Double cropping in a PT

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adri123

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Double cropping in a PT
« on: October 06, 2013, 19:39 »
Hi

This advice was given by Salmo in another thread regarding maximising an allotment output....

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"Arrange your rotations so that you can double crop.
For instance:
broad beans/peas harvested by July followed by overwintering brassicas sprouting broccoli/cabbage/caulis harvested by May followed by sweet corn/courgettes, squashes.

runner bean trench planted with salads in March April before runner beans. "

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Does the same apply to PT growing?  Or could we be looking at triple cropping or even quadruple?

I've made the PT right.  Now I want to use it right and get the most out of it.

Any comments welcome.

TIA

Adri

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mumofstig

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2013, 19:47 »
as long as you keep the soil well-fed, then there's no reason not to  ;)

Make a point of always having stuff in pots ready to plant as soon as there are spaces for them

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Kristen

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2013, 10:36 »
Quite a lot of crops grown under cover are long season croppers - Cucumbers, Peppers, Tomatoes, etc.  Mine are in-situ from 1st May until end October.

I do grow a greenhouse crop of Sweetcorn, which I follow with Peppers / Aubergines (as MoS says: they are being brought on in pots "ready").  Over Winter we grow Chard.  I've tried other things, such as Winter Lettuce, but not much has done well enough so I don't bother now - but the crop of Chard we get in the spring is a good hungry-gap filler.

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NickoV

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2013, 14:46 »
I split the tunnel in two. One side has tomatoes, cucs, aubergines,peppers. The other, early potatoes, carrots, mizuna, mispoona,radish rocket, mustard greens lettuce,spring onions, early french beans,early cabbage, calabrese.
Tomatoes and peppers are sometimes still cropping at winter solstice. As soon as I take the toms out I prep one bed for early potatoes.In late feb the potatoes go in under thick fleece. I know this doesn't sound like good practice in terms of rotation but my theory is that the potatoes are done by the end of May, so the bed has had the nightshade family in for only one full year. I have four beds so potatoes only get grown once every four years in the same bed. Each bed has a break for a full year from tomatoes . I have been doing this for six years now and haven't seen any problems.
Once the spuds are done, I sow carrots(really struggle to grow carrots outside here because of clay soil and carrot fly) and early french dwarf beans successionally.When these are done, (about now), I sow over wintering salads. They will come out when it is time to plant the tomatoes again. So yes, triple cropping is definitely doable.

I try to keep the soil in good health,feeding with good compost as a mulch, and try to manitain a degree of rotation. And keep experimenting!
These are just my opinions based on what I have read, the filters my brain uses as a product of my upbringing, and the experiences I have had growing food. I am not intending to convince anyone I am right, just supply my opinion when it is asked for. I am also open to changing my opinions! Nick

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Kristen

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2013, 16:02 »
Each bed has a break for a full year from tomatoes . I have been doing this for six years now and haven't seen any problems.

I have a friend who uses grafted Tomatoes (he grafts his own :) ) and plants into same-soil each year.  Obviously it hasn't been a problem for you, but if it got to the point you could consider that.  Or change the soil?  :tongue2:

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adri123

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2013, 16:23 »
@NickoV

Very interesting post.  Many thanks.  My PT is going to end up with 8 raised beds each 8ft by 4ft so rotation won't be difficult.  I'll just shuffle the rotation down a bed every year so it should work well.

Adri

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NickoV

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Re: Double cropping in a PT
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2013, 19:54 »
@NickoV

Very interesting post.  Many thanks.  My PT is going to end up with 8 raised beds each 8ft by 4ft so rotation won't be difficult.  I'll just shuffle the rotation down a bed every year so it should work well.

Adri

My issue is that I always want to grow more tomatoes than a quarter of the space in the tunnel. Hence the 2 year rotaion instead.



 

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