Seed Starting, Direct Sowing, Succession Planting: Garden Like a Pro!
When spring arrives, the garden beckons. But what’s the best method to get your garden growing–and keep it productive? Whether you start seeds indoors or directly sow seeds in the garden, continuous succession planting keeps your garden producing delicious vegetables, fruits, herbs, and pretty flowers all season long.
Seed Starting vs. Direct Sowing: Picking the Perfect Path for Your Plants
After a long, gray winter, we’re eager for spring’s sunshine, fresh air, and soil therapy. But what’s the best way to get your garden growing? Should you start seeds indoors under grow lights or direct sow seeds straight into the garden? And how can you keep your garden filled with tasty veggies, herbs, fruit, and fabulous flowers all season long?
Honestly? It depends.
Where you live—whether it’s a cool climate with a short growing season or a mild climate conducive to growing year-round—helps determine if you should jump-start the season by starting seeds indoors or can grow a lush, productive garden by direct sowing. In many cases, it’s a combination of the two. Many gardeners combat the winter blues by starting seeds indoors, enjoying the pleasure of pampering little green beauties while the snow swirls outside. And some plants, like tomatoes and peppers, benefit from an early indoor start and a little extra TLC to ensure they’re strong and healthy for late spring planting. But if you live in a climate where warm temperatures arrive early, offering a long season to grow your favorite foods and flowers, you might skip indoor seed starting for most of your plants and head straight out to the garden.
Our NGB Experts Tell You How
To help you decide how best to grow your garden, we’re sharing some tips and techniques from our expert National Garden Bureau members, as well as recommended varieties to make your garden thrive.
What is Direct Sowing?
Direct sowing is the process of planting seeds directly in the garden—right into the soil. Seems pretty simple, right? Instead of starting seeds indoors and transplanting them into the garden later, direct sowing skips this step, allowing you to plant seeds straight into the garden soil.
Some large seeds, like squash and watermelon, make perfect candidates for direct sowing. The seeds are large enough for kids to handle easily when helping you plant the garden. Larger seeds also make spacing between seeds easier to see, ensuring you provide adequate distance for the seedlings to grow into full-sized plants.
When direct sowing smaller seeds, like lettuce or carrots, pay close attention to ensure adequate spacing, or you’ll need to spend time thinning the seedlings once they appear to allow the plants to flourish. Seedlings growing too closely together can result in weak plants competing for nutrients, may become susceptible to disease due to lack of adequate airflow, or may not develop properly—particularly root crops, like carrots, radishes, and beets, as they need enough room for their roots to fully form.
Space seeds well to avoid extra work.
Some plants, like those with a long taproot, dislike transplanting and should be directly seeded in the garden to avoid transplant shock and root disturbance. Other plants, like tomatoes and peppers, take a while to grow into strong plants and need warm soil temperatures before planting outdoors in the garden. If you live in a climate with a short growing season or eagerly crave early summer tomatoes, you may want to start tomato and pepper seeds indoors.
Before you direct sow or plant indoor-grown seedlings in the garden, test your soil—preferably in the fall.
A soil test not only shows the soil pH, but also tells you the presence and availability of nutrients and microbial activity in the soil. Many university extension agencies provide a detailed report suggesting necessary amendments for what you plan to grow. And we all know, a good garden is the result of great soil!
What is Succession Sowing?
Maybe you love lettuce and need a steady supply for salads. Or perhaps you crave the crisp crunch of carrots with every meal. Or maybe you snack on radishes by the handful. Whatever your favorite garden treat, you’ll enjoy a delicious, ongoing harvest with a little planning—and succession sowing.
Succession sowing involves multiple seed plantings of the same crop throughout one growing season. Instead of sowing 100 lettuce seeds at once, for instance, succession sowing spaces out the plantings every few weeks throughout the growing season. Because most home gardeners can’t consume 100 heads of lettuce when the crop all matures at once, a more practical method of succession sowing—planting 20 seeds, waiting two weeks to plant another 20 seeds, and so on—allows you to harvest and enjoy the first planting, while the successive crops continue to grow.
With a little planning based on your area’s first and last frost dates, succession sowing keeps your garden productive throughout the growing season—and your dinner table full of delicious garden-to-table meals.
Succession Sow with Flowers
Succession sowing isn’t limited to edible crops, however. If you adore creating beautiful bouquets from your garden, succession sowing works well with flowers, too. By staggering the seed plantings of single-stem flowers every two to three weeks, like some zinnias and sunflowers, you’ll keep your vases filled with gorgeous blooms throughout the growing season. Or, if you’re eager to keep your flower beds looking lovely and vibrant throughout the season, succession sowing also works well to keep your landscape and garden beds filled with color.
Should I Succession Sow All Seeds?
Not ALL Crops need Succession Sowing
Some edibles, like peas, cucumbers, and squash, produce continuously throughout the season. However, some crops are “one-and-done”—like radishes, carrots, cauliflower, and heading lettuce. Cut-and-come-again varieties prolong your harvest, but you may want to succession sow some additional seeds of these crops to maintain a steady supply through the season.
Disease and Pests Issues?
And, if you face issues with diseases or pests in your garden, succession sowing seeds in a different area of the garden may help ensure that you’ll enjoy your favorite foods, flowers, and herbs throughout the season. If mildew plagues your cut-and-come-again zinnias, for example, succession sow more zinnia seeds in an area where they’ll receive good light and airflow to extend your flower harvest.
When succession sowing seeds, make sure you’re not waiting for a crop to reach maturity to sow seeds in the same place.
