Thanks for giving me your advice. Just to let you know, I've had a smallish patch on the go for the last 18 months just to get a feel for it, but am now looking to expand. We've been here three years and this is the coldest and snowiest winter yet. Some of the locals in their seventies say it's the hardest winter they've ever experienced.
I know that it seems strange given the temperatures, but in fact I have mangetout peas and Douce Provence overwintering. One lot of Douce Provence is under plastic. The others were before the last lot of snow but the cloches got absolutely flattened and the hoops broke under the weight. Even so, the peas are doing reasonably well. I have aquadulce broad beans growing, currently about six inches or so high and very bushy. They are flopped over every morning and a little bit spotted due to the frost but perk up during the day. With any luck, I might get some beans this year if the bees, earwigs and weevils leave me some.
As for the winter brassicas, I have caulis, sprouts and cabbages, as well as early purple sprouting. The onion sets I planted in the autumn are doing reasonably OK but the leeks I planted out in the summer are truly useless. I also have spinach, chard and lamb's lettuce out in the open and some winter density in a cold frame. So in fact winter, despite the dreadful conditions is quite productive. Also, I haven't really needed to water a great deal, so I'm hoping that winter will be a good time for me despite the unlikely scenario! I'm not sure why this should be, perhaps because we do get quite a few sunny spells during the daytime even though it is so cold at night.
As for the brassicas, apart from the above, so far I've grown a few cabbages and radishes for summer use. I'll be trying turnips again this year, but the first lot I grew were not very popular with my partner...
Thanks for the advice about the legumes and potatoes and beets. I read in a book that even though they are in the same family, it's advisable to try not to grow potatoes and tomatoes together. If blight is not a problem, then I guess that doesn't apply. I'll do what you suggest and keep them in the same strip.
As for the locals, I pretty much grow what they do, though so far in significantly smaller quantities. Only one of the locals has a plot in conditions like mine, though his area is slightly milder (we have a very peculiar microclimate in our valley). I take his advice by and large but add things that I grow from seed bought from the UK. Nobody green manures family vegetable plots here. It's a rabbit farm area so there is plenty of rabbit muck about for the asking. All you need is a trailer or sacks and a blocked nose!
The water I use comes from a well. We had an outrageously dry summer last year but even so the well never ran dry. We haven't had that much rain so far this autumn and winter and the well level hasn't fully recovered. I'll be cutting down on the number of squash, courgettes and melons, but still growing some.
I hadn't thought about using the squashes for ground cover for the corn. That's a great idea. Last year I just piled straw about the place, but this would be far more effective.
By and large, did you think the actual rotation pattern itself was reasonable? I guess if the toms and tatties go together, it would be possible to start with the legumes and follow them with the brassicas, then the onions, etc. That would fit in better with John's recommendations on this site.