 is too late for us to start harvesting!
- 33. ➢Count the daysfrom first harvest of the first sowing to the first harvest of the last sowing: May 19 – Sept 24 = 128 ➢Use the harvest end dates to see roughly how long a patch of squash lasts (how often you want a new patch coming on line) ➢Divide the harvest period into a whole number of equal intervals of that length. If we want a new squash patch every 32 days, we’ll need 4 equal intervals between plantings (32 x 4 = 128). ➢Four intervals means 5 plantings. (P-I-P-I-P-I-P-I-P) ➢The harvest start dates will be May 19, June 20, July 22, Aug 23 and Sept 24. Squash Step 5: Divide the Harvest Period into a Whole Number of Equal Segments
- 34. ➢ For 5plantings of summer squash, using only one year of data, the sowing dates: April 21, May 17, June 15, July 19, and Aug 5. ➢ Sowing intervals are 26, 29, 34, 21 days – variable and a bit shorter later in the season. ➢ Not sure about this one – maybe squash idles while it’s hot in late June and early July?? ➢ Remember the first squash is transplanted, not direct sown. The interval between the first and second sowing is shorter than it would be if direct sown. ➢ Using 15 years of data, for the same harvest start dates, we can sow April 21, May 17, June 21, July 16 and Aug 5, with planting intervals of 26, 25, 25 and 21 days. Squash Step 6: See the Sowing Dates that Match your Harvest Start Dates
- 35. With several years ofdata you might get anvery uneven line. Summer Squash Succession Graph with 15 Years of Data
- 36. Another Example: SweetCorn • Using our graph of corn sowing and harvest dates (on the next slide) I estimate that April 26, May 19, June 6, June 24, July 7, and July 16 would be good dates for 6 plantings to provide fresh eating every 15 days. • The planting intervals are 23, 18, 18, 13 and 9 days. • The intervals get noticeably shorter as the season goes on.
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- 39. Cucumber Succession Crops SowingDate Harvest Start 0.880152 4622.504 4/23 6/18 4/25 6/3 38832 38900.58 38871 5/9 6/18 5/14 7/3 5/15 6/22 5/27 7/15 #REF! #REF! 6/12 7/29 6/21 8/9 6/25 7/27 6/28 8/1 6/30 7/23 7/2 8/16 7/4 8/15 7/5 8/20 7/7 8/21 7/14 8/28 7/18 9/8 7/19 9/10 8/3 9/21 8/6 9/29 8/11 9/25 8/12 10/5 5/19 5/29 6/8 6/18 6/28 7/8 7/18 7/28 8/7 8/17 8/27 9/6 9/16 9/26 10/6 10/16 4/13 4/23 5/3 5/13 5/23 6/2 6/12 6/22 7/2 7/12 7/22 8/1 8/11 Harvest Start Date Sowing Date Cucumber Succession Crops South Wind cucumber. Credit CommonWealth Seed Growers
- 40. Cucumber graph with15 years’ data CommonWealth Seed Growers Pickling Cucumber
- 41. Bush Beans -several years’ data Not much of a curve here!
- 42. Bush Beans –15 years’ data
- 43. Year-Round Lettuce Part1 We aim to harvest 100-120 heads of transplanted lettuce outdoors from late April to November. The short version is that we sow • twice in January, • twice in February, • every 10 days in March, • every 9 days in April, • every 8 days in May, • every 6-7 days in June and July, For details see Lettuce Year Round on SlideShare.net Photo Kathryn Simmons
- 44. Scheduling for continuouslettuce harvests • To harvest a new planting every week you need to have sowing gaps of more than 7 days in the spring, 6-7 days in the summer, less in fall. • In warm spring weather, baby heads of lettuce or individual leaves can be ready to harvest 4 weeks after transplanting, and full-sized heads 6 weeks after transplanting. • In summer, full size heads can be ready in as little as 3 weeks from transplanting. • In the fall, as temperatures and day-length decrease, the time to maturity lengthens, and a single day's difference in sowing date can lead to almost a week's difference in harvest date. • Lettuce for February harvest will take 2-3 times as long from planting as that for September harvest. • December and January sowings grow very slowly, and early February sowings will almost catch up.
