Four Year Crop Rotation

Latest Update 22nd April 2019.



Four Year Crop Rotation (for annual vegetables).

Crop rotation reduces the build up of plant pests in the soil.  

• These soil borne pests target groups of similar or related vegetables, but when the group moves to another bed, the pests become dormant, and fall prey to their predators. 
• It takes 3 years for the crop to return to a given bed within the rotation in which time the pest has lost its potency and doesn't usually trouble its returned plant hosts.

In my 4 year crop rotation:-

• Four different family groups of vegetables are grown separately in four garden Ecobeds.
• In autumn each family group is moved to the next bed in the rotation, and continues to be moved every year.
• In a given bed, solanaceae are followed by light feeders, then by legumes, next by heavy feeders and finally solanaceae return to the bed (and so on). 

The following schedule shows how the family groups move from bed to bed, year by year.

2019.

• Ecobed 1.  Light feeders.
• Ecobed 2.  Solanaceae.
• Ecobed 3.  Heavy feeders.
• Ecobed 4.  Legumes.

2020.

• Ecobed 1.  Legumes.
• Ecobed 2.  Light feeders.
• Ecobed 3.  Solanaceae.
• Ecobed 4.  Heavy feeders.

2021.

• Ecobed 1.  Heavy feeders.
• Ecobed 2.  Legumes.
• Ecobed 3.  Light feeders.
• Ecobed 4.  Solanaceae.

 2022.

• Ecobed 1.  Solanaceae.
• Ecobed 2.  Heavy feeders. 
• Ecobed 3.  Legumes.
• Ecobed 4.  Light feeders.

This process continues indefinitely.