UK Veg Garden & Allotment Succession Planting Playbook - Digital Guide To Planning Multiple Sowings Across The Season PDF

Editable PDF download from WildlyChlo

Succession Planting Playbook (UK Edition + Global Notes)

Grow little-and-often, harvest more, and stop the “20 lettuces at once” chaos.This printable, UK-first playbook shows you exactly what to sow, when, and what to follow it with so your beds stay productive all year—without overwhelm.

You’ll solve…

Gluts and gaps: learn the simple “half & often” approach (e.g., salads every 10–14 days in spring; 7–10 in warm spells) so harvests are steady, not all at once.

Empty beds after harvest: plug gaps fast with catch crops and quick green manures (buckwheat, phacelia, mustard; vetch/rye over winter).

Bolt, bitterness & poor germination: avoid dry–wet swings with the “Soak & Seal” method, shade nets (20–30%) for summer salads, and germination tricks for carrots/coriander.

Pest & frost setbacks: know when to use fleece, insect mesh, cloches and cold frames—and when to vent or remove them.

What’s inside:

Month-by-Month UK Sowing Prompts (Jan–Dec): under-cover vs direct, succession frequency, protection cues, and quick “do this now” tasks.

Four ways to succession-plant (made simple): staggered sowings, relay planting (follow-ons), intercropping, and cover/catch crops—with step-by-steps and pitfalls to avoid.

Crop mini-chapters: quick roots (radish/baby beet/early carrots), legumes (peas/beans), brassicas, summer fruiters (courgette/cucumber/sweetcorn), and alliums—each with when to start, how often to re-sow/wave, follow-ons and intercrops.

Rotation & Soil Care (so successions don’t backfire): heavy vs light feeders, builders (legumes/green manures), simple pH note, and exactly when to add compost.

Fertility Without Fuss: your annual rhythm (2–3 cm spring compost; 1–2 cm top-ups after hungry crops) plus a quick deficiency view to troubleshoot fast.

Protection That Pays: fleece specs (~17 g/m² spring; 30+ g/m² cold snaps), insect mesh for carrot fly/cabbage whites, quick “when to cover” calendar.

Ready-to-fill planning pages: 3× “Plan Your Own Succession Schedule” sheets (Jan–Apr, May–Aug, Sep–Dec) with Seed/Due tick-boxes—plus a fully worked example you can copy. I have made these three sowing templates editable for ease of use, although you can print them if you prefer.

Global growing notes: quick adjustments for Northern Europe/Ireland, Mediterranean, North America (zones 3–9), Australia/NZ (season flip) and Tropics.

Outcomes you can expect

More harvest weeks per bed by stacking sowings, relays and intercrops (e.g., peas out → lettuce in; onions → dwarf French beans → autumn salads).

Cleaner, healthier soil thanks to short gaps and green manures—less bare soil, fewer weeds, better structure.

Confidence with timing via clear intervals and “treat dates as windows” guidance, plus regional nudges to shift earlier/later.

Less waste, less stress, more food—the playbook shows the exact small batch sizes for a 1–2 person household and how to keep an “always-on” tray of gap-fillers.

Format: 30-page PDF download • UK-first with global notes • Perfect for allotments, patios, and small gardens.