A Guide to Crop Rotation – Growing a productive garden

Grab our Seed Sowing and Succession Planting Spreadsheet

With planting dates tailored to you!

Plus you get exclusive deals and weekly tips

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

This post was most recently updated on January 26th, 2021

A good gardening principle called ‘crop rotation’ suggests that you should rotate your annual crops each year to avoid growing the same crop in the same area year after year.

Please read: This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prevent any disease. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

This post contains affiliate links, this means at no extra cost to you, we make a commission from sales. Please read our Disclosure Statement

Crop rotation prevents the nutrients becoming depleted in each area as each type of crop needs different nutrition. It also helps reduce the impact of bugs and diseases.

Obviously if you are growing perennial (long life, over a few years) plants you will not be moving these each year. I also recommend growing invasive plants in their own bed like yams (oca) Jerusalem artichoke and mint. Otherwise you will have them EVERYWHERE.

Vegetable Garden Plan for Crop Rotation

When you are planting your vegetable garden, having a planting plan written down somewhere is really handy for forward planning.

You can make a note of of the dates you plant crops and their varieties, which allows you to estimate when crops will be finished and plan what you will replace them with following the crop rotation process.

Crop rotation can be carried out in a four season cycle, or more if you prefer. A minimum of three years is recommended. Certain vegetables are grouped together into different sections of the vegetable patch, and these groups are then rotated each season of the year.

Simply divide your current garden into 3-6 plots of similar size and label them years 1-whatever number you have.

Perennial vegetables such as soft fruit, rhubarb, asparagus and globe artichoke aren’t replanted each year, so they may need their own dedicated bed.

Crop Rotation Rules

As a general rule brassicas follow legumes: Sow crops such as cabbage, cauliflower and kale on soil previously used for beans and peas. The legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, and leafy greens benefit from the nutrient-rich conditions created.

Very rich soil and roots don’t mix: Avoid planting root vegetables on areas which have been heavily fertilized, as this will cause lush foliage at the expense of the edible parts of the plant.

In a rotation system, crops are grouped together according to preferred soil type, required nutrients and the types of pests and diseases that threaten them as well as considering good plant companions.

Different guides will group crops together differently, but here are some common group options.

6 Bed crop rotation might contain one bed of each of the following:

Potato family: e.g. potato, tomato, eggplant, capsicum. (eggplant, capsicum and chillies need a glass house down south)
Cucurbits: e.g. courgette, cucumber, pumpkin, squash.
Legumes: e.g. peas, beans.
Brassicas and salads: e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach, lettuce, silverbeet.
Onion family: e.g. onions, garlic, leeks, shallot.
Root vegetables: e.g. carrots, beetroot, parsnip

Generally you get your leafy greens to follow your nitrogen fixing legumes. Fertilize cucurbits heavily, brassica, potatoes and leafy greens moderately, onion family lightly and root crops not at all.

The residual nutrients from fertilizing the previous crop is usually enough for carrot/root crops and peas and beans.

4 Bed crop rotation might contain one bed of each of the following:

Bed 1: Potatoes, kumara, yams, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, pumpkins and courgettes.
Bed 2: Peas, beans, celery.
Bed 3: Brassicas and salads: e.g. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, silverbeet, mizuna and rocket.
Bed 4: Carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnip.

4 Bed Garden Rotation Plan:

YEAR ONE

BED 1 – Manure heavily and plant potatoes, yams, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, pumpkins and courgettes.
BED 2 – Manure lightly and plant peas, beans, celery.
BED 3 – Manure lightly and plant brassicas and salads
BED 4 – No manure added and plant carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnip.

YEAR TWO – move all the beds up one space

BED 1 – Manure lightly and plant peas, beans, celery.
BED 2 – Manure lightly and plant brassicas and salads
BED 3 – No manure added and plant carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnip.
BED 4 – Manure heavily and plant potatoes, kumara, yams, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, pumpkins and courgettes.

YEAR THREE – move all the beds up one space again

BED 1 – Manure lightly and plant brassicas and salads
BED 2 – No manure added and plant carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnip.
BED 3 – Manure heavily and plant potatoes, kumara, yams, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, pumpkins and courgettes.
BED 4 – Manure lightly and plant peas, beans, celery.

