New Zealand Garden Swap Newsletter

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CROP ROTATION FOR THE FAMILY VEGETABLE GARDEN

Do you have a mental block each spring trying to work out what crops are to go where in the vegetable garden?

This is a permanent garden cycle, one that just flows on year after year.
Crop rotation is vital in an ongoing vegetable garden, to prevent ongoing soil born diseases caused by growing the same crops in the same piece of ground year after year. Crops grown in a good rotation generally yield more, although some crop residues can have a negative effect on subsequent crops which can in turn inhibit or enhance the development of other crops.
Better crop nutrition is also built into rotation plans, with heavy feeders following light feeders. Deep rooting crops follow shallow rooting veges, helping keep the soil structure open and assisting drainage. Nitrogen fixing crops alternate with nitrogen demanding crops. Crops which develop slowly and are therefore susceptible to weeds should follow weed suppressing crops.
This crop rotation doesn't include perennial crops such as rhubarb and artichokes. It might be easier to have another bed for those.
After a couple of years of working with this rotation system you should be able to work out the areas needed for individual crops to supply your families requirements. For instance for a family of 5 you would need two half beds of dwarf beans, staggered over the summer and two beds of carrots.
This 4 year intensive garden cycle uses a total of 16 garden beds, each 5 metres long and 1.2 metres wide, with 4 beds in each group for a year. These rotations change over in spring, thus, after one year Group 1 changes to group 2 and so on. The 1.2 metre wide beds mean that you reach the middle of each bed without tramping on the soil. As the bed becomes vacant check the plan and fit something else in from that group.

GROUP 1 Legumes, brassicas, onions & garlic
Add dolomite lime if needed, these plants like a sweet soil.
Fertilise with animal manure.
Peas. 2 half beds, sown autumn and spring.
Beans. 2 half beds, early and late.
Brassicas. 2 beds, over winter if room.
Chinese Cabbages
Onions. 1 or 2 beds, in early spring.
Garlic & Shallots. 1 bed, in mid-winter, harvested at Xmas and then planted in late beans. 		GROUP 4 Acid lovers & fruiting plants
High potassium/potash compost
Comfrey liguid.
Tomatoes. 1 beds.
Capsicum & Aubergine. 1/2 bed, each at most.
Leeks. 1 bed, for winter.
GROUP 2 Root Crops
Avoid high nitrogen manures, use mature compost
Carrots. 2 beds.
Beetroot. 1 bed for harvest through winter.
Parsnip. 1/2 bed, for winter.
Celery. 1/2 bed. 		GROUP 3 Leafy Crops
Use animal manures and compost
Corn. 2 beds, early and late.
Zucchini. 2 half beds successively planted.
Cucumber & Gherkins. 1/2 bed each, one or two plants of each.
Silverbeet. 1/2 bed at most, could plant along a bed edge.
Salad greens, endive, lettuces. Fitted in here and there.