- 45. Year-round Lettuce Part2 • every 5 days in early August • moving to every 3 days in late August, • September sowings will be for growing under protection only. • If you do have coldframes, hoophouses, greenhouses, sow cold-hardy varieties every 2 days until Sept 21, then every 3 days. • Or overwinter lettuce outdoors with hoops and rowcover. Aim to have plants half-grown by the time the very cold weather hits. • Try a few different sowing dates, as the weather isn’t very predictable. For us, Sept 10–18 are the best dates. Cold-hardy (not heat-tolerant) Tango lettuce. Photo Kathryn Simmons
- 46. Hoophouse Lettuce • Wegrow lettuce in our hoophouse to harvest from November to April. (Thus we have two distinct lettuce growing graphs.) • Avoid the need for new sowings at the slow-growing time of year – transplant lettuce in the fall to remain in the hoophouse until spring and simply harvest individual leaves from the plants all winter. • If you want baby lettuce mix reliably every week, use the graph-making method to schedule sowings. Baby lettuce mix in December Photo Pam Dawling
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- 48. Lettuce Logbook –see next slide • Record planned and actual dates of sowing, transplanting, starting and finishing harvest of each planting, for head lettuce from transplants. • These exact dates probably won’t be right for your farm, but you can see the general themes. • Improve the sequence every year and get closer to your goal of a continuous supply. • The gap between one sowing and the next gets smaller as the year progresses; the gap between one transplanting and the next does likewise; • The number of days to reach transplant size dips to 21 days in the summer, then lengthens as the weather cools and the days get shorter.
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- 50. For details, seemy slideshows Fall and Winter Hoophouses and Hoophouse Cool Weather Crops on SlideShare.net Winter Succession Crops in the Hoophouse We plan several successions of winter hoophouse such as salad and cooking greens, and small turnips, as well as radishes. Keep good records and eliminate sowings that are too late to give a harvest – some crops bolt in January (tatsoi, Tokyo bekana and Maruba Santoh); some in February (Yukina savoy, Chinese cabbage, pak choy).
- 51. Hoophouse Succession Planting • 2 sowingsof chard, mizuna, scallions, tatsoi, yukina savoy • 3 sowings of turnips, bulb onions • 4 sowings of lettuce mix • 5 sowings of spinach, radish
- 52. • Brassica SaladMix #1, sow 10/2, harvest 10/29 -12/22 – #2, sow12/18, harvest ?-4/20 – #3, sow 1/27, harvest 4/15 - 5/15 – #4, sow 2/1, harvest 4/15 - 5/26 • Chard #1, transpl 10/15, harvest 12/11-4/9. – #2, sow 10/26, harvest 2/6-5/1 • Lettuce Mix #1, sow 10/24, harvest 12/11- 2/21. – #2, sow 12/31, harvest 2/21 - 4/15 – #3, sow 2/1, harvest 3/18 - 4/20 (3 cuts if we’re lucky) – #4, sow 2/15, harvest 3/25? - 5/15 (in case outdoor lettuce is late) • Leaf Lettuce: Succession planting is practical only until October. From November to March, harvest leaves from the same mature plants. • Mizuna (& other frilly mustards) #1, transplant 10/20, harvest 11/27-3/7 – #2, sown 11/10, harvest 2/26-3/20, – #3 sown 2/1, harvest 3/24-4/23 • Onions (bulbing for transplanting outdoors March 1) #1, sown 11/10. – #2, sown 11/22. #3, sown 12/6 as back- up. • Radishes #1, sow 9/6, harvest 10/5-11/15 – #2, sow 10/1, harvest 11/6-12/25 – #3, sow 10/30, harvest 12/16- 2/7 – #4 sow 11/29, harvest 1/16-2/25 – #5, sow 12/23, harvest 2/19-3/16 Our Winter Hoophouse Succession Crops
- 53. More Winter HoophouseSuccession Crops • Scallions #1, sown 9/6, harvest 11/8-2/4. #2, sown 11/13, following radish #1, harvest 3/19-5/15. • Spinach #1, sown as sprouted seeds 9/6, harvest 10/30-2/15. • #2, sown 10/24, harvest 11/25-5/5. • #3, sown 11/10 as gap-filler. Harvest to 5/1 • #4, sown12/27. • #5, sown 1/17, as gap filler. All the later sowings are harvested until 5/7. • #6, sown 1/24, primarily to transplant outdoors. • Tatsoi #1, sown 9/7, harvest 10/30-1/9. • #2, sown 10/25-11/15, harvest 2/12-2/28. • Turnips #1, sown 10/15, harvest 12/4-2/20 (Turnip greens are a secondary crop ) • #2, sown 11/10, harvest 2/25-3/15 (thinnings 1/11). • #3, sown 12/10, harvest until 3/20. This sowing must be thinned promptly & eaten small. • Yukina Savoy #1, transplanted 10/10, harvest 12/5-1/25. • #2, sown 10/24, harvest 1/8 - 2/1 (only one week extra) Winter Bloomsdale Spinach. Credit Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
- 54. Extra Benefits ofSuccession Planting: Avoid Chancy Sowings: Sweet Corn • We used to make 7 sweet corn plantings: April 26, May 17, June 2, June 16, June 30, July 14 and July 28. The intervals were 21, 15, and then 14 days. • For the 6th and 7th plantings we sowed only our fastest- maturing variety. • We eliminated the late (and sometimes unproductive) 7th planting and increased the size of the 6th, sowing our usual range of 3 varieties. Silver Queen Sweet Corn. Photo Kathryn Simmons
- 55. Extra Benefits ofSuccession Planting: Avoid Chancy Sowings: Squash • Before we made graphs, we used to sow squash on Aug 7. This gave us an Oct 2 harvest start. Too late! Now we sow Aug 5 and harvest from Sept 24. An example of a 2 day delay in sowing in late summer leading to an 8 day delay in harvest!
