Hello fellow garden enthusiasts,


I'm new to this forum, and gardening for that matter. With a lot of research and help from this and other helpful "garden sites", I'm well on my way to starting my first vegetable beds. The spring and fall gardens have been planned, the soil prepped, and seeds started indoors. I am in zone 8a Dallas and plan to transplant March 23 or earlier.

My home is south facing and the back yard is too shady for vegetables. So, all of my (in ground) beds are in the front. It has been a real challenge planning to make it productive and look good. I suppose I am using the intensive "squarefoot" gardening method. I thought that would look better than rows.

Anyways, I have been thinking lately; what do I do with the empty spaces between harvest and planting?

I am curious to see what other gardeners have come up with.

For example, when I harvest a cabbage or kohlrabi, what can I quickly put there to fill the void? I mean, at least until I�m ready to fall planting. We typically have 2 growing seasons here. The summers here are brutal, so the plant would have to be able to withstand direct sunlight and temperatures in the 100's.

Maybe I could seed start some flowers and transplant them at harvest. (I don't plan on harvesting all at once) Or, have a few plants in pots on hand to plop down temporarily.

Is there a fast growing, sun loving, cover crop or legume I could put in over summer?


I know there are not a lot of front yard edible gardeners out there, but surely someone has run into this before.

-Cary