Topic: Wot! No Brassicas?

[Mike J]

Our first season with an allotment, and a bit of a dilemma already.....The kids don't do greens (or many veg for that matter!), and me and my OH aren't keen on them (I know we should eat them), except maybe broccoli now and again. Trouble is, all the books, and postings here, say that rotation must include brassicas ie Roots, Legumes, Brassicas. Is there a substitute, can we miss them out, or should we just grow them and dig them in? Any thoughts/suggestions on this would be most welcome. Put in potatoes this weekend, and a dozen broad bean plants (ready grown from the local Farmers Market in Worthing). Will sow some pea seeds, carrots and parsnip next week, and maybe some runner beans later in the month.

[Moggle]

MikeJ, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along and help soon, but the way I understand rotation is that you keep all the same types of veg together, to prevent a build up of pests and diseases. I'm only growing a very small number of brassica plants, but loads of sweetcorn so my 4-bed rotation is: Potatoes and tomatoes; Onions, leeks, garlic etc; Broad beans, peas, french beans, runner beans, roots and salads; sweetcorn, squashes and brassicas.

I don't think the rotation rules are hard and fast, you adapt them to your needs - you can bung more than one family in a bed as long as you keep them together next year too. Think about what you are growing most of and base your rotation around that. The HDRA have a few good online factsheets:
http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/gg19.htm
http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/vegfam.htm

[legless]

you don't have to have brassicas in your rotation, but if you grow them you have to rotate them if you see what i mean!

if you wanted a 4 group 4 year rotation but no brassicas you could replace that traditional group with something non rotational such as lettuces.....

Jo

[Multiveg]

Perhaps if you have space, is to grow one of the brassica green manures.

[growmore]

An easy way for rotation, If you grow stuff that crops above ground this year as in flowers corn peas beans courgettes etc and you harvest them by cutting  or picking..
Next year where these have been plant stuff that you harvest by digging as in Potatoes betroot parsnips carrots etc ..
The only exceptions I can think of  are runner beans and onions ...Jim..

[Mike J]

Thanks everyone for your comments - I knew someone out there would be able to give the theory a practical edge. I think I can now fit the things we want to grow into a rotation system - roots, beans/peas, everything else. Moggles - the hdra plant families list is really helpful, and any spare patches in the 'brassica' bed can get a helping of green manure. Will now boldly go (where you've all been before me).
Thanks again.