- 56. Extra Benefits fromPlanned Succession Planting: Save Space and Work • We used to do 6 plantings of cucumbers. • The intervals between sowings were 50, 30, 20, 16, and 17 days. • By using the graphs, we have been able to go down to 5 plantings, at intervals of 52, 25, 25 and 20 days. The sowing intervals decrease as the season warms up, as it takes fewer days for plants to mature. The first planting uses transplants and is very slow to mature — probably we could just start later still and lose nothing. • When we moved the 2nd planting 10 days later than it used to be, we were able to direct sow rather than transplant, and saved time. • No more dumping cucumbers on our neighbors’ porches!
- 57. Other Factors Affecting PlantingFrequency: Mexican Bean Beetles • Mexican bean beetles used to destroy our beans. • We needed 7 plantings at 15-day intervals. • After 2 weeks of harvesting a planting, we did “Root Checks.” • Now we buy the parasitic pedio wasp, and sow 6 times, not 7. • These sowing intervals are 28, 28, 22, 20 and 15 days. • We also get more beans than previously, and they’re prettier. • Bean photo credit Kathryn Simmons Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org
- 58. Bean Beetle Parasite (Pediobiusfoveolatus) • These tiny wasps do not overwinter, so buy them each year unless you don’t get enough MBB to worry about. • Wasps are shipped to you as adults or as parasitized Mexican bean beetle larvae, called mummies. The adults emerge from the mummies, and the females lay eggs in your MBB larvae. • Timing is critical: order as soon as you see larvae. • Release 20 mummies = 400-500 wasps for every 1000 sq. ft. of beans (40 units/acre). 2024 prices $100/1000 adults, $50/20 mummies. Plus UPS Next Day Saver shipping. • NJ Department of Agriculture Beneficial Insect Rearing Laboratory. See https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/beneficialinsect.html https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/buglab/for-purchase/ Phone (609) 530-4192.
- 59. Factors in Succession Planting: Keepit Simple • Cucumbers also take a little longer to mature than squash. • These two features would suggest making more plantings of cucumbers than of squash, • BUT. . . after looking at the graphs, we decided to plant both on the same set of dates, for simplicity. • If it worked to have a new patch coming on-stream every 36 days, we could sow only four times. • Our squash plantings stay productive for 40 days, but cucumbers sometimes only last 35 days.
- 60. Spring and FallCrops • Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, kale, kohlrabi, spinach, turnips can be grown in spring and again in the fall in the Southeast. • Example: Carrots We start sowing carrots mid–late February • We sow every 4 weeks in March, April, May • If needed, we sow once each in June and July, but we hope not to need to. • We make a huge fall planting in early August. • We don’t do succession plantings for fall carrots, just one big one, because we are growing bulk carrots to store for use all winter and don’t need multiple harvest dates. With fall crops, even a difference of 2 days in sowing dates can make a difference of 2-3 weeks in harvest date, because plants grow slower as days get shorter and cooler.
