Bottom line on top:
- Crop Rotation is the practice of changing the site where you plant particular annuals in your garden year after year
- By doing so you are ensuring the soil does not become depleted of nutrients and will avoid recurring pest/disease problems
- How complex is up to you, but practicing any form of crop rotation is better than nothing at all
What exactly is Crop Rotation?
Crop Rotation is taking into account what flower or vegetable was planted in a particular spot the year before and strategically choosing a different plant to go there the following year. You might feel like you have found the perfect spot to grow your tomatoes and cucumbers, but unless you plan to go to great lengths to restore the soil quality and fight off recurring pest and disease problems you should really consider mixing it up.
Why should I rotate my crops?
The biggest reason is your choice to garden organically. Farms are able to grow corn on an industrial scale in the same spot every year because they are using genetically modified seeds which have been engineered to overcome the shortcomings of the depleted soil. Once plants start growing, they blanket them with pesticides to drive away the insects and soil dwelling organisms that have gotten used to where the corn pops us every year. So unless you plan on crop dusting your backyard, here is why you should rotate your planting sites:
- Helps retain soil nutrients. Not all plants need the same vitamins and minerals to survive and thrive. What a tomato needs to grow is very different than what a carrot needs, so if you plant your carrots in the same spot as last year's tomatoes, all the nutrients you need will still be there. If you keep planting your tomatoes there year after year, you are draining the soil of the particular nutrients they need. Even compost won't help as it usually provides nutrients in even ratios and won't make up for the fact that you're draining that site of one in particular.
- Confuses pests. No you can never fully rid yourself of insects that are harmful to your plants, but you can at least make it a lot harder for them to find what they are looking for. If you plant your squash on the opposite side of the garden next year, the squash bugs will be hatching on the opposite side of the garden next spring. This make it a lot more likely they will get picked off by a bird or some other insect eating creature instead of waking up right in the middle of their favorite food.
- Reduces probability of recurring diseases. Like may insects, fungi and other harmful bacteria can live in dormancy under the soil during the winter just waiting for their opportunity to strike again. Many of these diseases are specific to a particular plant type so much like the insect it will not have anything to eat if it wakes up under an entirely different situation than it went to sleep in.
- Helps you perfect your garden game. By forcing yourself to get creative and move things around, you ultimately learn many lessons you would not have just leaving the same plants in the same spot year after year. We have now tried pumpkins flat on the ground, in high mounds, and up on a trellis depending on how much real estate we can devote to them year after year. Trying out different spaces and methods allows you to try many different approaches and settle on which one works best for your particular location.
Do some plants do better or worse depending on what came before?
I'm glad you asked. Yes, there is more to it than just avoiding planting the same crop in the same spot 2 years in a row. In our vegetable index you will find crop rotation suggestions for each individual plant which will make reference to plant "families". It is important to not only avoid following the same exact crop, but also to avoid any member of the same plant family. Click here for a chart detailing what fruits and vegetables are related.
If you're just looking for something simple and easy to remember without needing an advanced degree in botany, think of your vegetables as 1 of 4 things:
If you just avoid planting 2 plants from the same category 2 years in a row you are doing a great thing for your garden. If you want to do even better, you can get a lot more scientific about it, but for many of us home gardeners it becomes a matter of "do the best you can". Depending on the size of your space, where you get the most sunlight, and what you are growing, elaborate rotation plans may not be possible. But some is better than none, so again, just do the best you can.
And if some is good, more is better, right? You may not want to apply that philosophy to all areas of life but it works for rotation in your garden. Try to avoid just flip flopping between the same 2 sites every other year. Every time you can avoid going back to the same spot something grew in the past, the better the conditions will be when it does finally make it back there 3,4, or 5 years down the line.
