On this page: Succession planting chart · Last fall sowing date · Worked example · Containers and small beds · Where sources differ
Which crops gain the most
UNH Extension's planting fact sheet marks bean, lettuce, basil, broccoli and corn as crops with "a relatively short harvest season" that can be prolonged by "multiple smaller 'sequence' plantings." UMaine Extension makes the same split another way: crops that are harvested once and finished, such as radishes and head lettuce, benefit from more frequent plantings, while crops that keep producing, such as kale, peas, summer squash and tomatoes, can be planted less often.
Succession planting chart: re-sow intervals
Each figure is given as its source states it. Calendar windows (Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina) fit those states; Montana State's windows are counted in weeks from frost dates, so they travel to any garden once you know your frost dates.
| Crop | Re-sow every | Spring sowings | Fall sowings | Days to maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaf lettuce | 7–10 days (Cornell CCE, Nassau County); 2 weeks, up to the last planting date (Montana State); weekly, 1 ft of row per person (MU) | From 4 weeks before the last frost (Montana State); mid-March to mid-May in Missouri (MU); switch to warm-weather varieties for summer (Montana State) | Until 6 weeks before the first frost (Montana State); early August to early September in Iowa (Iowa State); mid-August to early September for loose leaf and Bibb (Cornell CCE); throughout August in Missouri (MU) | 40–60 direct-seeded, 25–35 from transplants (Montana State); 50 (Michigan State); 45–60 (Iowa State); 41–50 for loose leaf (Cornell CCE) |
| Head lettuce (romaine, crisphead, butterhead) | Weekly, 1 ft of row per person (MU) | March and April in Missouri, spring only (MU) | Romaine and crisphead again in late July (Cornell CCE) | Romaine about 70–85, crisphead 80–95, butterhead 55–80 (Cornell CCE); head lettuce 60–85 (UNH) |
| Radish (spring types) | 5 days (UMD); 10 days until warm weather arrives, then every 10 days again for fall (Montana State) | 6 weeks before the last frost (Montana State); 2–4 weeks before the last frost (UNH) | Until 7 weeks before the first frost (Montana State); mid-August to mid-September in Iowa (Iowa State) | 25–35 (UMD); 20–49 (Montana State); 30 (Michigan State); 25–30 (UNH); 25–40 (Iowa State) |
| Bush snap beans | Weekly, up to the last planting date (Montana State); 10–14 days (Clemson); weekly, 2 ft of row per person (MU) | After the last frost (UNH); from 1 week before the last frost (Montana State); April and May in Missouri (MU) | Until 12 weeks before the first frost (Montana State); mid-July at the latest in Iowa (Iowa State); a second crop in mid-July in Michigan (Michigan State); late July through August in Missouri (MU); July 20 to August 1 in the Piedmont and August 1 to September 1 in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina (Clemson) | 52–70 (Montana State); about 60 (Michigan State); 50–70 (Iowa State); 45–65 (UMN); about 55 (Clemson) |
Days to maturity are counted from germination, not from the day the seed goes in (UNH, Michigan State), and Michigan State notes that warm weather shortens the time to harvest while cool weather lengthens it.
How to find the last fall sowing date
Michigan State Extension's rule is short: find when the first frost generally occurs, then "start with that date and count backward." Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) spells out what to count:
- Days from seeding or transplanting outdoors to harvest (the variety's days to maturity)
- + days from seed to transplant, if you raise your own transplants
- + the average harvest period
- + a fall factor of about two weeks
- + a frost-tender factor of two weeks, only for crops that frost damages
- = the number of days to count back from the average first frost
The fall factor "takes into account the slow growth that results from cool weather and short days in the fall" (VCE); presprouting seeds can trim it by 2 to 5 days. The frost-tender factor applies to crops such as beans, which VCE says "must mature two weeks before frost in order to produce a reasonable harvest." Iowa State gives a simpler version of the same idea: use early-maturing cultivars, count back their days to maturity, and "add a couple of weeks" before the typical first frost to allow for harvest. VCE and UNH both advise choosing the earliest-maturing varieties for late plantings.
Lettuce and radishes need no frost-tender factor: Montana State rates both as hardy, UMN says leaf lettuce survives light frost and radishes can be dug until the soil freezes. Bush beans are killed by even a light frost (UMN).
Worked example: the last bush bean sowing
| Input | Value | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Average first fall frost | October 1 | Example input; use your own date from frost dates explained |
| Days to maturity | 60 days | Michigan State's "about 60 days" for green bush beans |
| Seed to transplant | 0 days | Beans are direct-seeded (Montana State) |
| Harvest period | 14 days | Iowa State's "a couple of weeks" for harvest |
| Fall factor | 14 days | VCE, "about two weeks" |
| Frost-tender factor | 14 days | VCE, two weeks for frost-sensitive crops |
| Total to count back | 102 days | 60 + 0 + 14 + 14 + 14 |
102 days before October 1 is June 21, the last sowing. A 50-day variety, the low end of Iowa State's 50–70 range, gives 92 days and a cut-off of July 1. Montana State's simpler rule of thumb, beans until 12 weeks (84 days) before the first frost, gives July 9, and Iowa State, where the first frost falls between September 30 and October 15, puts the latest bean planting in mid-July. The full VCE count is the cautious end of that range: it reserves a two-week picking window and a two-week frost buffer.
