Crop Rotation

Crop rotation despite what my non-gardening mates believe, is NOT the twisting of sunflowers to
chase the sun (although, they do have a point they are crops, and they are rotating!). Crop rotation
is in fact a method of managing plantings, both on a small (vegie patch) and large (farm) scale to
minimise the risk of pests and diseases, and maximise the yield and productivity of crops. Yup, it all
sounds terribly technical, but I promise you its not! Hey, if I can manage it, I reckon just about
anyone can!
Whats the Deal?
The definition of crop rotation I like the most is The successive planting of different crops on the
same land to maximise soil fertility and help control pests and diseases. Okay, it sounds very
agricultural, but, in essence, this is the principle that we, as home gardeners, can apply to our vegie
patches. And let me tell you, it works. The top notch vegies that we grow in our yummy yards, almost
always, remove many and various nutrients from the soil during their growing periods. That said, a
number of them replace nutrients as well (think beans, peas and other legumes). By varying what we
pop in the patch, and what type of crop follows another, we can ensure that our vegies get what they
need from the soil and we get what we need from our vegies!
The other benefit of rotating our crops is that the process helps to interrupt the cycle of host specific
pests and diseases. This means that harmful pests and diseases are unable to build up to damaging
levels either in the soil or on the host plants themselves. Crop rotation has moved their favourite
host plants from the area, perhaps whilst the pests were resting over winter, and essentially they
are now unable to breed or, if they do breed, they no longer have a food source for their young to
thrive. Hence the cycle is broken! Hurrah!! Crop rotation is a common practice in many large scale
agricultural endeavours, such as in the rice paddies in Southern China. Over a two year cycle, a rice
crop is generally followed by an upland, non-related crop (such as sugar cane) to help break the
cycle and infestation of rice borer. And it must work, cause these guys have been doing it for a long,
long time! In fact, crop rotation is reportedly one of the oldest cultural practices that is still kicking
around.early civilisations in Africa and Asia used it, as did the Romans.
So how do you do it?
Everyone and their gardening book has a different method for successful crop rotation. After much
discussion in the SGA trenches, we have come up with a system we like a lot. Its simple, easy to
manage, and it works!
Our system works on a four bed rotation, meaning there are four separate planting areas. Dont fret
if your garden doesnt seem big enough to cope with all these beds. You can instead have just one
bed and rotate the produce each season. It may mean you cant grow tomatoes every summer, but
youll have fun with a lot of other vegies in between! Vegies you can trade for tomatoes at your local
vegie swap. If your garden is large enough, use what space you have available, and divide this up
into four separate zones. Or, if you are starting from scratch, consider a mandala circle style vegie
garden. While they look amazing, they will also maximise space, and allow for the zoning of planting
areas (which in turn makes crop rotation even easier!). You can even have a spot for the chooks!
Stay tuned, an SGA article on designing a mandala garden will be posted shortly!
The Four-Bed Crop Rotation System
Lets get down to the nuts and bolts of the whole thing how to do it. Firstly, we need to know a
little bit about plant families, because this is a key principle behind crop rotation. Essentially, each
area should be planted with a different plant family each season (generally every six months), to help
avoid any nasty pest and disease outbreaks. So, whos related to whom?
The Solanaceae Family includes potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, chilis and eggplants.
The Brassiaceae Family includes Asian greens, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower,
turnips, mustard and radishes
The Apiaceae Family includes carrots, coriander, parsley, parsnip, dill and caraway.
The Fabaceae Family includes peas, beans and other legumes.
The Cucurbitaceae Family includes pumpkin, zucchini and cucumbers.
The Amaranthaceae Family includes spinach and silverbeet
The Asteraceae Family includes lettuce and artichokes
The Chenopodiaceae Family includes beetroot and quinoa
The Poaceae Family includes sweetcorn and maize
The Alliaceae Family includes onions, chives and leeks
The principle is that one family member shouldnt be followed by another family member in
consecutive seasons. For example, once the tomatoes, members of the Solanaceae family, have
finished fruiting and been removed, this area should be planted up with a member of another family
such as a peas from the Fabaceae family.
There is another reason for this type of planting sequence as well. We know that some plants are
referred to as heavy feeders, while others are light feeders. By introducing a crop rotation
system, we can estimate the potential levels of soil nutrients remaining in the plot and plant up
accordingly. For example, the Brassiaceae family are mainly heavy feeders and will take a lot of
nutrients from your soil. However the Alliaceae family are light feeders and will not do well in a rich
soil. Therefore it makes sense to plants onions after cabbages! Sounds complicated? I promise, its
not! Just think logically and you cant go wrong!
With these principles in mind, a suitable four-bed crop rotation may look like this:
Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four
Bed One Legume Heavy Feeder Light Feeder Green Manure
Bed Two Heavy Feeder Light Feeder Green Manure Legume
Bed Three Light Feeder Green Manure Legume Heavy Feeder
Bed Four Green Manure Legume Heavy Feeder Light Feeder
Heavy Feeders include potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, sweet corn, lettuce,
cucumbers, zucchini, spinach, lettuce and Asian greens.
Light Feeders include onions, leeks, garlic, beetroot, carrots, parsnips and silverbeet
Legumes include peas, snow peas, broad beans, runner beans, snake beans and okra.
Green Manure Crops are crops grown, not to be harvested, but to be worked back into the soil.
These are generally comprised of thickly sown annual grasses and/or legumes, that are tilled back
into the soil before they flower or form seed heads. They add nutrients during their growing period
and organic matter to soil in vegie patches, perfect for getting the next seasons edible crop off to a
good start! Many nurseries (especially SGA certified garden centres) stock pre-packaged green
manure seeds.
Keeping Track of the Patch
Like a lot of things, crop rotation works really well in theory, but can prove a little daunting,
especially if youre memory is anything like mine. The solution a blackboard in the garden shed, or
a gardening calendar, outlining what was planted in what patch during each season. This is a great
visual reminder of whats happened in your yummy yard, and will help you keep track of the
rotations happening in your patch.
There really are no hard and fast rules when it comes to crop rotation, but, if you follow the four bed
rotation above, and keep the following four tips in mind, I reckon youre on the right track:
1. Dont follow one crop with another from the same family
2. Dont follow one heavy feeder with another heavy feeder
3. Do plant a green manure crop at least once in every 4 seasons to replenish your soil.
4. Do read the SGA fact sheets on individual plants when planning your next crops
Crop rotation may take a little bit of practice and patience to get right in your neck of the woods,
but, once youve mastered it, it is as easy as 1,2,3,4!