4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[henny penny]

Just planning my allotment- what crops do you rotate and how?

 

just been looking at my books and some say to follow potatoes with roots and some same say to follow roots with potatoes - what do fellow allotmenteers do?

 

I have been doing Potatoes followed by roots followed by onions etc then by brassicas and legumes

[Happy chickens!]

I do the traditional potatoes, followed by roots, followed by legumes, followed by brassicas. I count onions as roots! I sow the leeks in pots, then as I dig up the potatoes, bung the leeks in straightaway, which seems to work ok and was suggested by a fellow allotmenter as a good space saver.

 

I don't move my soft fruit, herbs or asparagus, and bung in sweetcorn wherever there's space!

 

Hope that helps henny penny.

[eggypeggy]

The most important thing is the brassicas after legumes thing. The rest is less important.. Dig in the legume roots to leave lovely nitrogen in the soil for the brassicas. If you are putting manure on, put it on all the beds except the one for brassicas, they don't need it.

 

I consider roots and potatoes to be the same thing.. I do legumes followed by brassicas followed by potatoes followed by roots (alliums,carrots etc)

 

Then theres always the veg that you can't work out where it's supposed to go. put that where you can fit it and just just keep a note so you can move it elsewhere next year.

 

Have fun. Good luck with your veg.

[Matthew]

The most important thing is the brassicas after legumes thing. The rest is less important.. Dig in the legume roots to leave lovely nitrogen in the soil for the brassicas. If you are putting manure on, put it on all the beds except the one for brassicas, they don't need it.

 

I consider roots and potatoes to be the same thing.. I do legumes followed by brassicas followed by potatoes followed by roots (alliums,carrots etc)

 

Then theres always the veg that you can't work out where it's supposed to go. put that where you can fit it and just just keep a note so you can move it elsewhere next year.

 

Have fun. Good luck with your veg.

 

 

Do have to point out that you should NEVER manure the root bed. All your carrots and parsnips will be fork and grow in weird and wonderful shapes. this is because the roots sense the concentrate food source and grow out to it... and if its good stuff like manure it will grow out in all directions....

 

My rotation is as follows, and agree about the legumes followed by brassicas and I do manure and lime (but never together)

 

peas and beans, brassicas, root crops, onions, potatoes

[Valkyrie]

Some things don't need to be moved - eg, runner beans are happy to grow in the same spot. Also I read that tomatoes actually do better if they are grown in the same soil year after year - not that I have put that into practice yet, but I am going to try it this year and next because we have taken over more lawn for veggies - as long as you don't grow them in the same spot as spuds or let them follow each other on. I do have a special bed for runners though. I also tend to use companion planting for some crops as I don't have enough room for dedicating a whole bed to brassicas for example. But then I do move them around as best as I can.

[Matthew]

Some things don't need to be moved - eg, runner beans are happy to grow in the same spot. Also I read that tomatoes actually do better if they are grown in the same soil year after year - not that I have put that into practice yet, but I am going to try it this year and next because we have taken over more lawn for veggies - as long as you don't grow them in the same spot as spuds or let them follow each other on. I do have a special bed for runners though. I also tend to use companion planting for some crops as I don't have enough room for dedicating a whole bed to brassicas for example. But then I do move them around as best as I can.

 

 

Tomatoes should not be grown in the same soil year after year.... its just inviting pest and disease problems.... But if you do grow them in the same spot (ie in greenhouse) make sure you replace the soil AND remove all leaves/plants etc as this is where blight etc will lay dormant over winter

 

 

EDIT: Runner beans..... You really need to ensure you prep the soil (dig a trench.. line with cardboard and layer on organic matter) and feed heavily if you are growing in same spot (I move mine every year)

[Valkyrie]

After an attack from blight, my toms regrew from the lower leaf nodes and were very strong and very healthy. Blight is windborn and can come from anywhere. So I am still going to have a bash at growing in the same place just to see for myself as an experiment. If it doesn't work I will switch beds and leave that spot free for a few years.

 

PS with the runners I always have a deep trench, but French beans are always rotated.

[chickenanne]

I only have a small veg patch and like to try to catch-crop as much as possible. This makes proper crop rotation pretty much impossible, so although I try to keep brassica's in separate areas each year (clay soil + brassicas = higher risk of club root), the rest I pretty much just plant and don't worry about. I'm not suggesting that this is ideal, but it's the only practical solution for very small veg beds.