Talkback: How to practise crop rotation

this is my first summer growing veg and i have one veggie-bed at the moment with sprouts in. planning to have 3 more beds next year so this has explained crop rotation very well

Well explained video!
I will start a new garden this year and wonder where to put herbs, rhubarb and the different families of veg (roots, flowers and fruit ) in this plot rotation. Can you help please?

Having just inherited a vegetable patch I found this very helpful, but it has opened up a new set of questions; Where could I put courgettes, squashes and pumpkins? And as onions and leeks like similar soil to the legumes can I plant them in the patch just vacated by the potatoes? Can anyone help?

I am with you, crop rotation makes sense once I know whether something is a legume or brassica but I don't want to grow potatoes I want ton grown other crops and still feel confused about what where. an exhaustive list say that states plot /bed 1 year one, plot one year 2 and then lists all the vegetables under these headings would be good. Does any one know where I could get something like this?

not very as my comment above

I use quite a different system,I just simplify it to 2 groups.

Firstly I don't grow potatoes, because it hasn't an advantage over the ones you can buy in a shop. Partly as well because staple food takes up too much space or is eaten too fast compared to the effort (so no onions for me either)

So I grow fruit bearing instead in the first space with the most manure, like tomatoes, pumpkins, courgette, etc. Also cabbages need manure, unlike Monty said, according to me. A last group that needs fertile soil is celery/iac.

The second group that doesn't need fertile soil are pea/bean and root vegetables they come after the first group. The effect of beans fixing nitrogen in the ground is negligable because they use it themselves WHEN they produce their own fruit.

Hello crop rotators,

Crop rotation isn't just about the nutrients the plants take up. It's also very helpful in the fight against pests and diseases, it keeps your soil in good condition and helps with weed control. Because some pests and diseases remain in the soil for years after their hosts have departed, the only option is to grow another crop in the same place.

However, on the subject of plant nutrients, beans love fertile ground, that is why cottage gardeners have made bean trenches for centuries. It's true that beans fix nitrogen into the soil but they still need other nutrition.

There are fewer and fewer chemicals available on the market for amateur gardeners so good husbandry, including crop rotation will become even more important in years to come.

Emma

gardenersworld.com team