I do a small (96 sf) square foot garden each year. I find myself in a bit of a rut and am hoping for some fresh ideas. I typically plant tomatoes, bush beans, lettuce, radishes, chard, beets, peppers, peas and a few other things. Seems every year I get growing great with the early things but as they fade I find myself with bare spots that could be more productive.

Any tips on what I could be following up with when the lettuce, radishes, peas etc. are gone? Later plantings of hot weather loving things?

Of course it depends what you like to eat! How about kale? It tastes best after a frost, so late is good (although I grow it early and put young leaves in salads).

For bare spots, I always think that bush beans are good, as I usually get a harvest, and they add nutrients to the soil.

Garlic needs to be planted in October, but takes up valuable real estate until late July.

I tried planting some late peas this year, but discovered that we have a resident wild rabbit who ate the lot .

Linda

Depending on whether you have a use for a lot of green beans, planting some every few weeks would keep you in beans for quite awhile. And I have planted some bush beans in late July. I have filled in spots with zucchini before too. Your growing season should be similar to mine in Southern Colorado.

Purple hull and other cowpeas, creamers, crowders peas love heat, enrich the soil and take about 60 days for some types. Some are more bushy, others more like a short vine. Jambalaya Okra is 50 days from seed on a compact heat loving plant. Some of the cucumbers are compact, 55-60 days and pretty heat tolerant.

Don’t know how much season you have remaining after the cooler weather stuff comes out.

The only succession planting I do is to put in beans/beets/broccoli/spinach right after I harvest my alliums (garlic/onions). I need to do better in this area.

I like to follow early spring salad things with carrots or beets for fall harvest. Swiss chard, broccoli, cucumbers, winter squash or zucchini work too. Or harvest out some gaps among the early things to tuck the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants in right there and suddenly there's more space for something else entirely.

Cabbage and cauliflower follow peas nicely. My climate is mild though, so the pole peas don't finish until the end of July and this timing is just right for fall harvest.

After the Spring vegetables are done I grow okra, lacinato (dinosaur) kale, cowpeas, basil, Armenian cucumbers, and eggplant for the most part. By July the tomatoes are done.

Thanks everyone, this is helpful. Based on what we like, I think bush beans sound like a great plan for us. I've kinda been stuck in the mode of planting them all at once early, but I can see how they'd fit in nicely with later plantings. Chard, carrots and beets too.

When is first frost for you?
I don't get first frost until around thanksgiving... so my summer crops might not do as well for you, but... typically, I plant successive corn and climbing bean crops, plus... winter squash and watermelons, and sweet potatoes.

In Kansas, I'd be thinking sunflowers...
I always plant plenty for the pollinators and songbirds...

My chard, carrots and beets are autumnal plantings... Are you sure that you wouldn't like to try a nice bean tepee?

stone wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:55 am When is first frost for you?
I don't get first frost until around thanksgiving... so my summer crops might not do as well for you, but... typically, I plant successive corn and climbing bean crops, plus... winter squash and watermelons, and sweet potatoes.

In Kansas, I'd be thinking sunflowers...
I always plant plenty for the pollinators and songbirds...

My chard, carrots and beets are autumnal plantings... Are you sure that you wouldn't like to try a nice bean tepee?

First frost is 10/15 here. Since I'm on such a small scale, I need to keep things pretty compact. I do like the beans idea. Thanks

We're a bit colder than pondgardener, being north of him. This year I'm going to try adding another round of broccoli after garlic harvest, along with bush beans, maybe more lettuce or spinach.

Thanks for the summer squash idea. Not sure how much room I have to dedicate to it, but I can try.