saritabee
Deeply Rooted
I guess when it comes to disease. I have been lucky. I haven't noticed any trouble with my grow outs. The places that have had beans in the very same place more than once haven't actually been used for beans that many times except for my backyard bean plots (this is the 8th season) and my south flowerbed. I have considered giving my backyard ground a rest from beans for one season from time to time. In 2016,2017, and 2018 I grew beans on the same ground at a former nursery, but I have not been there for two years and don't plan on going back. The former nursery has too many deer visiting nightly. The last year I was there at the nursery some of my beans came down with mosaic and I didn't harvest seed from those varieties that were affected. The place where my large 80 variety bush dry bean plot grows this year. This is my second year there and I don't consider that a long time in the same place. When the fellow who owns the property retires in a couple more years. I may have grown beans on that ground perhaps 4 or 5 times. He told me then he wants that piece back again for his gardens. So by that time I might find anther new place to go. Where my pole bean plot is this year. I built a raised bed box on the place where I had very spotting success with beans because of drainage. That bean ground was buried with a new layer of soil 11 inches deep. So I consider that piece of ground as being used to grow beans for the very first time. Where my pole bean plot is this year there is another plot the same size inside my deer fence and I could alternate beans between the two plots from year to year with other vegetables.
I heard someone say at one of the seed swaps I attended in the last few years. That Bill Best of Sustainable Mountain Agriculture fame. Has grown beans on the same ground for a countless number of years.
Ha, true!
It's good to know you haven't had much trouble besides that one plot that got mosaic virus. I think I'll probably ignore crop rotation til I start seeing problems (and knock on wood, no problems for a long time!).