Crop rotation is the sequence of growing crops over the years in a certain area. Even a novice gardener knows that one crop cannot be grown in the same place for a long time. By correctly alternating vegetables in the garden, you can achieve excellent results: increase soil fertility, protect plants from pests and diseases, and improve agricultural technology. It is useful for any gardener to know what crop rotations are and how to create your own crop rotation plan.
- Each vegetable uses certain substances for nutrition, so in a few years the soil will become poorer, and the plants will begin to suffer from a lack of necessary elements.
- Pests that hibernate in the soil and infect a certain crop, having come to the surface in the spring, will immediately find plants suitable for them and quickly destroy the plantings. The same applies to diseases.
- The root system of each plant releases certain substances into the soil. After a few years, these compounds will accumulate in the soil and begin to interfere with the development of this species.
- in one year to restore the microflora and natural fertility of the soil;
- remove the problem of incompatibility of cultures;
- increase the water permeability and hygroscopicity of the soil;
- rational distribution of organic fertilizers;
- rationally use the area during one season, getting several harvests of different crops from the garden;
- clean the soil from perennial and annual weeds.
- make a list of crops that will be grown on the site;
- calculate the number of beds.
- leafy, including green onions and white cabbage;
- fruit - nightshade, pumpkin and other vegetables grown for the sake of fruits;
- root vegetables, including potatoes and radishes;
- legumes.
- bed 1 - fruit;
- bed 2 - root crops;
- bed 3 - legumes;
- bed 4 - leafy.
- highly demanding - cabbage, pumpkin, sunflower;
- moderately demanding - solanaceous;
- undemanding - celery;
- undemanding - legumes.
- Cruciferous - cabbage, horseradish, radish, watercress, turnip, mustard leaf;
- Celery - carrots, parsnips, celery, parsley, dill;
- Compositae - salads (head and lettuce), artichokes, sunflower;
- Marevye - spinach, beets;
- Pumpkin - cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini, watermelons, melons;
- Onions - onions, garlic;
- Nightshade - tomatoes, physalis, eggplant, peppers, potatoes;
- Legumes - peas, beans, beans, soybeans;
- Bluegrass - corn.
- Pumpkin - legumes - cabbage - haze.
- Nightshade - legumes - cabbage - haze.
- Peas can be planted next to corn, carrots, cucumbers or strawberries. Peas do not tolerate the proximity of other legumes and cabbage.
- Good neighbors for eggplants are beans, garlic, spicy greens. Eggplant tolerates the neighborhood of strawberries, cucumbers and parsley quite well.
- Zucchini can be planted on the same bed with corn and any legumes. Zucchini is quite tolerant of eggplant, strawberries, sunflowers, garlic and carrots, but potatoes, tomatoes and radishes are not tolerated.
- Early cabbage can be combined with lettuce, green beans and carrots. Culture does not like the neighborhood of peas, onions, parsley and garlic.
- Potatoes go well with beans and spinach. Permissible crops are cabbage, corn, onions, carrots, garlic. Invalid - peas, cucumbers, beets, pumpkins and tomatoes.
- Corn is a good neighbor for most crops, except for beets.
- Onions grow well next to carrots, tomatoes, beets and even garlic, but on the same bed with cabbage, dill or beans it will not feel good.
- Leek "loves" strawberries and tomatoes, "does not like" peas and onions.
- Perennial onions can be planted on beds with strawberries, carrots, cucumbers. It is impossible - next to legumes and garlic.
- Carrots - cultivation is allowed along with tomatoes, garlic, spinach and cabbage. You can not plant carrots next to beets, dill and beans.
- Cucumbers feel good next to cabbage, beets, beans, dill. Suitable neighbors for cucumbers are eggplant, strawberries, onions, carrots, garlic and spinach. Neighborhood with potatoes, tomatoes and radishes is unacceptable.
- 1. The first year - cabbage + cucumbers.
- 2. The second year - tomatoes.
- 3. The third year - carrots + onions.
- 4. Fourth year - potatoes.
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The need to change cultures
The soil in which the same type of plant is grown every year becomes tired and yields decline. Crop rotation is designed to prevent soil fatigue. If you grow crops for several years in a row in the same place, the following negative consequences arise:
Proper crop rotation allows you to:
Crop rotation in organic farming
In organic farming, crop rotation is extremely important, since this system does not use chemical protection methods and mineral fertilizers. A high yield is achieved not through the use of "chemistry", but with the help of competent and well-organized agricultural technology.
To comply with crop rotation, the site is divided into three zones. The first is occupied by cultures demanding soil fertility, which require a lot of nutrients: cabbage, pumpkin, celery. Legumes are planted in the second zone, which in organic farming should occupy large areas. These are peas, grain and asparagus beans, beans, peanuts. The third zone is reserved for root crops.