- 61. Resources (updated Oct20, 2024) 1 ❑ ATTRA Market Gardening: A Start-up Guide: https://attra.ncat.org/publication/market- gardening-a-start-up-guide/ ❑ ATTRA Scheduling Vegetable Plantings for Continuous Harvest: https://attra.ncat.org/publication/scheduling-vegetable-plantings-for-continuous-harvest/ ❑ ATTRA Intercropping Principles and Production Practices (mostly field crops, but the same principles apply to vegetable crops): https://attra.ncat.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/05/intercrop.pdf ❑ ATTRA Season Extension Techniques for Market Farmers: https://attra.ncat.org/wp- content/uploads/2022/10/seasonext.pdf ❑ SARE at https://www.sare.org/ A searchable database of research findings ❑ SARE High Tunnels and Other Season Extension Techniques: https://www.sare.org/resources/high-tunnels-and-other-season-extension-techniques/ ❑ eOrganic: https://eorganic.info/ Publications, webinars, videos, trainings and support. An expanding, accessible source of reliable information. ❑ Jean-Paul Courtens, Roxbury Farm https://www.roxburyfarm.com/roxbury-agriculture- institute-at-philia-farm
- 62. Resources 2 ❑ https://weatherspark.com/Weather records for your area. Fun! ❑ Soil temperatures at your location www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature ❑ Fall and Winter Gardening Quick Reference, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, https://www.southernexposure.com/fall-winter-quick-reference/ ❑ Growing Small Farms: https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/ Debbie Roos keeps this site up to the minute. Click on Farmer Resources ❑ Johnnys seeds Winter growing guide https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers- library/methods-tools-supplies/winter-growing-season-extension/winter-growing-guide-high- tunnel-scheduling.html ❑ www.HighTunnels.org Information for Growers section. ❑ Growing for Market magazine https://www.growingformarket.com ❑ Using shadecloth to exclude pests. Ayanava Majumdar and Will Mastin, High Tunnel Pest Exclusion System: A Novel Strategy for Organic Crop Production in the South, Alabama Cooperative Extension, 2015: https://www.aces.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/HTPE- System.pdf
- 63. Resources 3 -books ❑The Market Gardener, Jean-Martin Fortier, New Society Publishers ❑The Winter Market Gardener, Jean-Martin Fortier and Catherine Sylvestre, New Society Publishers ❑Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers, Daniel Brisebois and Frédéric Thériault (Canadian Organic Growers www.cog.ca) ❑The Lean Farm, How to Minimize Waste, Increase Efficiency, and Maximize Value and Profits with Less Work and The Lean Farm Guide, Ben Hartman ❑The Bio-Integrated Farm, Shawn Jadrnicek. ❑The Urban Farmer, Curtis Stone, New Society Publishers ❑Grow More Food, Colin McCrate and Brad Halm, Storey ❑The Complete Know and Grow Vegetables, J. K. A. Bleasdale, P. J. Salter et al. Buy used. ❑Knott’s Handbook for Vegetable Growers, Donald N. Maynard and George J. Hochmuth. The 2006 edition is free online from Wiley Online Library:
- 64. Resources 4 –more books ❑The New Seed Starter’s Handbook, Nancy Bubel with Jean NIck, 2018, Rodale. ❑The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook, Richard Wiswall, Chelsea Green ❑Sustainable Vegetable Production from Start-up to Market, Vern Grubinger ❑The New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman, 1995, Chelsea Green ❑The Winter Harvest Handbook, Eliot Coleman ❑Extending the Season: Six Strategies for Improving Cash Flow Year-Round on the Market Farm, a free e-book download for online subscribers to Growing for Market magazine ❑The Hoophouse Handbook, 2nd edition, Lynn Byczynski ❑Nature and Properties of Soils, fourteenth edition, Nyle Brady and Ray Weil ❑Garden Insects of North America, Whitney Cranshaw ❑Manage Weeds on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological Strategies, Charles Mohler et al
- 65. ➢Average the maximumand minimum temperatures for the 24 hour period, and subtract the base temperature. Add each day’s figure to the total for the year to date. This is the GDD figure. ➢Wikipedia has a good explanation at www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growing- degree_day ➢Apple has a free app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gdu- calculator/id850528308 ➢Using GDDs to schedule sweet corn plantings https://sites.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=17630 ➢Using Heat Units to Schedule Vegetable Plantings, Predict Harvest Dates and Manage Crops https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu ➢You can find growing degree days calculated for nearby weather stations at many weather forecasting websites. Resources – Growing Degree Days
- 66. Resources – Someof My Slideshows. www.slideshare.net/ Search for Pam Dawling ❑Alliums Year-Round ❑Cold-Hardy Winter Vegetables ❑Crop Planning for Sustainable Vegetable Production ❑Crop Rotations for Vegetables and Cover Crops ❑Fall and Winter Hoophouses (and more hoophouse shows) ❑Fall Vegetable Production ❑Growing Great Garlic ❑Growing Sweet Potatoes from Start to Finish ❑Lettuce Year-Round ❑Producing Asian Greens ❑Season Extension ❑Succession Planting for Continuous Vegetable Harvests ❑Year-Round Vegetable Production
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- 69. Succession Planting for Continuous VegetableHarvests ©Pam Dawling 2024 author of Sustainable Market Farming, 2nd Edition and The Year-Round Hoophouse www.sustainablemarketfarming.com