Why Little and Often Beats One Big Row

Almost every grower has done it: a whole packet of lettuce sown along a full row in April, followed by a fortnight of more salad than the household can possibly eat, then months of nothing but a few bitter, bolted stragglers. The garden gives generously, but it gives all at once. Succession sowing is simply the habit of breaking that glut into small, regular batches so the harvest arrives steadily instead of in a flood.

The principle is straightforward. Every two or three weeks from early spring to late summer, sow a modest pinch of seed — enough for one or two weeks of eating, no more. A half-metre row, a square foot of bed, or six modules on a windowsill is a perfectly sensible batch. Sow more often, sow less each time, and you will pick tender leaves from March right through to the first hard frosts.

What to Sow, and How Much

Loose-leaf lettuce, rocket and radish are the backbone of a succession plan because they are quick, forgiving and happy in small spaces. Lettuce such as 'Salad Bowl' or 'Little Gem' can be cut as baby leaves or left to heart up. Rocket is ready in three to four weeks if you pick it young. Radish goes from seed to plate in as little as four weeks in warm soil.

Once you have the rhythm, add other quick crops to the rotation:

• Spinach, chard and perpetual spinach for cut-and-come-again leaves
• Mizuna, pak choi and mustard greens, which thrive in cooler weather
• Coriander, dill and parsley for kitchen herbs
• Spring onions, sown in short rows and pulled young
• Lamb's lettuce, land cress and winter purslane for the cold months

As a rough guide, six to ten lettuce plants will keep two people in salads for a fortnight. A 30cm row of radish gives you fifteen to twenty roots. A 30cm square of rocket, broadcast thinly, yields a couple of good handfuls.

A Sowing Calendar for the British Season

Our growing season is shorter and cooler than the seed packets sometimes imply, so treat the calendar as a guide and let the weather have the final word.

• Late February to March: start lettuce, rocket and radish in modules on a bright windowsill, in a cold frame or under fleece. The soil is still cold and wet, so direct sowing now is a gamble.
• April to May: direct sow short rows once the soil has warmed. Keep fleece or a cloche handy for late frosts, which can still bite in northern areas into late May.
• June to July: the tricky months. Lettuce bolts in heat and drought, so sow bolt-resistant varieties in partial shade and water diligently. Radish can be troubled by flea beetle; a moist seedbed and a fleece cover help.
• August to September: the most valuable sowings of the year. Choose winter lettuce such as 'Winter Density' or 'Arctic King', plus lamb's lettuce and land cress for overwintering.
• October: a final sowing under cover, in a cold frame or polytunnel, for leaves into early winter.

Small Patches, Odd Gaps and Containers

Succession sowing suits the way most allotments and kitchen gardens actually work, because it fills space rather than demanding it. Scatter rocket or mizuna across a patch and cut it as a living carpet. Sow lettuce in modules and plant them out into gaps left by harvested brassicas, broad beans or early potatoes. Tuck a few radish between rows of carrots, where they break the soil and mark the line.

Containers count too. A deep trough, a bucket or a recycling box on a sunny patio will grow excellent cut-and-come-again leaves provided you water it. Sow direct, keep the compost moist, and never let the pot dry out completely. Store leftover seed in a cool, dark tin and it will keep for several seasons.

Watering, Cutting and Keeping the Supply Flowing

Quick crops are thirsty crops, and stress is what turns lettuce bitter and sends it running to seed. Water little and often rather than in occasional floods, and mulch around plants to hold moisture in the soil.

For cut-and-come-again, let leaves reach 8–10cm, then cut about 2–3cm above the crown with scissors. Most lettuce and rocket will regrow two or three times before quality drops. If you want hearts, thin the plants to 20–25cm apart and water steadily as they size up. Watch for slugs after rain, aphids in the growing tips, and flea beetle shot-holing rocket and radish. A summer shade net draped over a hooped frame can delay bolting by a fortnight or more.

Stretching the Season into Winter and Back to Spring

The most rewarding part of succession sowing is what happens after the main season ends. Sow lamb's lettuce, land cress and winter purslane in late August and September, plant them out by early October, and cover with a cloche or fleece once the cold arrives. They sit almost dormant through the darkest weeks, then produce fresh leaves in March when there is nothing else in the garden.

By then, start the cycle again: a small sowing of lettuce on the windowsill in February, another under the cloche in March, and the first direct rows in April. Keep each batch modest, keep the dates in a notebook, and you will never face a mountain of bolted lettuce again — just a steady, generous trickle of leaves from one end of the year to the other.