If you're just looking for something simple and easy to remember without needing an advanced degree in botany, think of your vegetables as 1 of 4 things:
- Fruits. If it grows from a pollinated flower and has seeds inside it's a fruit. Tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers all qualify
- Roots. The part you eat grows underground. Carrots, beets, radishes, turnips
- Leaves. You plant it to eat the leaves. Spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale
- Beans. Something that grows in a pod or shell. Pole beans, peas, edamame, Lima beans
If you just avoid planting 2 plants from the same category 2 years in a row you are doing a great thing for your garden. If you want to do even better, you can get a lot more scientific about it, but for many of us home gardeners it becomes a matter of "do the best you can". Depending on the size of your space, where you get the most sunlight, and what you are growing, elaborate rotation plans may not be possible. But some is better than none, so again, just do the best you can.
And if some is good, more is better, right? You may not want to apply that philosophy to all areas of life but it works for rotation in your garden. Try to avoid just flip flopping between the same 2 sites every other year. Every time you can avoid going back to the same spot something grew in the past, the better the conditions will be when it does finally make it back there 3,4, or 5 years down the line.
Should I try to follow a particular pattern?
You can find a lot of differing opinions on this subject and the size of your garden really dictates how much rotating you can actually do. You really can't execute a 5 year rotation plan if you only want to grow tomatoes and peppers. If you do have a good bit of variety and space, one other thing to consider besides the plant family is what kind of a feeder the plant is. Some plants take more than their fair share of nutrients from the soil while other take far less or in some cases actually give more than they receive. This chart is a great illustration of a simple rotation you can incorporate into your planning to maximize the benefits of your crop rotation even more.
What about succession planting?
Here in the northeast we have the ability to grow many cold tolerant plants in the early spring. But those same plants usually call it quits once the heat of summer finally arrives in mid June. With so much garden season left you can actually plant something else in that same spot. For example you could grow a bed of lettuce or spinach in the spring, pull that all out when it goes to seed, and plant some carrots in the same spot. The carrots will be ready to pick late in the fall and now you have doubled your production in that small space.
If you plan on trying this, it works like the year to year rotation where you should try to avoid planting the same crop or member of the family in the same place twice in one season. But again - do the best you can. If its easier to just use that same spinach bed for a late summer/fall planting, go for it. It's probably hard enough moving everything around year to year so unless you're really up for it trying to incorporate succession plantings into the rotation may over-complicate things.
If you plan on trying this, it works like the year to year rotation where you should try to avoid planting the same crop or member of the family in the same place twice in one season. But again - do the best you can. If its easier to just use that same spinach bed for a late summer/fall planting, go for it. It's probably hard enough moving everything around year to year so unless you're really up for it trying to incorporate succession plantings into the rotation may over-complicate things.
How about companion planting?
Many books, articles, etc. have been written about companion planting. Companion planting is the idea that certain plants will mutually benefit from each other when planted next to each other. Conversely there are plants that supposedly inhibit each others' growth. Personally, I'm not sold. The reason I say that is the conflicting information I have found while researching the subject. Depending on where you look, the same plants that are supposedly "friends" are listed as "enemies" somewhere else. I have no doubt there is something to companion planting, I just doubt the science behind it - specifically the lack there of. Most of what is out there on companion planting is opinions based on personal experiences and we have no way of knowing what other factors lead them to come to that conclusion. Correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
With that said, we do still mix different vegetables together in the same bed. For example we plant basil in-between each of our tomato plants. Whether you do it for companion planting or just to maximize space, just remember to consider that in your rotation schedule. If you believe carrots really do love tomatoes, just make sure not to plant that combination anywhere members of either plant family lived last year.
With that said, we do still mix different vegetables together in the same bed. For example we plant basil in-between each of our tomato plants. Whether you do it for companion planting or just to maximize space, just remember to consider that in your rotation schedule. If you believe carrots really do love tomatoes, just make sure not to plant that combination anywhere members of either plant family lived last year.
The 4 Keys To Gardening Success
Crop Rotation is one of our 4 keys to organic gardening success. Check out the rest of the series: