Vegetables can be grouped into ‘families’.
Once you know which groups these vegetables fall into, it makes crop rotation a lot easier (see previous post on crop rotation).
So in a four-year crop rotation, four beds might include
Bed 1: *Solanaceae (potato crops)
Bed 2: Legumes (pea crops)
Bed 3: Brassica (cabbage crops)
Bed 4: **Onions/Others
*it’s usual to plant potatoes and tomatoes in different areas of the garden. As members of the same family they are both susceptible to blight (Phytophthora infestans). ** Can be split into a 5 yr rotation *** Perennial
5 Comments
I enjoyed your posts on crop rotation, this is something we struggle with due to sunlight constraints in our garden. The plan you suggested has given me some very good ideas though.
Thanks Mr H. There are lots of variations of crop rotation but the principle is the same… move the families around together. I read an article recently in Gardeners World magazine that suggests that lettuce, spinach, round and stump-rooted carrots, beetroot, radish, oriental vegetables and swiss chard will all grow in light shade. They also said that you should be mindful of soil fertility and moisture to make up for the lack of sunlight. They also suggested early potatoes, leeks, turnips and swede
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