Finally! The weather seems to have cooperated all across the U.S. and gardens are in. But instead of simply cheering on the first of the radishes or ogling the tiny beans on your plants, think ahead. What happens when you pull out those mature radishes and add them to your table? Unless you’ve planted another crop to follow the first, you’ll be out of radishes. Some plants – like squash and some tomatoes – will produce fruit continuously. Others, like radishes and beets are done the moment you harvest them, while crops like beans and peas tend to have a nice peak and then slow down in production. Succession planting allows you to keep crops producing in your garden continuously during the growing season. My garden went in earlier than most. I planted bush beans in early April and then pole beans in May. I’ve already harvested the beans from the bush plants and pulled them out because they were looking spent and not producing much. The pole beans were ready for picking just as the bush beans came to a halt. A good rule of thumb – or one that’s worked for me, anyway – is to determine...
