Increase the Harvest - Plant in Succession
Plan your veggie crops so they mature in an orderly fashion.
Planting a few beans every two weeks during the summer = continual harvest until frost.
As one planting's harvest begins to fade, the next planting's harvest will be ready.

Succession planting (planting the same veggie at staggered times) will help increase your harvest and produce veggies throughout the growing seasons.  Your biggest challenge is not to plant all the seeds in the package at once.  I generally sow more seeds at 1-2 weeks; others suggest every 2-3 weeks.

The first step is to make a chart of the vegetable you want to grow and record the time to plant.  Also record the days to harvest that is expected.  When selecting crops to grow select the early maturing variety - sooner is better than later. 

You can get the most out of your garden if you start seeds indoors.  That will jump start the process.

As you commit to succession planting, you'll gain knowledge of the plants you like to grow.  You'll develop and plan and patiently drop seeds in the ground.  When succession planting is mastered, then try your hand at  crop rotation and interplanting.  All these will maximize your growing space and keep you plants healthy and productive.

• 4 x 4 Raised Bed Garden Worksheet PDF  
• 4 x 8 Raised Bed Garden Worksheet PDF 
• Container Garden Worksheet PDF

• Building a 4 x 8 Raised Bed with Hooped Cover
• Build a Raised Bed for Your Vegetable Garden
• How to Build a Raised Vegetable Bed
• The perfect raised bed
• The Raised Bed and Container Garden

Raised beds have been my choice for veggie for several decades.
 

Start out small.   If this your first garden - start small.  Give yourself this first season to see how much joy you have or don't have.  If the joy is these, you can expand net year.

Sunny Side Up.   Locate your garden on the south side of your land to have maximize sun exposure. Remember that veggies require at least six hours of direct sunlight to give you the harvest you are expecting.

Re-con the garden spot.  Pull weeds before you establish your garden.  It is best not to start your garden in the area of your land that have the most weeds.  

Where's the water?  That's an important question to answer.  Without a nearby water source, your garden is doomed.

Amend the soil.  Add compost & peat.  You want to make sure your soil has good drainage.  Veggies for the most part don't like there feet wet. 

Start in spring with cool-season crops. Crops such as lettuce, spinach, peas, broccoli, greens, carrots, radishes, and beets can be planted early.   With these sow seeds every 1-2 weeks.  Continue sowing until the weather becomes too warm for these plants. 

Switch to warm-season crops. Bush beans, summer squash, or cucumbers are example of warm season crop.  follow the same planting pattern. Sow seeds every 1-2 weeks until the weather is too cold.

Go back to cool-season crops.  In late summer the weather will begin to cools.  Repeat planting of cool-season crops.  Note that plants will grow more slowly in fall than they did in spring.  So don't rush 'em.  You have allow more time to mature.

Cover unused beds with straw or newspaper or plastic to deter weeds.

Read the labels on seed packages, the description in seed/plant catalogs and/or get info from you local Extension Office. 

Create a chart of:

• recommended planting dates for each vegetable or fruit
• approximate number of days to harvest for each vegetable or fruit
• keep records during you growing season of the weather and how the plant performed.

The links below include # days to maturity; spring planting dates; fall planting date; plus more.  In successive gardening thinks of the dates for the first crop, then plant the next crops every 1-2 weeks until the maturity date of the last crop reaches your first frost date.

• Zones 1-2 Planting Schedule
• Zones 3-4 Planting Schedule
• Zones 5-6 Planting Schedule
• Zones 7-8 Planting Schedule
• Zones 9-10 Planting Schedule

• Plant the same vegetable at staggered time: Stagger seed sowing every 1-2 weeks.  Have new plants will eliminate the problem of declining production.   With sweet corn plant the each successive crop when the previous one is 1-2" tall.  Warmer soil = sweeter corn.
• Plant different vegetables in succession: Plant crops with a short growing season first followed by one preferring cool weather.  For example peas can be replaced with eggplant.
• Plant 2 or more different vegetables in the same space:  Radishes and carrots are good examples.   Radishes have a short maturity  time and carrot a longer one.  Mix the seeds and plant them both.  As the radishes are harvested, the carrots will continue to grow.
• Plant different varieties of the same vegetable.   Select plants with different maturity time.  For example select plants that can be harvested in early, mid and then late season.

• Carrot, parsley, celery, and parsnip all belong to the parsley family
• Composite family included chicory, endive, saisify, dandelion, lettuce, jerusalem artichoke, and globe artichoke
• Goosefoot family members are beets, chard and spinach.
• Gourd family claims the vine crops: summer squash, winter squash, pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumber.
• Grass family has sweet corn in it
• Legume family includes peas and beans of all kinds
• Lily family includes onion, garlic, leek, and chives
• Mallow family includes okra - a must plant in texas.
• Mustard family has many members: cabbage, collards, brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, broccol, kohlrabi, rutabaga, turnip, cress, horse-radish, and radish.
• Nightshade family encompasses potato, tomato, eggplant, and pepper