Topic: Crop rotation - after onions?

[bupster]

Because I overwinter a lot of stuff, my crop rotation gets very complicated and I never have the sense to write anything down. I've a big patch for onions and garlic and I can't for the life of me think of what comes next. They're sort of interplanted with my beans and peas, but will it be too late to put in more beans and peas when the onions and garlic are harvested? I've got brassicas following, but will the soil be rich enough for them? I know they like nitrogen, so they can follow the early peas etc no problem, but what about the onion bits which haven't really been fed at all?

[cambourne7]

I follow this pattern which means you want to plant potato family after onions which means you can still get spuds in or plant outdoor tomatoes.

Year one: as below      
Year two: legumes, onions, potato family, umbellifers, brassicas   
Year three: onions, potato family, umbellifers, brassicas, legumes   
Year four: potato family, umbellifers, brassicas, legumes, onions   
Year five: umbellifers, brassicas, legumes, onions, potato family   

[davyw1]

After my onions comes my spuds and brasica goes in where my spud have been.
I use this rotation so the last crops that are in the soil ( also the last to be put in ) leeks, late cabbage, spring cabbage and sprouts are planted where my early potato,s come out off then i can continue on in the same bed next year without having to pull anything to plant my first crops the following year.

[bupster]

Bit confused - I also put leeks in after spuds, but they're part of the onion family, so they can't be before spuds as well?  ???

[davyw1]

Bit confused - I also put leeks in after spuds, but they're part of the onion family, so they can't be before spuds as well?  ???

Why can,t they. Some growers don,t rotate their onions, once they have an established bed they grow their onion in it year after year and nothing else.

[bupster]

Fair enough. I'm rotating though (not literally) so I'm trying to keep them roughly together.

[davyw1]

My first lot of leeks are ready to go in so this week i will sow a second crop these will be the ones that go in where the spuds come out to cover any of the first that go to seed. This way i have leeks thro to April next year

[Tee Gee]

I assume we are discussing autumn sown/planted garlic & onions are we?

If so I follow on with my winter greens or failing that; fast growing crops such as salad crops or peas.