Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Crop Rotation:
As mentioned earlier, proper rotation of the vegetables you plan to grow plays an important
role in the successful SFG. As each crop or vegetable plants reaches the end of its life, then
be sure that you consider a different plant to grow in its place.
This process of crop rotation ensures that nutrient depletion from growing the same crops
over and over again on the same piece of land does not occur, but instead the land is con-
tinually refreshed and kept nutrient rich by careful management and effective crop rotation.
Rotating the crops in this way also plays a part in organic pest control as any soil-borne dis-
ease or pest infestation that may be present in the ground after the harvest of a particular
plant, will hopefully not be a threat to the new vegetables youare about to plant in the space
previously occupied.
To further understand this, there are certain rules regarding the management of your veget-
ables which is based around the principles below.
Vegetables are ranked into 4 main categories, and they are..
1.
Legumes
: french beans, peas, runner beans, broad beans
2.
Root vegetables
: radish, carrot, potato, onion, garlic, beetroot, swede,
sweet potato, shallots, leeks
3.
Leafy greens
: spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, spinach
4.
Fruit-bearing
: tomato, sweetcorn, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, cour-
gette, strawberry, pepper, aubergine, water melon
You must also bear in mind that plants also belong to 'families.' For instance it is not clear
fromthislist,buttomatoandpotatoareinfactinthesamefamilyandsowillattractthesame
pests and use up the same soil nutrients. This of course means that they should be planted
separately wherever possible.
As the goal of proper crop management means that you do not wish to deplete the soil nu-
trients by planting vegetables with the same requirements either together or following one
after the other, it is important also to know the families to which they belong.
Brassicas (Cabbage Family):
Brussels sprout, broccoli, all varieties of cabbage, kohl rabi, cauliflower, kale, pak choi,
radish, rocket, swede, turnip.
Legumes (Bean & Pea Family):
Mange tout, pea, borlotti, runner, French and broad beans.
