[rizzla_lite]

I have made a big mistake in the measurements of my new poly which I erected over the weekend. To cut a long story short, I have to revamp my plans for what goes where on the plot this season which will mean that the squash and courgettes need to go into the same bed as last year. (eek!)

I know this is far from ideal due to potential diseases remaining in the soil from the last crop and it interupts my 4 year crop rotation plan but will I get away with it! The area was manured with well rotted horse pooh in January and I threw some chicken pellets on the surface a few days ago.

Should I give it a go as the squash are already sowed in my heated greenhouse or should I think of growing something else there? If I do go for it, is there anything else I can do to help to minimise potential problems?

As always, I am grateful for any advice.

[Fisherman]

I assume your plants of last year weren't diseased! IMO a small hiccup in your crop rotation plans shouldn't make any difference unless you were extremely unlucky. Might be worth adding some more manure / compost as squash and courgettes like plenty of moisture and food.

[mumofstig]

You'll be fine, they suffer from very little in the way of pests and diseases, so no worries.

[emptydraw]

Crop rotation is only suggested for onions, legumes, spuds, roots and brassicas due to the potential of soil born diseases building up over time. Some people swear by it, others ignore it. Either way, one year in the same spot wouldnt hurt any of these unless you had serious problems last year.
Also note that neither Courgettes or Squashes belong to these families, and so dont get any benefit from being grown in a new bed each year anyway. Ditto for sweetcorn and a few other oddities that I cant remember.
So you can relax and carry on theyll be just fine.

[madcat]

Just keep going - you will be fine.  The biggest issue you will have keeping them in the same place is feeding 'em, they exhaust the soil quickly but the horses and chickens will do to keep things going!

[rizzla_lite]

Thanks to you all.