Crop Rotation

David McNally asked 15 years ago

Hi Gerry, I am sowing vegetables for the first time and using crop rotation. I have 3 raised beds with Root crops in one, Legumes in another and Brassicas in the 3rd. My question is in which of these categories can I include onions, leeks, garlic, cucumbers and courgettes. Thanks

1 Answers

Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
The onion family is often treated as a fourth grouping, making a 4-year rotation. Also, some growers of onions and family keep them to the one spot so as not to spread the root disease onion white root to all parts of the garden, moving to new ground when the disease arrives.

While rotation works very well in large-scale agricuture, it is difficult to apply at a garden scale, because of different sized areas of the range of crops and the proximity of the ‘separate’ plots, with cross-contamination of plots with tools and boots.

However, though limited, it is still worthwhile carrying out some ‘follow-on’ cropping, even if it is not a strict rotation. For instance, putting on organic material before potatoes, sweet corn, courgettes and not before cabbage and carrots. Putting on lime before cabbage and not potatoes.

More on this in the Know-how section, click here:  https://gardenie.wpengine.com/gerrycategory/crop-rotation/?id=5492

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