Author: Sjoerd
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:53 pm (GMT 0)
Hello Bhapimama--
Personally I believe that crop rotation is not only a good choice, I believe it to be 'a must' if you have interest in maintaining the best possible soil quality and plant health.
There are many aspects to think of when it comes to crop rotation, but the thing to have in mind is to rotate your crops in terms of crop sorts (Families), not just individual plant types.
An example: If you grow broccoli in a plot DO NOT follow that with cauliflower the following year. You see, cauliflower and broccoli are in the same family--brassicas.
So when you rotate, plant say, beans in the plot where the broccoli was. Beans are a totally different family, see?
Then the next year you can plant say, corn where the beans were...see how it goes?
Next you could plant for instance, beets where the corn was.
After this you could probably plant some form of brassica in that plot now...or stretch it out one more year and plant perhaps parsnips.
It is good to hear that you can get a decent crop of toms in your raised beds. I have to grow mine in a greenhouse because of phytophthora.
It looks like you grow a nice variety of veg...so when rotating, just pay attention to the Family of the different veggies. This will insure that your soil does not become "worn out", or depleted of mineral levels...and not give diseases that effect certain crops the chance to survive in the soil and infect the next generation of this same type of crop the following year.
Examples of families:
Solanaceae....potatoes,toms,aubergines
Brassicaceae/Cruciferae....cabbages, broccoli,turnips
Fabaceae/Leguminosae....beans,peas
Umbelliferae....carrots, parsnips,parsley
Cucurbitaceae....cucumbers, courgettes,celery
Alliaceae....onions,garlic,shallots
Good luck!
_________________
Sjoerd http://www.volkstuindersvereniginghoornenomstreken.nl/Page11.html
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