An elder’s say is that you can’t plant the same plant in the same place 2 years in a row. Unfortunately, like many other rules that our grandparents were applying in the garden are forgotten. One of the most important rules is crop rotation. The consequences: poor crops due to soil nutrient depletion and pests that appear every year.
There are 4 main groups divided for 4 years
In a small garden it’s pretty easy to memorize plots and crops to apply rotation the next year. But what you should do in case of a larger garden where are various species of vegetables? The easiest way is to divide the space into four – or eight areas if the space is bigger, where you can plant 4 important groups of vegetables, in a four-year cycle.
These are:
Group 1: plants grown for foliage or flowers, such as lettuce, celery leaves, green onions, green garlic, cabbage, broccoli or spinach.
Group 2: plants grown for their fruit such as tomatoes, peppers, Bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, melons, pumpkins or cucumbers.
Group 3: plants grown for their root such as carrots, onions, garlic, celeriac, beets, turnips, okra, parsnips, parsley root, potatoes or radishes.
Group 4: plants feeding the soil such as beans, peas, lentils, soy or clover.
Helps soil and disorient pests.
Once you’ve divided the garden into four (or eight) areas, apply crop rotation plan for four years.
Here’s how:
Year 1: Area 1 – Group 1; Area 2 – Group 2; Area 3 – Group 3; Area 4 – Group 4.
Year 2: Area 1 – Group 2; Area 2 – Group 3; Area 3 – Group 4; Area 4 – Group 1.
Year 3: Area 1 – Group 3; Area 2 – Group 4; Area 3 – Group 1; Area 4 – Group 2.
Year 4: Area 1 – Group 4; Area 2 – Group 1; Area 3 – Group 2; Area 4 – Group 3.
If you follow this plan, you’ll enjoy richer crops in your vegetable garden, because the soil won’t deplete of nutrients. For example, plants in Group 4 enrich the soil with nitrogen and planting the next year, in the same place, plants from Group 1 will be welcome. Also beets from Group 3 are able to loosen the soil, which will be very good for plants in Group 4. In addition, clover from Group 4 makes the soil to receive extra nutrients and shouldn’t be ignored in crop rotation.
Furthermore, crop rotation will confuse pests whose pernicious influence will diminish significantly.
1. Avoid joining the following parcels: onion with garlic; spinach with beet; celery leaves with celeriac, carrot with lettuce; tomatoes with potatoes.
2. Make a garden notebook, along with cultivated land sketch, ideas for future projects and sowing timing, keep crops track to know where and when have to plant the next crops.
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