What do you need to know about crop rotation?

When one hears crop rotation many people are reminded of a large farm with an area of acres, rotating large groups of crops from one place to another. However, crop rotation is not limited to large-scale gardens and farms.

The average home gardener can really benefit from knowing the basic principles of crop rotation. From balancing the soil nutrients to helping to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases, crop rotation is applicable even in small quantities.

Why rotate your plants?

According to Barbara Pleasant, a contributor to Mother Earth News, field trials in Europe and Connecticut showed a 40 percent decline in potato production, ignoring potato replacement with other crops. This fall is often due to the presence of disease. Most diseases and pests support certain host plants. Host plants are often related and are susceptible to similar diseases and pests. This means that potatoes after potatoes or tomatoes after potatoes (tomatoes belong to the same family as potatoes), which are high in the soil, are favorable for the reproduction and growth of pests and pathogens. Rotation of family-based crops basically starves many pests and diseases, specific host plants need to survive.

Even if you pay close attention to keeping your garden clean and free of diseased or pest-infested plants, crop rotation can help keep nutrients in balance. Tomatoes are fed heavy nitrogen. Even if you constantly add organic matter like compost to your garden, if you plant tomatoes in the same place year after year, the amount of nitrogen will be less compared to other parts of your garden. Rodell's Organic Life recommends keeping crop type in mind when planning a cycle for nutrient balance. Crops in the same family tend to use nutrients. Most commonly, leaves and fruiting plants are heavy fodder, absorbing nitrogen from the soil. Legumes, such as peas and beans, are rich in nitrogen, but require good amounts of phosphorus. And herbs and root vegetables, in comparison, are generally mild forages.

How to rotate your crops

Ideally, at least two years should be allowed before replanting the same crop or crops belonging to the same family. For example:

Year 1 - plant tomatoes, year 2 - plant beans, year 3 - plant cucumbers, year 4 - repeat tomato plant.

In a small bed, rotating crops on a family basis may not be suitable and you may not get the same benefits as long as the pest and disease control goes away. But, even in a small garden, moving your plants will help balance the nutrients in your soil. For small gardens, rotate crops based on nutrient requirements: leafy vegetables/fruits, legumes, or root vegetables/herbs. However, if you grow only a few crops each year, such as peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant, all of which are fruiting plants and in the same family, crop rotation is not possible. If this suits you and you do not want to grow additional crops, you may want to consider leaving a portion of your garden in the barren land each year and replacing it with compost and organic mulch. To regenerate the soil, you can also use a cover crop such as clover. Creating three separate beds would be the best view. Two can be planted with a cover crop and the third with the plants you like. Rotate the plants from bed to bed each year, followed by healthy plants, healthy soil, and a cover crop for an improved harvest.

If you plant a variety of plants from multiple families, have multiple beds, or have a large plot, it is best to rotate your crops on a family basis. The trick is to know what is involved. You need to remember where you planted last year and the year before. Taking pictures and notes helps! Once you enter a ditch, you can repeat your cycles. Below is a list of nine basic family groups provided by Mother Earth News.

Onion family: Onions, garlic, leeks, and onions

Carrot family: carrots, celery, parsley, and parsley

Sunflower family: Lettuce, sunflower, and some leafy greens

Cabbage family: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, and many other leafy greens, as well as rhubarb and kohlrabi

Lettuce Family: Spinach, beets, and chard

Cucumber family: Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and gourds

Pea family: Peas and beans

Grass family: corn, wheat, oats, and rye

Tomato family: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes

Dig a little more into the plants you want to grow, and find out what nutrients those plants use easily and how many days it takes to harvest. Use what you have learned to develop a crop rotation plan for the coming years.