What to Plant After Garlic: Succession Crops for Summer and Fall

Vegetables
Written By Steven Biggs

Summer Succession Crops

Once garlic comes out of the garden, you’re left with a useful patch of open soil and one big question: what goes there next?

In this episode, we talk through summer succession planting using garlic harvest as the seasonal peg. He explains how timing, climate, heat, dry soil, and first frost dates all affect what you can plant after garlic or after any early crop that frees up garden space.

You’ll learn which crops are easiest to direct seed in summer, when transplants are a better bet, and how to use shade, boards, mulch, and row cover to improve germination and protect young plants.

Topics include:

  • Why garlic harvest timing varies by region

  • Direct seeding vs. starting transplants

  • How to deal with dry soil, heat, strong sun, and crusting

  • Easy summer succession crops such as bush beans, basil, dill, rapini, and greens

  • Crops for fall harvest, including spinach, beets, carrots, turnips, winter radishes, kale, and Asian greens

  • Why bush snap beans are a better follow crop than pole or dry beans

  • How to decide whether cucumbers and summer squash are worth planting after garlic

  • Tips for short-season and cold-climate gardeners

  • A simple “succession seed bin” system to make replanting easier

Succession planting doesn’t have to mean filling every inch perfectly. It’s about using open space in a way that fits your garden, your season, and your available energy.

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Steven Biggs

Recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the "green gang" of Canadians making a difference in horticulture, Steven Biggs is a horticulturist, former college instructor, and award-winning broadcaster and author. His passion is helping home gardeners grow food in creative and attractive ways.


He’s the author of eight gardening books, including the Canadian bestseller No Guff Vegetable Gardening. His articles have appeared in Canada’s Local Gardener, Mother Earth News, Fine Gardening, Garden Making, Country Guide, Edible Toronto, and other magazines.


Along with over 30 years working in the horticultural sector and a horticultural-science major at the University of Guelph, Steven’s experience includes hands-on projects in his own garden including wicking beds, driveway strawbale gardens, and a rooftop tomato plantation—to the ongoing amusement of neighbours.


When not in the garden, you might catch him recording his award-winning Food Garden Life podcast or canoeing in Algonquin Park.

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