With succession sowing, you want to plant seeds in a different area of the garden, whether it’s extended along the row where you began sowing seeds or in a different garden bed. As seeds mature into plants ready for harvest, the soil becomes depleted of nutrients and needs a boost of compost or fertilizer to recuperate before growing a new crop. Always succession sow seeds in a new space with rich, productive soil. Rotating crops also helps prevent disease and pest issues in the garden.
Try These Tasty Edible Varieties from NGB Members for Direct Sowing and Succession Planting
Heather Kibble with Sakata Seeds shared her favorite edible varieties that perform well with direct sowing and succession planting:
This delicious, spicy arugula sports rounder, less serrated leaves than traditional arugula—but it’s also more heat tolerant than other varieties.
- Direct sow
- Cool season vegetable
- Succession sow every two weeks
With wide leaves and narrow ribs, it’s a great cut-and-come-again variety.
- Direct sow
- Cool season vegetable
- Succession sow for baby leaf use
- In mild climates, consider two plantings in the fall, as collards taste sweeter when kissed by frost
An AAS winner, Hijinks pumpkins grow well in any sunny, well-drained space—but you’ll need a good amount of room, as the vines grow up to 15 feet long. This is your classic pretty, bright orange, jack-o’-lantern-style pumpkin.
- Direct sow
- Warm season crop
An old-fashioned favorite with a delicate taste and texture beloved in modern recipes, you’ll love the quick harvest time—only 25 to 30 days from seed to harvest.
- Direct sow
- Cool season vegetable
- Succession sow weekly
With succession planting, it’s best to remove the entire plant once it’s mature and you’ve harvested the crop.
Removing the plant lessens disease pressure and helps prevent existing pests from traveling to your new crop.
Kristen Noble with Harris Seeds recommends her favorite varieties for direct sowing and succession planting:
Herbs not only taste great in meals, but they also look beautiful in the garden—with many attracting pollinators.
- Direct sow (or start indoors in cooler climates)
- Warm season herb
- Succession sow if used for cut flowers
Summer isn’t summer without the delicious flavor and fragrance of basil.
- Direct sow (or start indoors in cooler climates)
- Warm season herb
- Succession sow throughout summer
Cucumbers produce ample harvests, so succession sowing isn’t necessary.
- Direct sow
- Warm season
- Succession sow if you spot disease or pest issues, sow in an area far away from the original planting
Carrots are the ultimate direct sow and succession sow crop. They dislike root disturbance, so direct sowing in the garden is ideal with multiple succession sowings.
- Direct sow
- Cool season vegetable
- Succession sow
When sowing seeds, consider the seed size to determine how deeply to sow.
Generally, plant small seeds shallowly—about ¼ inch—and cover lightly with soil. Larger seeds, like pumpkins, should be planted deeper, about 1 inch. Always read the information found on the seed packet. You’ll find great tips about how best to grow the specific seed varieties, as some seeds require scarification, stratification, or light to germinate.
Fabulous Flowers for Season-Long Blooms with Direct Sowing and Succession Planting
While succession sowing veggies, fruits, and herbs keeps your kitchen filled with homegrown goodies, a long season of beautiful blooms brightens your garden—and fills your vases.
Consider the flowers you’re growing to determine when to succession plant. Some plants are “one hit wonders”—such as single-stem sunflowers. Succession sow these seeds every two weeks. Medium producers, like snapdragons or larkspur, should be planted every three weeks. “Cut-and-come-again” flowers, such as zinnias and cosmos, should be sown every four weeks. Take a look at this chart to help you determine when to succession plant your seeds. Although it’s geared toward flower farmers, you’ll find good recommendations for your cut flower garden.
Jessica Cudnik with American Takii shares her favorite flowers for direct sowing and succession planting:
An AAS Winner, this gorgeous cool season flower produces brilliant blooms in early spring above the foliage, not hidden beneath it like many nasturtium varieties.
- Direct sow
- Cool season flower
The Summer Series salvias flower vigorously and continuously, even in high heat and humidity. A smaller seed, but it grows beautifully directly sown.
- Direct sow
- Warm season flower
Direct sow sunflowers when the soil warms and continue to succession plant them every 2 to 3 weeks for beautiful flowers all season long.
- Direct sow
- Warm season flower
- Succession sow
A canna is easy to grow from seed! This AAS Winner tolerates heat, humidity, and stays pretty and compact and an excellent choice for containers.
- Direct sow
- Warm season flower
So, are you ready to get growing?
Whether you choose to start seeds indoors, direct sow, or succession sow, you’ll enjoy a beautiful, bountiful garden with great harvests of food and flowers all season long.
Do you know that National Garden Bureau members include the most innovative breeders and distributors of vegetable, fruit, herbs, and flower seeds perfect for home gardens?
If you’re looking to grow a lovely, productive garden filled with your favorite foods and flowers, check out the varieties available from National Garden Bureau members.
About National Garden Bureau
Founded more than 100 years ago, the National Garden Bureau educates, inspires, and motivates people to grow home gardens. National Garden Bureau members are horticultural experts, and the information shared with you comes directly from these experts to ensure your gardening success.
“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau when using all or parts of this article.”
2 Comments. Leave new
I am a Master Gardener volunteer in Georgia. I sometimes struggle with seeds I have harvested and starting them indoors. I have a grow light. But, without a seed packet, I don’t know which seeds need to be stratified and for how long. Can you help me with that? Thank you!
We don’t have a complete list on our website. Just Google the species and your grow zone to determine if it needs to be stratified in any way.