Succession Planting Calculator
Succession planting calculator: instead of sowing everything at once, sow a little every few weeks and harvest all season. Pick your city and crop — the tool works out every sow date, up to the last sowing that will still mature before your first frost.
How do I stagger my plantings? Succession planting means sowing small amounts at regular intervals — every 1 to 3 weeks — instead of all at once, so the harvest spreads out rather than arriving in a single glut. Pick your city and crop below and the tool takes today's date, works out the last sowing that will still mature before your first fall frost (Environment and Climate Change Canada normals), and lists every sow date at your chosen interval up to then, each with its approximate harvest date.
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A printable one-page PDF — seed-starting, transplant, direct-sow and harvest dates for 30+ crops, from your local frost dates.
How succession planting works
Many fast crops — lettuce, radishes, beans, spinach, arugula, beets — all mature at once if you sow them on the same day. Succession planting fixes that: you sow a short row every 1 to 3 weeks, so a fresh picking is ready just as the last one runs out. The tool takes today's date, works out the last sowing that will still mature before your first frost, and spaces the sowings evenly between now and then.
Tender crops like beans stay gated until after your last spring frost; hardy crops like spinach and kale can be sown later because they take a light frost. Because the schedule moves forward each week, check back at each sowing. For the whole-season view, see the full planting calendar or What to Plant Now.
Frequently asked questions
What is succession planting?
It's sowing a crop in several small batches spaced out over time instead of all at once. The result: instead of 20 lettuces ready the same week (half of which bolt before you eat them), you get a few ready every week all summer. It works best for lettuce, radishes, arugula, spinach, bush beans, beets, and baby greens.
How often should I sow?
It depends on how fast the crop is and how much you eat. As a rule of thumb: radishes and arugula every 10–14 days, lettuce and baby greens every 2 weeks, bush beans every 2–3 weeks, beets and carrots every 3 weeks. The tool suggests a recommended interval per crop that you can adjust.
When should I stop succession sowing?
When there aren't enough days left before frost for a new sowing to mature. The tool calculates that cutoff for you from your first frost date and the crop's days-to-maturity — tender crops must finish before frost, while hardy crops can run a little past it because they tolerate a light frost.
Which crops suit succession planting?
Fast crops and ones you pick young: lettuce, radishes, arugula, spinach, baby greens, beets, carrots, turnips, bush beans, dill, and cilantro. Single-harvest, long-season crops (tomatoes, squash, cabbage) don't succession — you plant those once.
Is it too late to start?
Rarely in summer. As long as there are enough days before your first frost for at least one sowing, the tool will show it. Late in the season, focus on fast, hardy crops (arugula, radishes, spinach, lettuce) that finish quickly and take a frost.