Quick and Easy Tip for Keeping Your Veggie Garden Productive

One of my biggest frustrations when I first started gardening was that I'd plant, and I'd wait, and wait, and finally get a glut of tomatoes or squash, then go back to waiting for the fall broccoli to produce.  If it feels like your garden is just kind of sitting there, taking its time producing a harvest, this week's tip is for you!

It's a ridiculously simple tip: plant something every week. That's right. There's not a week that goes by in which I don't plant something in my garden. Starting in late April and going through September (and beyond, now that I grow for a winter harvest as well) I plant something every single week.

The key is to depend on crops that provide a harvest quickly. Think mesclun, spinach, bush beans, bush cucumbers, radishes... you get the idea.  You can still plant your warm season crops, of course. They generally require a long season, and that's fine. Just work around them. Use containers, interplanting, and succession planting to keep your garden producing. It can be done! See a sample plan (from my own garden) for planting vegetables every week.

And, if you're wondering what you can plant in August in your garden, here's a handy regional list for you!

_{Photo copyright Colleen Vanderlinden. Licensed to About.com.}