In each zone, the rotation of crops is in the following order: demanding crop - legumes - root crops. If potatoes need to be included in the turnover, the alternation will be as follows: potatoes - a demanding crop - legumes - root crops. Strawberries can also be introduced into circulation. Then the garden will have to be divided into 5 zones, and the area occupied by strawberries will be planted with potatoes in the fifth year.
Features of monocultures
There are plots where I grow the same crop year after year. Most often these are potato or cabbage allotments.
The field should be divided into 3 parts and annually sow each part in turn with green manure - herbs that cleanse the land of soil pests and increase fertility. A good green manure for potatoes is winter rye. It is sown in August-September, and in the spring or in the middle of the next year they are embedded in the soil. Part of the field, resting this year, can be sown with marigolds, calendula, nasturtium. These plants heal the soil, inhibit weeds, decorate the site. In autumn, after flowering, they are buried to a depth of 15-20 cm.
If there are areas heavily overgrown with perennial weeds on the site, you can plant a pumpkin in them. This aggressive vegetable crop occupies a large area and with its large leaves oppresses weeds, preventing them from breaking through to the light.
Drawing up a crop rotation
The gardener can make a crop rotation based on his own needs. This is an easy task, you just have to try.
To draw up a crop rotation you will need:
To simplify the work, it is worth creating a separate folder. A garden plan with lined beds is put into it. A tracing paper is applied to the plan and the types of vegetable crops are recorded on it. In this way, predecessors can be easily controlled and rotation can be planned.
The second way is to make a crop rotation table in the garden in the Word program, putting down the years in the columns. The number of lines should correspond to the number of beds on the site.
To compile the simplest crop rotation, you can focus on the belonging of vegetables to botanical families. For home gardening, this is enough, but there are other, more complex options.
Crop rotation by crop groups
Vegetable crops are divided into 4 groups:
The alternation of crops at their summer cottage will be as follows:
The next year, the beds are shifted one counterclockwise, that is, fruit beds go to the fourth, leafy - to the third, and so on. It turns out that each culture returns to its old place only after 4 years.
Alternation according to the requirements for soil fertility
In this case, vegetables are divided into groups depending on their organic needs:
In such a crop rotation, humus or compost is applied only to beds with cabbage, pumpkin and sunflowers. The following year, tomatoes and other nightshades are planted at this place. These crops love well-rotted organics. In the third year, crops are planted that do not tolerate organics. It's primarily carrots. In the fourth year, place is given to legumes - they do not need organic matter at all, they themselves enrich the soil with nitrogen. In the fifth year, organic matter is introduced into the garden, cabbage or pumpkin crops are planted, and the cycle repeats.
Crop Requirements for Fertilizers
Crop rotation by families
This is the simplest crop rotation option. The gardener only needs to know which family each vegetable belongs to.
Belonging of garden plants to botanical families:
Plants are returned to their original place no earlier than after 3 years.
Cultures are planted in the following sequence: nightshade - legumes - cabbage - umbrella.
Two more schemes will do:
In these crop rotations, onions are planted before winter after nightshade.
Crop rotation examples
Alternation according to the degree of soil depletion
Each crop extracts the trace elements it needs from the soil, and in different proportions.
Table: the needs of vegetable plants in trace elements:
Cabbage and root crops strongly deplete the soil. Legumes enrich the soil with nitrogen. If, after harvesting the grain, the stem and leaves of peas, beans and other legumes are planted in the soil, the earth will be saturated not only with nitrogen, but also with many microelements. Onions, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and eggplants deplete the soil to an average degree. Spinach, lettuce, cucumbers almost do not deplete the soil.
Under the most demanding culture, the full rate of organic matter is introduced. The remaining vegetables are fertilized taking into account the aftereffect of the main fertilizer. In the first year, plants remove from the soil 30% of the nitrogen and phosphorus introduced with manure and half of the potassium. The rest of the nutrients remain in the soil, so it is impractical to apply manure annually.
Crop rotation may look like this: demanding on fertility - medium demanding on fertility - undemanding on fertility - enriching the soil.
Predecessor alternation
This is the most difficult type of crop rotation. When compiling it, it is assumed that each plant has good and bad predecessors. If plants are planted after a good predecessor, the yield will increase, after a bad one, it will drop sharply. The table will help to make a crop rotation.
