This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Rotation and Who to believe
NewBoy2
Posts: 1,813
I have for the last 3 seasons followed the basic 3 year rotation at the front of the Dr Hessayon book , The New Vegetable and herb Expert which shows Brassicas Roots and Others
Charles Dowding in his book called Organic Gardening The natural No Dig Way places Vegetables Page 25 in to different groups
Brassicas No
Alliums Yes
Umbellifers Yes
Solanaceae Yes
Cucurbitae Yes
Leguimes No
Beet Yes
Others No
I am going to grow the veg as shown above as Yes
I have 9 beds incorporated into the 3 year cycle and I am due to continue the addition of well rotted horse manure to this years chosen 3 beds
I still wish to continue the 3 year rotation but i would appreciate any comments you may have as to which of Charles Groups would fit into the 3 areas
This is a bit more complicated from my first post which asked which way up you " sow " potatoes so I must have learnt something in 7 years
Charles Dowding in his book called Organic Gardening The natural No Dig Way places Vegetables Page 25 in to different groups
Brassicas No
Alliums Yes
Umbellifers Yes
Solanaceae Yes
Cucurbitae Yes
Leguimes No
Beet Yes
Others No
I am going to grow the veg as shown above as Yes
I have 9 beds incorporated into the 3 year cycle and I am due to continue the addition of well rotted horse manure to this years chosen 3 beds
I still wish to continue the 3 year rotation but i would appreciate any comments you may have as to which of Charles Groups would fit into the 3 areas
This is a bit more complicated from my first post which asked which way up you " sow " potatoes so I must have learnt something in 7 years
Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
0
Posts
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1J6siDdmhwah7q0O2WJBg
In the sticks near Peterborough
Alliums and Solanaceae both can suffer from soil borne diseases so should be moved around. Beets, cucurbits and umbellifers are less prone to soil diseases so, in theory, could be grown in the same place.
Alliums are good companion plants for umbellifers as the strong smell can confuse root fly.
Solanaceae and cucurbits want high fertility. Umbellifers want low fertility.
Based on those, your rotation could be:
Year 1: Add manure. Plant Solanaceae and Cucurbits. Overwinter a leguminous green manure.
Year 2: Grow beet.
Year 3: Grow alliums and umbellifers.
That probably gives a rather uneven space allocation, so another option may be:
Year 1: Add manure. Plant cucurbits: Overwinter a fertility building green manure.
Year 2: Grow solanaceae and beet.
Year 3: Grow alliums and umbellifers.
It is usually recommended that potatoes and tomatoes are in a 4 year rotation to reduce the risk of late blight. If you don't want to grow beans and peas to eat, you could add in a 'fallow' 4th year to the rotation by growing a leguminous green manure, or salads or cut flowers (or both). Or you could grow useful companion plants either to attract pollinators (borage) or deter pests (tagetes) in one section of the plot in order to extend the rotation by a year.
Then again it depends a bit whether by 'solanaceae' you only mean potatoes, or if you are also growing outdoor tomatoes and aubergines or the like. As you have 3 beds in each 'year', you may be able to keep your potatoes in a different one of the 3 so you actually get a 5 year gap before growing spuds in the same spot in a 3 year rotation. You'd need to be very good at keeping records to do this
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I rotate potatoes then other crops ie, peas beans etc as I can, garden compost is being dug into the potato plot now, it is the only place I do enrich, all other veg crops grow well for me, except for this years weather which reduced most crops, onions to the delight of my wife were smaller, she doesn't like large ones.