Why soil needs feeding back
Each crop removes nutrients and structure from the soil it grows in. In a bed that carries more than one crop a year, that draw happens faster, so material has to be returned. The most common way to do this in a home garden is to add well-rotted compost or other organic matter, which feeds soil life, improves structure and helps the bed hold moisture without becoming waterlogged.
The principle
Feed the soil, not only the plant. Organic matter added between crops keeps a hard-worked bed productive across a short, intensive season.
Amendments and when to add them
- Compost
- Well-rotted garden or kitchen compost added before sowing and worked lightly into the surface. The most general-purpose amendment.
- Aged manure
- Useful where available, but only when fully composted so it does not scorch roots or carry weed seed.
- Leaf mould
- Decomposed leaves that improve structure and moisture holding more than they add nutrients.
- Mulch
- A surface layer of organic material that moderates soil temperature and slows moisture loss between crops.
Succession planting
Succession planting means following one crop with another in the same space so the bed is rarely empty during the growing weeks. In a short season there are two practical patterns:
- Staggered sowing: sowing a fast crop such as lettuce or radish in small batches a couple of weeks apart, so harvest is spread out rather than arriving all at once.
- Follow-on cropping: replacing an early hardy crop with a second sowing once it is cleared, refreshing the soil with compost in between.
Sow a hardy early crop into amended soil as soon as conditions allow.
Clear the early crop, add compost, and sow or transplant the follow-on crop.
Use the cooling weeks for a final fast or hardy crop before the first hard freeze.
Plan against your own dates
How many successions fit depends entirely on the length of your frost-free window. Check local frost dates through Plant Hardiness of Canada and count backwards from the first autumn frost.
Where to read next
Succession works best in a bed that warms early and in soil chosen crops can tolerate. See building raised beds and selecting frost-resistant vegetables.
Reference: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Plant Hardiness of Canada.