Plant Grow Harvest Repeat: Grow a Bounty of Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers by Mastering the Art of Succession Planting

289 Pages·2022·47.623 MB·English

by  Meg McAndrews Cowden

Plant
Grow

Harvest

Repeat
Plant
Grow
Harvest
Repeat
Grow a Bounty of Vegetables,
Fruits, and Flowers by Mastering
the Art of Succession Planting
Meg McAndrews Cowden
Timber Press
Portland, Oregon

Copyright © 2022 by Meg McAndrews Cowden.
All rights reserved.
All photos are by the author.
Published in 2022 by Timber Press, Inc.
The Haseltine Building
133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450
Portland, Oregon 97204-3527
timberpress.com
Printed in China
Cover and interior design by Corinna Scott
Illustrations on pages 79 and 94 by Ashlie Blake
ISBN 978-1-64326-061-7
Catalog records for this book are available from the Library
of Congress and the British Library.
For my grandmother, Anne (1900–1948),
whom I’ve never met but always known,
and her son, my dad (1938–2021),
whose eternal love and support is my
most treasured garden perennial.

Contents
Preface 8
Succession Across the Landscape 11
Mastering Succession 25
Edible Perennials in the Food Garden 55
Vegetable Successions in the Food Garden 85
Flower Power 129
Tending the Soil 145
Seed Starting and Garden Planning 155
Spring Ahead: Hastening the Growing Season 179
Annual Flower Successions in the Food Garden 199
The Art of Interplanting 223
Garden Renewal: Succession Planting in Summer 243
The Fall Garden and Extending the Harvest 263
Glossary 274
Resources 276
Acknowledgments 278
Index 280
PREFACE
My hope and dream in writing this book is to A succession garden translates all facets of succes-
encourage other gardeners to take inspiration sion planting to every layer of the landscape. It is
from nature: to slow down and bear witness to quite the opposite of the plant-it-all-at-once gar-
the intricacies of the plants that surround us; to den, and this may delight or frighten you.
consider what you have not thought possible for Personally, I take heart knowing every single
your growing climate; and to continue to stretch day is a day to begin anew in the garden, and a suc-
yourself, just as your plants do so earnestly, every cession garden is planted over and over again, in
chance they get. little rows, in single transplants, tucking new life
I have a background in natural resources, in as space allows—and sometimes demands. For
and I was trained in college to observe patterns in those who enjoy taking their time, the succession
nature. That stuck with me as I learned gardening, garden is a faithful companion, always by your
fueled by a passion I shared with my husband. The side. And once you have learned what to add and
more we gardened, the more the lessons of ecol- when, it offers endless entry points to the grow-
ogy became apparent, even in our annual vegeta- ing season.
ble garden. For over two decades, growing food has grad-
I acknowledge that the patterns I share here ually evolved from a lightweight hobby to a
and the ideas spurred by those patterns are thanks full-blown lifestyle and full-time job. As with the
to the wisdom and land management practices most influential and instructive life experiences,
of Indigenous peoples across our beautiful conti- its impact on my family grew with each passing
nent. The original environmentalists, their hands season, taking root literally and figuratively. We
shaped the natural systems we know and love, and began our gardening careers pre-internet, rely-
reference, such as old growth forests, native prai- ing extensively on a few key references that set
ries, and oak savannas. the foundation for the organic practices we use
In this book, I often use the term “succession to this day.
garden” to describe how a succession planting These pages, images, and ideas come to you
mindset applies to all aspects of the home garden. from our brisk and bountiful USDA hardiness
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zone 4a garden in Minnesota. Gardening in a cold, My wish is for this book to meet you in your
abbreviated climate necessitates ingenuity, and garden and your life exactly where you are, and
we have grown to delight in the challenges of our that my writing and philosophy help you examine,
short growing season, stretching it out as far as reflect, and celebrate all that’s good, while simulta-
possible in every direction. With the ground fro- neously exploring vast, untapped possibilities for
zen solid for more than one-third of the year, we your garden. I hope through reading this book you
make haste harvesting food fresh from our garden gain an understanding of how every corner of your
for at least eight months, from April through late landscape contributes to the succession of life and
November, sometime before the leeks become sus- productivity; and how minute shifts can impact
pended in time. your land and food garden exponentially for the
With every growing season, we push, extend, better, while also contributing significantly to the
and trial new ways of growing that fuel our joy. larger fragmented ecosystem.
Failure is the most expeditious instructor, and Penning this book in 2020, during the
the garden is no exception. When we succeed, it’s COVID-19 pandemic, has brought to light so many
not as urgent to reflect on why something worked inequities. Now more than ever, every garden
well, but when we fail, it’s a commanding invita- counts. Now more than ever, growing your own
tion to ponder the variables that led to the mishap. food is a seemingly simple yet staunchly revolu-
Being perpetual students of the garden in this way tionary act. I’ve never been more grateful for our
is our deepest joy. I hope you will take some of the food garden, and the food security our land pro-
ideas here and apply them to your gardening sea- vides, than I have this growing season.
son. Knowing what’s possible for my family in our Above all, I hope that you continue to grow and
growing climate, I am confident everyone can feed harvest the deep joy, gratitude, and nourishment
themselves for longer than they realize. If each that gardening can bring, while also tending the
of our gardens stretched the harvest a few weeks seeds that sing to your heart.
each year, imagine how much more food we could
collectively produce.
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