Johnny’s Seeds Succession Planting Spreadsheet: Plan Continuous Harvests

Succession Planting Calculator

Plan your successive plantings for a continuous harvest all season

First Planting Date

Planting Interval (days)

Number of Successive Plantings

Maturity Days (optional, for harvest estimate)

Crop Name (optional, for reference)

Planting #	Date	Est. Harvest

What Is Johnny’s Seeds Succession Planting Spreadsheet?

The Johnny’s Seeds Succession Planting Spreadsheet is a free downloadable Excel workbook that helps gardeners plan continuous, overlapping harvests throughout the growing season. Succession planting — the practice of staggering sowings of the same crop at timed intervals — ensures that you always have fresh produce ready rather than facing a single overwhelming harvest followed by weeks of nothing.

This spreadsheet takes the complexity out of succession planting by doing the date math for you. You enter your first planting date, and the tool automatically calculates all subsequent sowing dates along with the last safe planting date before your region’s fall frost. It draws on Johnny’s extensive field trial data to recommend crop-specific intervals that are proven to work in real gardens.

Delivered as a standard .xlsx file, the spreadsheet opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, or any compatible spreadsheet application. This means you can customize it to suit your own garden layout, save multiple versions for different beds, and even share it with fellow gardeners or farm crew members. For anyone serious about maximizing harvests from limited space, this tool transforms succession planting from a guessing game into a science.

Key Features

Automatic Date Calculations: Enter your first sowing date and the spreadsheet computes every subsequent planting date based on optimal intervals for each crop.
Fall Frost Deadline: The tool identifies your last safe planting date so you avoid sowing crops that will not mature before the first fall frost.
Crop-Specific Intervals: Built-in recommended intervals for dozens of vegetables — from lettuce and arugula to beans and carrots — based on years of trial garden research.
Fully Editable: Because it is a standard spreadsheet file, you can add your own crops, adjust intervals, and tailor the layout to your specific garden plan.
Free XLSX Download: No registration or purchase is required. Download directly from Johnny’s Grower’s Library and start planning immediately.
Compatible with Google Sheets: Upload the file to Google Drive and collaborate with garden partners in real time.

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Eliminates manual date calculations entirely	Requires spreadsheet software to use
Based on proven trial-garden intervals	No built-in weather or frost data lookup
Free with no account needed	Limited to the crops pre-loaded in the sheet
Fully customizable and editable	You must know your local fall frost date manually
Works with Google Sheets for cloud access	No mobile app version available

Pricing

The Succession Planting Spreadsheet is completely free. Johnny’s Selected Seeds offers it as part of their Grower’s Library — a collection of tools, calculators, and educational resources available at no charge. There are no premium upgrades, no watermarked features, and no email-gate requirements. Simply visit the Johnny’s website, download the .xlsx file, and open it in your preferred spreadsheet application.

While the tool itself costs nothing, gardeners who find it valuable often choose to purchase seeds from Johnny’s to support the company’s continued development of free resources. Johnny’s seeds are competitively priced, with most vegetable seed packets ranging from $3 to $8 depending on variety and quantity.

How to Use Johnny’s Seeds Succession Planting Spreadsheet

Getting started takes just a few steps:

Step 1: Visit the Johnny’s Grower’s Library page for succession planting and download the spreadsheet file. It is a standard .xlsx file that will work in Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice.

Step 2: Open the file and locate your fall frost date. You can find this information from your local cooperative extension or the NOAA frost date calculator. Enter this date in the designated cell.

Step 3: Enter your first planting date for each crop you intend to succession plant. This is typically your last spring frost date or the date you plan to make your first sowing.

Step 4: The spreadsheet automatically calculates all subsequent sowing dates at the recommended interval for each crop. It also displays the last date you can safely plant and still expect a harvest before fall frost.

Step 5: Print your completed schedule or save it as a PDF. Post it in your garden shed or upload it to your phone so you have it handy every time you head out to sow.

Who Should Use This Tool?

This spreadsheet is perfect for market gardeners and CSA farmers who need a steady, predictable supply of produce for weekly deliveries and farm stands. It is equally valuable for home gardeners who want to enjoy fresh lettuce, radishes, and beans all summer long instead of harvesting everything at once. Community garden coordinators can use it to create shared planting schedules for multiple members, and garden educators will find it an excellent teaching tool for demonstrating succession planting concepts. If you grow any crop that benefits from staggered harvests — which includes most leafy greens, root vegetables, and legumes — this tool will make your season more productive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Microsoft Excel to use this spreadsheet?

No. The file is a standard .xlsx format that works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, Apple Numbers, and most other spreadsheet applications. Google Sheets is a popular free option.

Can I add my own custom crops to the spreadsheet?

Yes. The spreadsheet is fully editable, so you can add rows for any crop and set your own succession planting intervals based on your experience or seed packet recommendations.

How do I find my fall frost date?

You can look up your average first fall frost date through the NOAA Climate Data Online tool, your local cooperative extension office, or by searching for your ZIP code on frost date calculator websites.

Is the spreadsheet updated every year?

Johnny’s occasionally updates their Grower’s Library resources, but the core intervals and formulas do not change year to year. You can reuse the same file indefinitely by simply updating your planting dates each season.

Absolutely. Johnny’s provides this tool free of charge for personal and commercial use. Feel free to share the download link or your customized version with anyone who can benefit from it.