Topic: Rotation questions

[caroline7758]

I grow what my family uses and likes most, which means that brassicas only take up about 10% of the plot. This makes rotation prolematic as it can only work properly if you grow similar amounts of each group. Can anyone suggest away round this?
Also, which group do green manures belong in, or do they vary? I've used phacelia and mustard this year.

[morton]

Difficult to advise without a lot more info. But why not put them with another crop such as sweetcorn, courgettes, marrows or beans etc. to make up the third or quarter of a plot or whatever rotation you are planning.. It does not matter so long as you grow the brassicas on a different area each year.
And on that subject I'm afraid that mustard is of the same family so you should not follow it with brassicas.

[caroline7758]

The problem is more that if my roots are supposed to follow the brassicas, the 10% of space used for brassicas is not enough for the 40% I need for roots, if you follow me! But at least I know now i can put some roots where the mustard has been!

[morton]

But if you add 10% brassicas to x% beans, y% sweetcorn, z%courgettes and marrows etc that will make one third of your plot. So that whole group will be rotated on to the second third of your plot next year and on to the third third the year after.

[OllieC]

I use runner beans in brassica & follow them with Chard & beetroot in roots as they don't fork & prefer a bit of food... Keeps things pretty balanced. You can get away with quite a lot... Another idea - grow more Kohl Rabi...

[caroline7758]

Guess I'll just have to grow less potatoes and onions! They are probaly the least money-saving ones anyway.

[kitten]

Hi caroline, we use a four bed rotation, and i know what you mean about it not being balanced unless you grow/use roughly the same amount of each group!

Why not have one bed for potatoes, one for onions, and bung everything else in the brassica bed (courgettes, beans, peas, etc) and you could sub divide that bed if the crops have varying needs regards feeding etc?

I'm just a beginner, but it seems a shame to restrict yourself on the things you like, just to accommodate things you won't eat?

x

[antipodes]

yes it can be hard to accurately rotate!
This year I am working by patches rather than by whole areas as that seems to work better. So the spuds are where the cabbages were, the onions are where the beans were, the toms are where the parsnips were. Dunno if it is best nutrient wise but seems wisest in regards to nasty diseases.
I think as a rule of thumb just don't grow potatoes, tomatoes, onions/alliums or cabbage in the same bed the following year. Remember too that if your plot is disease free it is a bit less dangerous. There are lots of people who grow great veg without a strict rotation system  ;) The smaller your plot the more it seems to matter, as everything is next to each other anyway!
But everyone else will probably disagree with me!!

[Vortex]

One one of my plots I have 3 beds - one is exclusively for potatoes. Following these in bed 2 are alliums, carrots/parsnips, peas, and french beans, and in bed three are brassicas and sweetcorn. Each moves round a bed a year. I don't have room for 4 decent sized beds so adopted 3 to maximize the amount of potatoes I can grow.

[cornykev]

As the others have said there are loads of things you can mix in the bed, sweetcorn, radishes, lettuce, beetroot, chard, spinach, rocket and so on. Happy planting Caroline.  ;D ;D ;D

[caroline7758]

Thanks for the ideas, everyone- will have to get my family to be more adventurous in their tastes! ;D