This year I was hoping to be able to grow 2 tons of vegetables. It’s not going to happen. Why? Because I totally failed at rotating my crops.  Keeping your soil healthy is essential to organic gardening–and I flat out asked too much of mine without giving enough in return.

Basically, some plants take certain nutrients from the soil and put different nutrients back in.  If you grow the same thing (or plant of the same family) over and over in the same spot, the plant will suck all of the nutrients it needs from the soil until there is nothing left.  When the plant can’t get what it needs, it becomes susceptible to diseases and fungus.

{How to prevent blossom end rot}

Those diseases and fungus then find safe harbor in the soil and prey on the plant the next year.  The whole thing can be very ugly business.  The good news is that if you rotate your planting spots at least every 3 years, you will actually be nurturing your soil, not destroying it.  {Of course, I’ve learned just how true this can be the hard way–not only will I not hit 2 tons of vegetables, I’ll be lucky to even hit 1 ton this year.  I guess that’s what happens when you get into a routine.  Mother nature always shows you who’s boss.}

Rotating crops isn’t that tricky, once you have a basic understanding of what each plant takes and gives the soil.  Some plants take almost nothing from the soil {i.e. most herbs}.

How cool are they?  Others take quite a bit of nitrogen {lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes}, while some add quite a bit in {peas, beans, and other legumes}.  So, as a general rule of thumb, it’s best to rotate starting with nitrogen providing plants, then the next year, nitrogen sucking plants, followed by a nice benign year of crops like herbs.    Think of yourself as a dirt farmer, rather than a vegetable gardener.

{Testing the pH level in your soil}

When you properly rotate crops, diseases that may be present in the dirt typically only affect plant families.  If you plant something that is in a different family, the disease will not have a host plant, and you will have successfully shut.it.down.  It’s organic pest and disease control at its finest.

{Four Seasons Farm – Eliot Coleman Barbara Damrosch Tour}

Eliot Coleman {author of 4 Season Harvest} suggests that your rotate your crops in a simple 8 step fashion:  (1) tomatoes (2) peas (3) cabbage (4) sweet corn (5) potatoes (6) squash (7) root crops (8) beans.  That seems pretty simple to me, and if you grow something not listed, you really only need to look up what family it belongs to and assign it a position in the rotation {i.e. Brussels sprouts belong to the cabbage family–boom! it’s number 3 in the rotation.}

Mother Earth News even had this handy dandy little breakdown of all of the most common plants and which family they belong to, so that you can personalize your rotation plan:

• Onion family: onions, garlic, leeks and shallots
• Carrot family: carrots, celery, parsley and parsnips
• Sunflower family: lettuce, sunflowers and a few other leafy greens
• Cabbage family: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale and many other leafy greens, as well as rutabagas and kohlrabi
• Spinach family: beets and chard
• Cucumber family: cucumbers, melons, squash and gourds
• Pea family: peas and beans
• Grass family: corn, wheat, oats and rye
• Tomato family: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes

I think the hardest part of crop rotation is coming up with a plan, but I guess that’s what winter is for, right?  Long dark days with plenty of time to plan out your garden.

What do you think, is crop rotation important to you?

~Mavis