Table: choice of predecessors:
Predecessor | Cabbage | Carrot | Cucumber | Tomato | Beet | Potato |
|
Radishes, cucumber, peas, carrots, annual herbs | Radish, onion, cucumber | Onions, cabbage, potatoes | Cabbage, radish, cucumber | Carrots, onions, beets | Onion, cucumber, radish | cucumber, onion |
|
Satisfactory | Onions, garlic, potatoes | Peas, garlic, carrots, potatoes | Radishes, beets, carrots, peas, tomato | Beets, onions, zucchini, potatoes, peas | Cucumber, garlic, radish | Peas, garlic, potatoes | |
Unsuitable | Cabbage, beets, tomato | Tomato, zucchini, beets, cabbage | Cucumber, zucchini | Carrot, tomato | Tomato, zucchini, beets, potatoes, peas, cabbage | Cabbage, tomato, beets, carrots, zucchini | cabbage, tomato |
Potatoes in crop rotation
In small areas, it is irrational to include such an important crop as potatoes in the crop rotation. Potatoes are grown in large areas as a monoculture. To prevent the soil from depleting, a large amount of rotted organic matter and mineral fertilizers are annually applied to the field. Once every few years, the field is sown with green manure to improve the soil from bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi.
Corn should also be removed from the crop rotation. Maize is undemanding to predecessors and is itself a good predecessor for most crops. However, under corn, the land is quickly depleted and a large amount of organic matter is required annually.
Combination of cultures
Many crops have a short growing season. In order to rationally use the area, it is necessary to apply repeated crops, placing several crops on one bed during the season. You need to know which cultures tolerate the neighborhood and which do not.
Rules for combining plants:
An example of a crop rotation with a combination of crops:
So, crop rotation of vegetable crops is a necessary agricultural technique that allows you to protect plants from pests and diseases, and increase productivity. When compiling a crop rotation, various factors can be taken into account: belonging to a botanical family, the degree of need for organic matter, the removal of trace elements from the soil. There are ready-made crop rotation schemes, but in a small area it is better to draw up a rotation plan yourself based on the needs of your family.
To increase the yield of crops grown in the summer cottage allows crop rotation. Prolonged cultivation of plants on the same bed leads to soil depletion, the accumulation of pests and diseases in it. The alternation of crops is also used in order to obtain 2-3 crops from the site annually (we are talking about compacted and repeated crops). That is why many summer residents think about what and after what you can plant in the garden. Moreover, it is recommended to draw up a plan for the placement of crops on the site every year in compliance with the order of alternation of crops. In practice, this gives a better yield. next year.
Main rule: Try not to return the same culture to its original place earlier than 3-4 years later. The later the re-seeding occurs, the better.
Vegetable crops that are similar in cultivation technology can (and conveniently) be placed in the garden nearby. In this regard, cultures are divided into the following groups:
Depending on this classification, plants are recommended to be moved around the site. And perennial vegetables are convenient to plant along the fence. So, the authors of the manual “Garden. Practical advice "recommend to alternate cultures as follows:
Table number 1: Good predecessors of vegetable crops in the garden
In another source (the book "Biological basis for obtaining high yields of vegetable crops") we find the following table:
Table number 2: What then can be planted next year
(Compiled on the basis of an analysis of the influence of predecessors on the yield of other vegetable crops):
Rotation table #3
(Source: My Favorite Dacha magazine)
Analyzing the data of three tables, let's go specifically for some crops:
Then plant...
Onion
The best predecessor for onions are: cucumber, tomato, as well as early white cabbage, cauliflower and early potatoes. Acceptable predecessors are legumes and green crops. This refers to the cultivation of onions for turnips and sets.
Carrot
Like carrots, beets are best planted after onions, cucumbers and early potatoes. Planting of root crops and after cabbage, tomatoes is allowed.
cucumbers
For cucumbers, the best predecessors are: potatoes, tomatoes, turnip onions, cabbage (early white and cauliflower), root crops, legumes (excluding beans) and green crops. It is permissible to plant cucumbers after radishes, beets and carrots.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes can be planted after an impressive list of crops: white cabbage (early and late), cauliflower, cucumbers, legumes and green crops (including radishes), root crops, turnips.
What to plant after...
garlic
Of all three tables, only one mentions garlic as a precursor. The source says that after garlic, it is permissible to plant table beets. And in the first source (not in the table, but in the text itself) it says that after harvesting onions and garlic, summer potatoes can be planted. Potatoes are also recommended to be grown in the aisles of garlic. They coexist perfectly. But the best neighborhood in the beds is garlic and strawberries. And if we consider that onions and garlic belong to the same group of plants, then their predecessors may also have common ones.
cabbage
After cabbage, you can plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, turnip onions and sets, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini and squash, pumpkin, green crops, legumes.
