Crop Rotation Question

A lot of crop rotation theory is based on old farming principles of having 3 or 4 years of crop rotation followed by a year where the ground is left fallow.

This works well if you are a farmer with lots of land but nobody realistically is going to leave a quarter of their garden or allotment left unused unless they have enough land or specific reasons to do so.

Crops are basically divided into 5 categories

Legumes- beans and peas
Brassicas- cabbages etc
Allium - onion, leek, garlic etc
Potato- potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines
Umbellifer, most root crops

Some crops have so few soil borne pests that they can be planted pretty much with impunity and they include courgettes, lettuce, squash and pumpkins, runner and french beans, sweetcorn and peppers.

Every year one family of crops should follow another on an annual cycle so conventional wisdom suggests.

However, I try to get maximum yield out of my plots so may for example, have first early potatoes which are lifted in May followed by peas which are harvested in August followed by some garlic planted in September. This renders the conventional wisdom partially pointless as I have gone through three vegetable rotation groups in one season rather than three. Throw into the mix the crops that you dont have to include and things can get very messy indeed.

Just remember that the most important ideal is to keep your soil in good order by feeding it regularly with compost and manure, but feed it to suit crops. For example, if you plan to grow spuds, manure the ground first, but dont grow roots there till the following year as they will generally fork. Different crops have different soil requirements and benefits. Changing crops from year to year minimises deficiencies and allows the soil to replenish but keeping your soil well fed also aleviates this problem.

Keep your soil well and you can plant using a loose crop rotation system, but dont get too anal about it, we dont plant with the intensity and reliance on sprays that most farmers do so can relax the rules a little.

So all in all

1) keep you soil well fed

2) Rotate where you can but dont be absolutely rigid with the idea

3) Enjoy yourself

Succinct piglet!
Traditional rotation assumes you grow equal quantities (area) of the plant types, which isn't necessarily true for amateur gardeners. We grow one bed of brassica, four or five of potatoes, and nine of onions!
I plan a loose crop rotation, but don't hesitate to deviate from the plan to take advantage of space or early/late harvesting/sowing. The fallback is to make sure that potatoes, brassica and onion don't go in the same place twice, and that roots don't get sown into freshly manured ground.
An alternative approach to crop rotation (in many of my older gardening books) is to have permanent beds for the same crop until you get a problem, then don't plant that crop there again!

I'm with piglet, make a rough plan, then apply it in a relaxed way to make the most of your ground.

A glass of this, a pinch of that … a pinch of nutmeg, or salt, or pepper, are are best left to the cook’s discretion. One has to know roughly what the rules are before one can disregard them – Elizabeth David

I agree with all the above I've always loosely followed the traditional 'pots, roots, legs and bras' rotation, but have recently discovered Eliot Coleman and very much like his philosophy on which crops follow what. He tends to include green manures in his planting scheme, which keeps the soil in good heart which is as Piglet says, probably the most important thing to consider.

John Seymour followed the pots, legumes, brassicas, mixed crops (salads, corn, squash etc) and roots rotation, which is great if you've enough space to do a five year rotation! If you're like Supersprout and grow proportionately more of one crop than another, you may have to rethink your bed system.

I guess the only hard and fast rule is never plant brassicas or potatoes in the same ground two years running; better to leave as much time between successive crops of those as possible. I've grown carrots in the same place for three years running without a problem, although I'm putting peas and beans in there this year (it's a 3' high raised bed filled with grass clipping compost and sandy soil)

Joy Larkcom's book "Grow your own vegetables" gives a couple of excellent examples of crop rotation.

Hi

Thanks both of you, as always I receive great help and ideas on here.

Because of circumstances I've lifted my onions in july/august then planted overwintering ones in November in the same bed. Needs must etc etc. most of the problems you'll get are slugs & snails & caterpillars and all those little buggers can move anyway. just stick to general principles but don't worry too much and as Piglet says enjoy it.

I agree entirely with piglets analogy and like him I usually go for two and sometimes three different crops in one area in one annual cycle!

Main thing is to keep a record as your memory can play tricks on you! Doesn't have to be anything elaborate, even a blackboard and chalk on the shed wall will do, with three headings.....As is........As was........As will be!

I agree, it's not always easy to plan an annual rotation so I leave as long as possible before planting the same thing in the area again.

It is nice to know that a relaxed plan can work. I initialy found it frustrating to have a small space available and then look at the plan to decide I shouldn't really be planting in it. But I have! and so far it has worked ok. Like everyone else, I seem to remember that potatoes and brassicas are the worst for harbouring disease so I do keep a note of where these are being planted and what is going to follow.