Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: eddie.hunt on July 18, 2010, 18:43

Title: Crop rotation
Post by: eddie.hunt on July 18, 2010, 18:43

I have a small veg patch which has been moderately successful but with varying results for 30 years. I choose to grow potatos in bags and so the advice generally given does not help me as it seems to always assume potatos are to be grown.

My usual crops include parsnip, runner beans, broad beans, leeks, cauliflower, tomato, courgette grown in Herefordshire soil.

Can anyone help with this? I am particularly interested in the type(s) of fertilizer to be applied and when.

Eddie Hunt

Title: Re: Crop rotation
Post by: Yorkie on July 18, 2010, 18:49

Welcome to the site  :D

I'll pop your question over to the Grow your Own board as it's about GYO; feel free to pop back here and introduce yourself  :D

Title: Re: Crop rotation
Post by: DavidT on July 18, 2010, 19:26

Good evening Eddie and welcome to the site. :D

Title: Re: Crop rotation
Post by: Christo on July 18, 2010, 19:32

Hello Eddie & Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have years of useful experience behind you that we'll soon be benefiting from.  :D Good luck & Welcome.

Title: Re: Crop rotation
Post by: Weeble on July 19, 2010, 09:52

Hi Eddie

I also had a bit of a problem deciding what to grow in which bed, what group of veg should follow the one before etc. and came up with the following plan.

I use a 4 year rotation with permanent beds for fruit and perenial plants.
If the range of veg grown  is limited and/or you only have room for 3 rotations I would grow group 2 in with group 4 as the third bed in the rotation and trench manure the peas and  beans instead of the whole bed and do not lime.

Rotation Plan Year 1

Bed 1
Winter - Manure
Potatoes, Tomatoes, Aubergines and Peppers

Bed 2
Late Autumn/Early Winter - Lime (if needed)
Winter (At least 4 weeks after liming) - Manure
Peas and Beans

Bed 3
Late Autumn/Early Winter - Lime (if needed)
Winter (At least 4 weeks after liming) - Manure
Broccoli, Brussels, Cabbage, Calabrese, Cauliflower, Kale, Koh Rabi, Mizuna, Pak Choi, Raddish, Rocket, Swede and Turnip

Bed 4
Late Winter - Compost
Carrot, Celery, Celeriac, Fennel and Parsnip

Other veg that do not belong to the above "families" and can be used to fill up a bed, catch cropped or be interplanted with are:
Beetroot, Spinache, Swiss Chard
Onions, Garlic, Shallots and Leeks
Cougette, Cucumber, Marrow, Melon, Pumpkin and Squash
Chicory, Corn Salad, Endive, Lettuce, Salsify, Sweetcorn and Sweet Potato

Bed 1 moves to Bed 4, Bed 2 to Be1 etc. the following year.

Hope any of this helps/makes sense