YEAR FOUR – move all the beds up one space again

BED 1 – No manure added and plant carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnip.
BED 2 – Manure heavily and plant potatoes, kumara, yams, tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, pumpkins and courgettes.
BED 3 – Manure lightly and plant peas, beans, celery.
BED 4 – Manure lightly and plant brassicas and salads

Year 5 you are back to the beginning again.

This technique can be adapted to fit how many beds you do have to rotate with. They are not a hard and fast rule and sometimes you have seedlings that just need to go in the ground and you just gotta put them in whichever bed has space. Don’t panic, it will all be OK.

You should check out our post on succession gardening for getting more out of your garden space that you already have.

We also have a free interactive succession garden planning spreadsheet that you can access by signing up to our newsletter, use the form at the top of this post!

For more information on companion planting read here.

For more information about when to plant and harvest different crops read here.

If you would like help getting the most out of your garden, I would love to help you, find out more here

RELATED: Free Gardening Resources

If you like tips on frugal living, self sufficiency and consuming less, sign up to our newsletter below, I would LOVE to have you

For further reading, I also recommend all of these books. I own every one of them and they are amazing resources!

 

 

 

 

when to pick radishes promo image
growing oca
Food forest plants
Grow food from scraps that you would usually throw away with these handy kitchen hacks. Easy to grow foods that you can try to grow at home #piwakawakavalley
Here are some salad greens that you can plant now and have salad greens next winter! Perennial, self sowing and super tasty you should try these wild greens #forrage #piwakawakavalley
Here is the information you have been looking for! How to grow green beans, what is the difference between green beans and scarlet runner beans and are beans a good plant for beginner gardeners? Check out these helpful tips to get you started #vegetablegarden #getgrowing #piwakawakavalley
Are you new to gardening? Here is the beginners guide to growing cabbage for your vegetable garden, in step by step fashion, everything you need to know about planting cabbage in your backyard #vegetablegarden #piwakawakavalley
Are you new to gardening? Here is the beginners guide to growing peas for your vegetable garden, in step by step fashion, everything you need to know about planting peas in your backyard #vegetablegarden #piwakawakavalley
Tips On Growing Vegetables In Pots 3
Growing potatoes in pots, a beginners guide to growing your own potatoes. You can grow spuds in pots, containers or tyres with great results. Find out how today! #piwakawakavalley #potatoes #vegeteablegarden
Learn these great gardening tips, from a seasoned gardener. Growing potatoes using the back to Eden method of gardening is by far the easiest way to get a good crop of potatoes for beginner gardeners. Follow this step by step guide to growing a good crop of spuds in your vegetable garden this season
Kale is one of the easiest vegetable plants for beginners to grow! Here are step by step instructions on how to grow it in your vegetable or herb garden, or even in pots or containers. Get the full easy instructions in this beginner gardener guide #vegetablegardening #piwakawakavalley
Spinach is one of the easiest vegetable plants for beginners to grow! Here are step by step instructions on how to grow it in your vegetable or herb garden, or even in pots or containers. Get the full easy instructions in this beginner gardener guide #vegetablegardening #piwakawakavalley
Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetable plants for beginners to grow! Here are step by step instructions on how to grow it in your vegetable or herb garden, or even in pots or containers. Get the full easy instructions in this beginner gardener guide #vegetablegardening #piwakawakavalley
Are you new to gardening? Here is the beginners guide to growing carrots for your vegetable garden, in step by step fashion, everything you need to know about planting carrots in your backyard #vegetablegarden #piwakawakavalley
Are you new to gardening? Here is the beginners guide to growing lavender for your vegetable garden, in step by step fashion, everything you need to know about planting lavender in your backyard #vegetablegarden #piwakawakavalley
Are you new to gardening? Here is the beginners guide to growing broccoli for your vegetable garden, in step by step fashion, everything you need to know about planting broccoli in your backyard #vegetablegarden #piwakawakavalley
Have you put off growing herbs in your garden because you don't know where to start? Here is some tips for beginners to growing your own herbs at home. #herbs #gardening #homesteading
Do you want to grow a garden, but aren't sure where to start? Our seed sowing guide for beginners with give you the tips on tricks you need to sow your own seeds

Please Pin and Share with your friends and family!

Crop rotation is a simple concept often made difficult. With a good permaculture crop rotation system you will develop a productive garden.

 

Do you need more delicious goodness fresh from the farm?

 

Sign up for our weekly Fresh From the Farm Newsletter

All goodness, no spam.

Get exclusive content, discounts and updates.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Leave a comment