Working forward to that date: with Clemson's 14-day interval, the earlier sowings fall on June 7, May 24 and May 10. With an example average last spring frost of May 1, all four come after the last frost, as UNH advises for beans. For the same October 1 frost, Montana State's fall cut-offs put the last radish sowing on August 13 (7 weeks before) and the last lettuce sowing on August 20 (6 weeks before).
- 1. Average last spring frost, May 1 (example input)
- 2. Bush bean sowings every 14 days: May 10, May 24, June 7 and June 21 (Clemson interval); each bar is 60 days to maturity (Michigan State)
- 3. Last sowing date: June 21, 102 days before the first frost
- 4. 60 days to maturity (Michigan State)
- 5. 14-day fall factor for cool weather and short days (VCE)
- 6. 14-day harvest period (Iowa State, “a couple of weeks”)
- 7. 14-day frost-tender factor for beans (VCE)
- 8. Average first fall frost, October 1 (example input)
Succession sowing in containers and small beds
UVM Extension notes that succession planting "can be done in any sized space, such as containers, raised beds or in-ground gardens." Missouri's batch sizes show how small each sowing can be: 1 ft of row per person each week for leaf lettuce and 2 ft for bush beans (MU). In a bed, that is a short row or a few square feet per sowing; in containers, one pot per sowing date.
- Pot sizes (Montana State): lettuce 8 inches wide and 8 inches deep; radishes 4 to 6 inches deep; snap beans 12 inches, 8 to 10 inches deep. More crops are on container sizes for vegetables.
- Container varieties (Montana State): round and white-tipped radishes such as Cherry Belle, Early Scarlet Globe, French Breakfast and Sparkler, and no winter radishes; any lettuce variety, with partial shade; bush snap beans such as Bush Romano, Contender, Provider and Tendercrop Stringless.
- Change varieties with the season. UVM suggests cool-season lettuce for spring and fall and heat-tolerant varieties for summer.
- Follow one crop with another. Succession can also mean a different crop in the same space. UMD's sample sequences include lettuce (March 20), then green beans (May 15), then broccoli (August 1), and radish (March 1), then Asian greens (April 15), then eggplant (June 1), then rye (September 15). From late August, UMD suggests sowing the same crops you direct-seeded in early spring.
Where sources differ
| Point | Figures given |
|---|---|
| Radish interval | 5 days (UMD) vs 10 days (Montana State) |
| Leaf lettuce interval | 7–10 days (Cornell CCE) vs weekly (MU) vs 2 weeks (Montana State) |
| Bush bean interval | Weekly (Montana State, MU) vs 10–14 days (Clemson) |
| Extra days in fall | Count back days to maturity only (Michigan State) vs add "a couple of weeks" for harvest (Iowa State) vs harvest period + fall factor + frost-tender factor (VCE) |
| Where the count starts | VCE counts from seeding or transplanting; UNH and Michigan State say days to maturity start at germination, so the days seed takes to come up go on top |
For spring dates and fall cut-offs of 25 crops at once, use the planting calendar; for crops started indoors, the seed starting calculator counts back to the sowing date.
Sources
- Montana State University Extension — Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules (MontGuide)
- Michigan State University Extension — Fall Vegetable Crops for Your Garden (Bulletin E3172, Gretchen Voyle, May 2012, PDF)
- University of New Hampshire Extension — Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden (fact sheet)
- University of New Hampshire Extension — Fall Vegetable Gardening (Yard and Garden Infoline, 2020)
- University of Maryland Extension — Growing Radishes in a Home Garden (updated 2026)
- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County — Lettuce (fact sheet B-1-18, reviewed 2003)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center — Bush & Pole-Type Snap Beans (HGIC 1302, updated 2023)
- University of Missouri Extension — Harvest all season long with succession sowing (March 2025)
- Iowa State University Extension Yard and Garden — Fall Planting of Vegetables (Steil and Hilgers, reviewed 2024)
- University of Minnesota Extension — Planting vegetables in midsummer for fall harvest
- University of Vermont Extension — Succession Planting in the Vegetable Garden (Bonnie Kirn Donahue, 2021)
- University of Maryland Extension — Planting Vegetables in Succession
- University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Cumberland County — Succession Planting (Jason Lilley)
- Virginia Cooperative Extension — Planting for a Fall Harvest (426-334, Diane Relf, reviewed by Alan McDaniel, 2009)
All sources were opened and checked in October 2026. Rules and figures change; confirm with the original before acting.
More in Planting times & zones
- USDA hardiness zones
Section overview: every page in this section.
- Planting calendar by frost date
Enter two frost dates; get sow, transplant and fall cut-off dates for 25 crops.
- Frost dates: where to find them, how to read them
Where the numbers come from and what "average" means.
- Seed starting calculator: count back from transplant day
Enter a transplant or last frost date; get sow-indoors dates, germination windows and hardening-off dates for 19 crops.
- Seed starting indoors: timing, lights and hardening off
Weeks before last frost by crop, containers and mix, warmth and lights, feeding, hardening off and damping-off prevention.
- USDA zone 5
Average winter low −20 to −10°F; frost dates and season lengths for six zone 5 cities.