DIFFERENT PLANT FAMILIES IN APPLICATIONS IN WHAT IS CROP ROTATION? THE VEGGIE GARDEN SMALL GARDENS Crop rotation is the practice of alternating Alliaceae: Asparagus, Chives, Garlic, Leek, • If you are growing the same family in crops of specific vegetable families to Onion, Scallion, Shallot. containers year after year, replace the different areas of the garden from year to Apiaceae: Carrot, Celery, Celeriac, Cilantro, soil every two years. year. This gives the soil a rest from each Dill, Fennel, Parsley, Parsnip. • If you grow so much of one family vegetable family before that family Asteraceae: Artichoke, Chicory, Endive, that a 3 year rotation is impossible, try returns to the same garden space again. Jerusalem Artichoke, Lettuce. to put things in a new place each year. Benefits of rotating crops include: Brassicaceae: Arugula, Broccoli, Brussels • If you grow mixed plantings Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Choi, throughout your garden, consider Collards, Cress, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mizuna, • Pests have a harder time finding noting groups of things that you like to suitable host plants and so cannot build Mustard, Oilseed Radish, Radish, Turnip. plant next to each other, and moving Chenopodiaceae: Beet, Chard, Spinach. those groups together as you rotate. Increase yields while up their numbers as quickly. Cucurbitaceae: Cucumber, Gourd, Melon, diminishing pest and • Diseases are less likely to overwinter Pumpkin, Squash. disease problems and infect next year’s crops. Fabaceae: Austrian Peas, Beans (all kinds), • Yields are improved because nutrients Crimson Clover, Fava Beans, Dutch White in the soil are used more evenly. Clover. Gramineae: Annual Rye Grass, Corn, Fall Crop rotation ideally has a 3 year cycle, Cereal Rye. but if a small garden has you thinking a 3 Lamiaceae: Basil. year rotation is not for you, you can still Polygonaceae: Bloody Dock, Buckwheat, plant different families in different places Sorrel. each year, or grow mixed plantings in Solanaceae: Eggplant, Ground Cherry, GARDEN SANITATION your whole garden. Rotation is more Potato, Pepper, Tomatillo, Tomato. important to some plant families than Garden sanitation plays a large role in Valerianaceae: Mache/Vit/Corn Salad defense against pests and diseases. When others. The most important ones to move a plant is done producing, remove it are: brassicas, cucurbits, and solanums, promptly and clean up all surrounding in that order. debris. If you decide to keep a diseased plant in the garden (squash with powdery mildew, peas with enation, etc.), remove all affected leaves as they appear.

Written by Drew Waldman GETTING STARTED Some short season greens such as YEAR 1 COVER CROPS lettuce, mache, sorrel, and spinach do In the table below we are not currently appear in the rotation. IN BED 1: Grow brassicas and alliums Some cover crops are in the same family as assuming that whatever shape These should be planted before or spring, summer, fall, and over winter. common food crops. These should be placed of garden, there is 60 feet of in the rotation directly before or after the after the same crop every season. For Overwintering alliums will not be ready row to be used for planting. example, if in year one spring spinach food crop of the same family, and kept out to harvest when it is time to plant next First, write down all the crops is grown and followed by summer of other parts of the garden. you want to grow and how tomatoes in the same spot, then in all year’s beans and cucurbits. many feet of row or bed space each will IN BED 2: Grow mache, spinach, and A mix of cover crops like Gardenway Mix is future years spring spinach should be useful because the buildup of pests and need. Next, group the larger families with followed by summer tomatoes. carrots in the spring, followed by the smaller families in any way that they overwintering of diseases depends on there solanums in summer, and bulbing fennel make 3 equal groups. Then divide your being a large area of a single plant family, and carrots over winter. which this cover crop mix does not provide. garden space into 3 equal size plots and RULES FOR CROP ROTATION number them 1-3. IN BED 3: Grow peas, lettuce, and For more info about cover crops, please see sorrel in spring, followed by beans, the Cover Crops brochure. • Two growing seasons should pass cucurbits, and corn. before a plant family returns to soil Here is a chart of the 3 beds in our sample Bed # Crop Family Row ft. and the best cover crop choices for each: it has already grown in. Broccoli/Cauliflower BR 7’ • Heavy feeders such as brassicas, YEAR 2 AND ONWARD Winter 1 Winter 2 Winter 3 Kale BR 3’ cucurbits, and solanums should Bed O/GW CC/F/GW GW 1 Brussels Sprout BR 2’ follow light feeders (all others). In year 2, plant the bed 1 plants in 1 Mustard/Collards BR 3’ bed 2, the bed 2 plants in bed 3, and Bed GW O/GW CC/F/GW • Surface feeders such as corn should Garlic AL 5’ the bed 3 plants in bed 1. Continue 2 follow deep rooters like brassicas. Bed CC/F/GW GW O/GW Bed 1 total = 20 this rotation so that no family returns • When removing a finished crop, 3 Tomatoes SO 6’ to its original spot until year 4. Peppers SO 3’ clean up thoroughly in that area, O = Oilseed radish GW= Gardenway Mix 2 Potatoes SO 1.5’ and leave no debris in which pests Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 CC= Crimson Clover F= Fava Beans Carrots AP 4.5’ or diseases may overwinter. Bed BR/AL FA/CU SO/AP BR/AL Dill/Cilantro AP 3’ • Keep records of what happens, and 1 Bulbing Fennel AP 2’ use this information to help plan Bed SO/AP BR/AL FA/CU SO/AP Bed 2 total = 20 future plantings. 2 Bed FA/CU SO/AP BR/AL FA/CU Peas FA 2.5’ 3 Snap Beans FA 2.5’ 3 Zucchini CU 3’ BR/AL= Brassicaceae and Alliaceae *Please note that if you grow overwintering Pumpkin CU 3’ SO/AP= Solanaceae and Apiaceae veggies in a bed, cover crops may not be Cucumber CU 3’ FA/CU= Fabaceae, Curcurbitaceae, and desirable too close to the vegetables. They Corn GR 6’ Graminae may prove to be too competitive. Bed 3 total = 20