8/9/2019 Crop Rotation To help control pests and diseases it is
a good idea
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Crop Rotation
To help control pests and diseases it isa good idea to grow
families of vegeta-bles in separate plots and move them
around (rotate) them each year.
Year 1
Year 2
This means that all the plants from thepotato family would go in
one area andall the plants from the carrot family inanother as
shown in the diagrams
above.
Why use crop rotation?
Moving crops around helps to stopthe build up of pests and
diseases,which are found in the soil.
Plants need nutrients in differentamounts and take them
fromdifferent parts of the soil.Changing the crops in an areameans
that nutrients in all parts of
soil are used.
Families of vegetables often needsimilar nutrients (food).
Keepingfamilies together means that cropsget the best growing
conditions.
Some plants have dense foliage(leaves which are close
togetherand lots of them). These plantshelp to stop weeds
growing.Changing from plants that do nothave dense foliage, to
those that
do the next year, will help to keepthe weeds down.
How long should the rotation last?
The longer the rotation the better, butthe normal length is 4
years. The first 2
years of a 4 year rotation is shownopposite.
Crop rotationA Students Guide
How do you plan a rotation?
You can find examples of crop rotationin many gardening books.
However,you can design your own by following
these steps:
1. Make a list of all the vegetabletypes and number of plants
thatyou want to grow.
2. Group the plants together in bo-tanical families. The chart
on theback of this leaflet shows youwhich plants belong in which
fami-lies.
3. Draw a plan of the growing area.
Divide into equal sections. Youneed as many sections as
thenumber of years you want the ro-tation to last. So for a four
yearrotation you need four sections.
4. Work out which crops are going inwhich area. Families should
betogether, but if you have morethan one crop for an area,
thenchoose plants with similar growingneeds.
5. Keep recordsof what actually
happens, not just what youplanned. Use this informationwhen
planning for next year.
Carrot Family
Cabbage FamilyPea & Bean Family
Potato Family
Pea & Bean Family Potato Family
Cabbage Family Carrot Family
