Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Each year you can step your crops over a bed or two (or a row or two in a smaller garden, like the example
shown). This is what a garden might look like in the third year with tomatoes, beans, potatoes, cucumbers,
and onions as each group of crops moved a row to the left each year.
(Illustration by Becky Bayne)
Your personal tastes will dictate exactly how your crop rotation plan looks, of course. Regardless of
whatever plan you develop for yourself, here are some important points to keep in mind:
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Group plants according to their plant families for the easiest rotation plan. You can
move your vegetables according to their plant family so that you are changing up the soil
requirements, as well as the pests and diseases they are exposed to.
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Potatoes seem to be a unique type of crop. The country wisdom I've heard is that potatoes
will produce more when they follow the sweet corn crop. Also realize that potatoes are in
the nightshade family with tomatoes and eggplants, so don't plant them in ground where
tomatoes were grown the year before.
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To increase self-sustainability of your land, consider having a portion of the land “lay
fallow”—a season of rest. Many backyard farmers will plant a cover crop like clover that helps
fix nitrogen in the soil. We like to plant a legume like peas or beans that have a similar effect.
Crop Succession
Succession planting is the other way to manipulate how your crops are planted to increase your
harvest. Succession planting is the fancy term for it—I call it cramming as many plants as you can
into a single year. When you have crops that grow best in different times of the year, or crops that
grow rapidly, you can use that to your advantage by planting them one right after the other.
