Square foot gardening rule 3: Crop rotation is important to avoid depletion of nutrients and to avoid build up of pests and diseases. 3. Planning a crop rotation for a small garden is different from a large garden, where one crop can follow another in a fixed pattern. The general principle of crop rotation is to rotate your plant families – The nine main groups: • Onion (Allium) family: onions, garlic, leeks, chives. • Carrot family: carrots, celery, parsley and parsnips • Sunflower family: lettuce, sunflowers and a few other leafy greens, Jerusalem Artichoke • Cabbage (Brassica) family: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, mustard as well as rutabagas and kohlrabi • Spinach family: beets and chard • Cucumber (Cucurbit) family: cucumbers, melons, squash and gourds, zucchini • Pea (Legume) family: peas and beans • Grass family: corn, wheat, oats and rye • Tomato(Solanaceae) family: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes, nightshade, cape gooseberry, tomatillo Move the members of these families as a block. Assign e.g. half a bed to the cabbage family and move the whole lot to another bed the season after; the same for the other plant families. One tested and proven rotation is e.g. (1) tomatoes, (2) garlic or leeks, (3) peas, (4) cabbage, (5) sweet corn, (6) potatoes, (7) squash, (8) root crops (carrot intercropped with onions), (9) beans. In the end your rotation will have to follow your preferences for crops you want to grow and some trials will show you what works best in your garden. The principles to keep in mind are easy enough and the rule above all is: always move in one direction, keep track and keep records! - Deep rooting crops should follow shallow rooting crops - Alternate between crops with high and low root biomass - Nitrogen fixing crops (legumes) should alternate with nitrogen demanding crops - Where a risk of disease or soil borne pest problems exists, potential host crops should only occur in the rotation at appropriate time intervals - Don’t follow one crop with another closely related species - Use crop sequences that promote healthier crops - Crops which develop slowly and are therefore susceptible to weeds should be undersown with fast growing crops that can be removed early to give room for the growing main crop - Wherever possible, catch crops, green manures, and undersowing techniques should be used to keep the soil covered - When growing a wide mix of crops try grouping into blocks according to plant family.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 08:54:54 +0000
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