Crop rotation question

[thistlebloom]

I understand the logic behind crop rotation, and am generally successful in practicing it, but it's starting to be a little bewildering to me as I keep increasing the amount of potatoes and peppers I put in every year. Between the spuds, peppers, and tomatoes, there's just not a lot more beds to devote to non-nightshade vegetables for a 3 or 4 year rotation.

Since I haven't had any serious disease or pest issues with anything do you think I might get away with an every-other-year type rotation? So, for instance bed A would get potatoes this year, something unrelated (non-nightshade ) next year, and then in the following year, either tomatoes or peppers?

Would a cover crop planted in the fall mitigate some of the disease question?

 

[digitS']

Thistle', this is a real good question for Bonnie (GoneCuttin).

She had a real nice diagram for rotation - multiple "what can follow whats." Circle and arrows.

I didn't grow potatoes in my garden for 30 years and at that time I was just moving them from one 2,500ft block to the next. I originally had 4 blocks and then went to 3 but, it was fairly simple. My tomatoes were so limited in those days, I can't even remember how they fit in.

Lately, I've done 1 or 2 beds (100 to 200ft) of potatoes moving them across 7 beds total. Meanwhile, the peppers have been elsewhere and the tomato patch (much larger than many years ago) has been elsewhere, yet again! The tomatoes, I have felt should be at some distance from the field sprinklers so that has left me with 3 locations of about 1000ft each. I've just followed them with corn since that also seems to do fairly well at a distance from the sprinklers.

See . . . no help. You should ask Bonnie Rodale.

Steve

 

[lesa]

The 3-4 is a best case scenario... everything I have read says, do what you can, with what you have. Obviously, those of us with small garden plots and yards, do not have the ability to do this kind of hardcore rotation. Since you have had no severe problems, and continue to add organic compost to your beds, I think every other year will be perfect! Those of us who live in the cold climates are lucky, so little can actually survive our winters!

 

[vfem]

I have to agree... with us small time gardeners, it doesn't always work out well. I never have the potatoes and tomatoes in the same bed at the same time. But I found I have tomatoes spread into 4 out of the 6 beds I was using last year. I went and put my potatoes in a bed that had a spare tomato plant in it last year! Oops! However, you noticed and were aware you had no disease infestation in years past in those beds with those plants... that's important! I also didn't have a disease issue with the nightshade varieties last year. So I'm not sweating it.

I see it this way, be aware of what happens in your garden and try your hardest to make good rotations happen as often as possible. If one year pops up that you just can't make it work, then don't bother if you have no disease worries. Then go back into the rotation. I can't give room to let my beds rest for a year like I would want to... but I over winter them with compost. And fertilize as best I can. They point is, you don't do it mindlessly at all... you know your garden well and I think you will be just fine!!!

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks for the thoughts you guys . I do have a brand new 50 x 50ish plot that got brushed and tilled by a neighbor and his tractor last summer. It's pretty rough, so if I can devote some time to cleaning out the big roots and branches, I'm going to put this years potatoes in there. Otherwise I guess I wont sweat it.

 

[897tgigvib]

I find that if I can't do perfect rotations, as this year will be an example, that I always do my best to keep germs down best I can.

Top dress your soil with a few inches of fresh compost and ash. Keep things extra clean, and try to avoid splashes. Plus side for you, if anything like Montana and here in the way off woods, is there are not many plant diseases around. I'm not sure about how prevalent potato diseases are where you are, but you should have few tomato diseases not being in the south. To be on the safe side you may want sure thing disease resistant varieties, and ash them at season end.

 

[momofdrew]

I try to keep a 4 year rotation but-----when you have an extra tom or 3 you just cant throw them in the compost, be cause that would be waste full, it will throw off your rotation unless you are lucky enough to have a very large garden...

 

[chris09]

I understand the logic behind crop rotation, and am generally successful in practicing it, but it's starting to be a little bewildering to me as I keep increasing the amount of potatoes and peppers I put in every year. Between the spuds, peppers, and tomatoes, there's just not a lot more beds to devote to non-nightshade vegetables for a 3 or 4 year rotation.

Since I haven't had any serious disease or pest issues with anything do you think I might get away with an every-other-year type rotation? So, for instance bed A would get potatoes this year, something unrelated (non-nightshade ) next year, and then in the following year, either tomatoes or peppers?

Would a cover crop planted in the fall mitigate some of the disease question?

thistle,
I don't do much crop rotation so I may not help much but I will post this and it might help.
In my years of gardening I found that crop rotation works best on a large scale garden/ field and that the average backyard garden benefits very little from it.
A example of this would be if planted tomato at one end of a garden and had tomato horn worm then you move them to the other end of a 25 foot garden the fowling year then chances are very good that you will still get tomato horn worm if you are only using crop rotation as a prevention of pest or some disease.

I also found that companion planting works a lot better than crop rotation in the smaller scale gardens, since tomatoes do best when planted in the same place year after year I will plant companion plants on each side of them to help prevent pests/ disease.


Chris

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks everybody . What you all said makes sense. So here's my plan; basically garden as clean as possible, eliminate any diseased plants I see, rotate when practical, utilize companion plants when I can, and plant fall cover crops.

That helps...I'm not going to stress over it.