multiple season sowing?

Just to clarify, this isn't successive planting. Since growing season here is so short (starts in April/May ends in Sept.-Nov. depending on weather) I'd like to plant early, mid, and late season varieties of veggies all at the same time to extend harvest.
Early maturing stuff would be cold tolerant, as well as germinate better in cool soils. Mid and late season stuff would be tolerant to hot temps.

It would be two varieties for veggies that take longer to mature, early and late season. For stuff that matures more quickly, three types...early, mid, and late season. When I refer to how many types, it's all the same veggie, referring to maturity time when I say different types....not two different veggies.

Stuff I'd like to use this method for is cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, beans, lettuce, and possibly root veggies.

I don't understand whether or not you're trying to ask a question, or just make a statement?

We all try different ways to get the longest harvests from our spaces. If this works, good on.

No, I wasn't just making a statement. I was just explaining why I want to do it, and if I were going to, how I'd go about doing so.

I don't know if sowing multiseason season veggies at the same will work. That's why I'm asking advice. Have limited area, even with SFG, want to use it carefully.

I've never done successsive plantings; this isn't the same , it is similar.

I think your idea will work to a degree. If one plant matures in 90 days and another in 120, but you plant on the same day....you've effectively staggered your harvest. Nothing wrong with that.

However, nature always ruins the best laid plans. And, for example, carrots....they never mature according to the package. The days to harvest on a pack of seeds is always a guesstimate because they ship nationally and can't account for every climate.

If you want maxx value for a square...all season long....look into Swiss Chard. That stuff is tough. And, it grows and grows. I don't like the flavor, personally, but if you do, it would be a mainstay in your garden from the sounds of it.

Well I did have questions about root veggies. I know carrots take awhile, both germinating and growing. However I'm wondering if it's possible to grow early, mid-season and late season varieties.

I'm wondering if you could grow them in early spring (for me, mid-late April, weather cooperating) or would it be too cold? I have the same questions about other root veggies as well (excluding stuff that takes ages.......rutabaga, parsnip).

I'm also thinking of doing multiple season crops with stuff like melons, cukes, and summer and winter squash. However I"m wondering if this is even necessary since they're all so prolific (provided you get adequate pollination).

I've also been tempted to do so with okra. People say it's an all-season crop, but I've found a variety I could pair with an early maturing variety, called silver queen, which takes about 80 days to mature.

Here in the UK we have an average time to plant that corresponds with a 100 mile wide band across the country from Cambridge to North Wales .. a bit like your zones .
Some of the better the seedsmen say for sowing times allow 1 to 1 & 1/4 days extra for each 100 miles north you go and take off 1 1/4 days for each 100 miles you go South .

Cropping times also usually alter but again the seedsmen might have data for you if you ask


Perhaps you could write , email or phone the seed suppliers for this sort of advice

I know only too well how the colder climes affect things , you might consider adapting to the conditions perhaps by using this little idea .

You can speed up things by germinating seed in something like KY gel personal lubricant which is available from chemists, it is sterile and is non toxic .
Or make your own from any of the commonly available powdered seaweed food / jelly thickener proteins .

Simply drop a few seeds into a teaspsoon of made up solution ( or more depending on what you're wanting to do ) into a corner of clear thin plastic bag , losely tie the bag with some air in it and let the seed germinate in a warm dark cupboard for a few days & grow a small shoot about four times the length of the seed .

Then in a pre prepared area sow a sprouted seed in a bit of the gel by snippng off a small corrner of the plastic bag and gently squeezing the right amount of sprouted seed and jelly out the bag into the indentation where you want the seed to grow . Now lightly cover the seed with the growth medium .
You can use the back of a small spoon in a larger spoon of seed and gel to separate a bunch of the sprouted seed into individual plants seeds , don't actually touch the seedlings with your hands as I found it frequently kills them .
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I found if I lined up the sprouted seeds in the plastic bag by gently manipulating them into a line along the bottom fold so when you squeeze the sprouted seed and jelly out you can get individual sprouted seeds one a time in the right place .

It didnt work very well with a large bore hypodermic syrynge unless I was planning for a line of sprouted seeds.

You can save weeks at a time doing this out of the ground method for all sorts of veg or flowers especially carrots or small seed beds of transplantable brassicas etc.

Not only does the seedling grow well the jelly carries water and absorbs water for the new plant till the stuff breaks down naturally .

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If I understand your question correctly, you're looking for varieties which would naturally provide the staggered harvest since they would take longer to mature. Sometimes the additional time allows the sugars to collect giving a more flavorful product. One example comes quickly to mind, late season types of corn seems more sweet to me than early corn.

Again, the variety of seed you're using, health of the plant and planting conditions (sun, temp, water, nutrient, pest loads) will have more to do with the final product than anything else... that said however, from my experience...

Lettuce (leaf)... Black Seeded Simpson is a dependable early season lettuce maturing at least 1 - 2 weeks before my other favorite varieties of Grand Rapids (American Seed) and Vivian. The last Leaf lettuce I plant is Summer Sensation which is very heat tolerant here in Michigan, easily handling our summer weather, and if harvested regularly and watered well doesn't turn bitter. Summer Sensation isn't as tender as Grand Rapids, but when the temps have warmed up too much for the others, it shrugs it off and keeps on producing just fine.


Carrots-Short and Sweet is my go-to variety. Earlier than other carrots, is meant to harvest "stubby" and doesn't get all woody, all this with great sweet carrot flavor. Red Chantanay works well here too, though it matures 3 weeks later.

Snow peas have matured faster than the sugar snap peas, for me.

Early Girl is a good dependable early season variety, but there are a great many tomatoes varieties out there. Heirloom to the newest hybrids there are a range of harvest dates to be had.

I haven't done a lot of root type vegetables over the years, although I am finally changing that... last year I had a quite successful harvest of potatoes with 5lbs of seed potatoes - we ended up with nearly 20lbs of the best tasting taters I've ever had. It was a test to see how they'd grow in my yard (TALL!) and so this year I plan to devote a much larger area to them. I'm also going to give rutabaga's a try, as well as maybe another shot at radishes and onions (these last two always seem to go too hot before they mature).

Well, there's a couple of ideas anyway from someone whose weather is somewhat similar to yours.

Mark

janezee wrote:

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Hah! Creativity is a wonderful thing !