Summer: an early target or a longer return rhythm?

Test a day-18 target from Summer 10

With a Summer 10 start, Strawberry reaches its first harvest on 16 and Tomato on 20. For a day-18 target, choose Strawberry on timing; Tomato misses that deadline. Looking at regrowth alone would hide it: both crops repeat, but each must finish its own initial wait before that pattern starts.

For a later target, compare the whole rhythm. Strawberry runs on 16, 19, 22, 25 and 28; Tomato on 20, 24 and 28. You can arrange one bed, the other, or both around those appointments. The common day-28 ending should not obscure that their early and middle visits differ.

Decide what you want the remaining space to do

An earlier first date and a short repeat interval answer separate needs. The first tells you whether an upcoming date is reachable. The interval tells you how often an established planting asks you to return. Strawberry's three-day gap therefore matters after day 16 in this example; it cannot be used as the growth time of a fresh planting.

Use the latest-start table when you are deciding later in Summer. It answers whether a first harvest still fits, while each linked plan shows how many subsequent intervals survive the day-28 cutoff. A candidate that still fits once can be useful for a one-date goal even when it no longer supplies the longer rhythm you originally wanted.

• Start with your intended sowing day and the date of the first harvest you need.
• Read all listed visits before committing to a repeat schedule.
• Keep single-harvest alternatives separate from automatic regrowth; a new sowing needs a new plan.
• Treat candidate counts as date filters under ordinary growing conditions, rather than recommendations about value, yield or access.