Crop rotation

[legless]

ooh and if you rotate the crops within the growing area as well you could have a 9 or 12year rotation! fantastic!

[legless]

[Garden Manager]

Now I am totally confused. Sorry!

I thoght i had this rotation lark sorted out, now i am reading so many different things, I am not so sure any more.

As some of you may know i grow my veg in raised beds, currently 4 plus 2 'flat' beds which i hope to convert soon into raised ones. in one i grow strawberries, another one has annual flowers for cutting (including sweet peas), another bed is slightly more shaded than the rest so I m more restricted here in what i can grow.

Since constructing the beds I have tried to rotate properly, however with the introduction of the strawberry bed, and the cut flower bed, it has become more complicated and harder to execute a proper rotation.

It is even more complicated by the crops that I grow.  These have always included Runner beans, potatoes, salad crops (beetroot and lettuce) and corgettes.  Recently i have started to grow peas and cabbages, and whilst the last named has introduced brassicas into the equation, ther is still a heavy weighting of leguminous crops, which tends to complicate things further.

I have always felt it best to rotate the beans, because of the supposed nitrogen build up, which can then benefit the suceeding crop.  Having read the benefits of keeping Runners inthe same place, I am curious and wouldnt mind trying just once to see. I think it would have to be the same crop exactly not just another legume, as I found myself this year trying to grow peas where the beans had been immediately before. The peas failed, maybe for a different reason, but it seems no coincidence to me that it was legume following legume.

Of course the only drawbck to growing beans in the same plce from my point of veiw, is that it would restrict  the rotation of the other crops (particularly those that need it) still further.

I think on the whole I subscribe to Bob Flowerdew's theory, as long as no crop (except perhaps R beans!)  is grown in the same place two years running , then it doesnt matter, just do what suits you and the plot best.

This said i plan to have a change round over the next two years; coinciding with the introduction of the two new beds. the strawberries will be replaced and moved and the cut flower bed will form part of the rotation from next year, so things should improve.

[Hyacinth]

Wow! Richard - you rotate flowers?? What you growing - girasole and ipomoea ??? ??? ;D ;D ;D

[Garden Manager]

Wow! Richard - you rotate flowers?? What you growing - girasole and ipomoea ??? ??? ;D ;D ;D

No 'Lish, I dont actualy ROTATE flowers  ;D. Its just that i grow a bed of annuals for cutting (call it a sort of green manure which flowers) in the veg garden. To allow me to rotate the crops properly they have to form part of the rotation.

out of interest the flowers i grow like this are; Sweet peas, annual lavatera, cornflowers and pot marigolds (calendula). :). I find that the soil in the veg garden is the best place to grow sweet peas particularly, in fact i think it is the traditional place to grow them (?)  :-/

Regards

Richard

[Hyacinth]

grew sweet peas and mange tout round a wigwam this year- very pretty they looked too & a good use of space.Good crops from both.

[Beer_Belly]

Whoa ! I started this thread in September and all of a sudden it's got a new flurry of activity  ;)

[carloso]

well im going to use the "BFT" (Bob Flowerdew Theory) cause its sounds pretty damned simple for a new guy on the plot !!!!


Merry Xmas and a Happy new yr Bob and to all that follow !!!

[The gardener]

Wow! what a subject, my brain is 'rotating' after reading all this.

Now can I put in my tuppence worth?

I have computerised my allotment!

To explain, my plots are laid out in 10m (30ft) x 1.5m (5ft) beds, and when freshly dug they look like a 'spread sheet........get my drift ;)

At the end of each season I sit at my computer, allocate a spread sheet column to a bed, and each row is a plant row, then I set out what and where I am going to grow stuff next season.

Incidently, to assist rotation, as the beds are 10m long, by growing  something at one end of the bed this year and at the other end next year I have rotated them.

Another big advantage with this system is; I can see what I want in the way of plants prior to planting out so I only need grow on enough to suit my needs.

This is particulary beneficial when I need cold frame space in late spring, i.e. I do not have excess plants vying for space that I need for other plants.

If all this is too much to take in at the moment, have a look under 'computers. (C) on my website for more info on how I do it. http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk

[budgiebreeder]

WOW whaat a site very very useful.Just brilliant.

[Garden Manager]

I second that!!

What a brilliant site.

Like the Idea of using a computer to plan things. Its one of my resolutions for 2004 to be more organised in the garden. Perhaps this is the way to do it(?)

Like also the planner giving tasks for each week. though would have to be modified for different regions.  I am guessing this is a 'south of england' planner? :-/

[The gardener]

Not quite right Richard . You may have noticed my reply to the 'Sweet Corn' thread by now, if not ! this will explain a few more details.

[Steve__C]

Richard,
Suggest you ask the Gardener how many hours he has spent pulling his almanac together!!!

Personally I have a simple excel sheet.... weeks across the top.... varieties down the side. I then insert the number of plants/rows I plan to plant  in each week in the appropriate interlinking cell.

Using the filters functions in Excel I can quickly produce a spreadsheet showing which seeds need sowing in a particular week. In this way I can produce a task list for the lottie/potting shed.

For each variety I have a comments field where I note anything that will be of interest in the following season.

Regarding crop rotation, I have three beds of equal size that I rotate. Other beds, such as herbs, fruits, asparagus are left un-rotated.

[Garden Manager]

To 'The gardener' (nice original name there - lol) Sorry couldnt help that one

Any way, I HADNT read your reply in the Sweet corn thread, but have now thanks.  Yes some sort of chart on the site would be good. Though now I know where you are I can probably make a 'guestimation' based on your timetable.

I am VERY  impressed by your site, and the work that has obviously gone into it by the way.

[The gardener]

Steve! in answer to your query;

a bl***y long time. in fact it is still ongoing.

and to Richard glad you liked it, and thanks to the others who have commented on it .

These replies make it feel all worth while............and whilst on my ego horse  ;) a few comments in my guestbook would be nice.

[Steve__C]

I would take it as a complement if people visit but don't find the time to sign your book.
I suspect most like me had to be dragged from the site. In my case by a nagging wife saying, "aren’t you coming to bed tonight?"