Ogurtsov
Cucumbers are good predecessors for cabbage, carrots, beets, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, radishes, turnips, radishes, garlic, dill, eggplant.
potato
After potatoes, it is good to plant cabbage, onions, root crops, cucumbers, greens and legumes, zucchini, pumpkins, squash, garlic.
Pepper
Pepper is not named in any of the tables as a predecessor, so we would recommend paying attention to its belonging to the Nightshade group (along with tomato and eggplant). Plants of this group may have common precursors.
Beets
After beets, it is ALLOWABLE to plant white and cauliflower, onions, carrots, cucumbers. And good - garlic, tomato.
Tomatoes
After tomatoes, white and cauliflower, green crops, legumes, and garlic are planted. Permissible - cucumbers, onions and root vegetables.
Kabachkov
Luke
We hope that the tables and lists compiled by us on the basis of reference books for gardeners and gardeners will help you decide on the alternation of crops on the site, develop a crop rotation plan for the next year and understand what is better to plant in the garden in the summer season 2020 😉 Great harvests for you !
In the spring, it is worth planning plantings in the garden, taking into account the predecessors of vegetables that grew in a certain place earlier using tables. Any summer resident should keep track of what, where he has and when he grew. This is simply necessary if you want to get a good harvest in the fall. After all, not all vegetables go well together. Then, after last year, pathogenic bacteria (for example, late blight of tomatoes) can be preserved in the ground. Then some vegetables are able to draw from the ground the nutrients needed by another crop. In any case, vegetables cannot be planted in the same place every year; crop rotation must be observed.
For convenience, there are special tables where you can see the best and worst predecessor for each crop.
Necessary breaks when growing crops in one place
In general, I must say, the more time has passed since the moment when the same plant grew in a particular place, the better for it.
Permissible alternation
| culture | The best predecessors |
| Peas, beans, beans | Potatoes, early and medium white cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, root vegetables, onions, leeks, cucumber |
| Early white and red cabbage, late white cabbage | Tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beets, cucumbers, annual herbs |
| Cauliflower and head salad | Early potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, annual herbs |
| Zucchini, pumpkin, squash | Root vegetables, cabbage, greens, potatoes |
| Potato | Cabbage, legumes, root vegetables, cucumber and other cucurbits |
| Onion | Early white and cauliflower, cucumber, early potatoes, tomatoes, legumes, greens |
| Carrots, beets, parsley, celery, parsnips | Cabbage, potato, cucumber, tomato, onion, beetroot, leek |
| Radish, turnip, swede | Cucumber, tomatoes, early potatoes, onion, leek |
| Cucumber | Perennial herbs, tomatoes and other nightshades, onions, legumes, spinach, leafy greens, kale, root vegetables |
| Beet | Potato, cucumber, early cabbage and cauliflower, onion |
| Tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato | Legumes, carrots, radishes, greens, cabbages, garlic, onions, leeks |
| Greens | Cucumber |
| Dill, spinach, lettuce, green onion | Cucumber, early potatoes, early white and cauliflower, carrots and beets, celery and parsley, radish |
| Garlic | Potatoes, carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, legumes |
It is also good to give the land a rest by not planting anything on it for one year. Having rested, the earth will recover and be enriched with nutrients and microelements.
Beet predecessors
It is a commonly grown vegetable in vegetable gardens. And who sows it every year knows that it is better to plant beets after potatoes, cucumbers, onions, cabbage and cauliflower.
Invalid interleaving
| culture | Invalid predecessors |
| Swede | Cucumber, cabbage |
| cabbage | Pumpkin, swede, radish, radish |
| Kohlrabi | Cucumber, pumpkin, radish, radish |
| Corn | Radish, radish, onion |
| Swiss chard | Spinach |
| Onion | Leek, radish, celery, carrot |
| Carrot | parsnips, parsley, fennel, celery, zucchini, tomatoes |
| Cucumber and other cucurbits | Swede |
| Parsnip | Carrot, parsley, celery, fennel |
| Parsley | Carrots, parsnips, celery |
| Radish | Kohlrabi |
| radish | Kohlrabi |
| Salad | kohlrabi, spinach |
| Beetroot | Tomatoes, spinach |
| Celery | Carrot, parsnip, parsley, fennel |
| Tomatoes, peppers | Cucumber, zucchini |
| Spinach | Leaf beet, table beet |
One of the most effective methods of increasing crop yields and maintaining soil fertility is crop rotation. This technique is used in natural organic crop production. Unfortunately, not all summer residents pay due attention to this, some out of ignorance, and others because of their unwillingness to pay a little more attention to the beds. Crop rotation requires the maintenance of a special journal in which you need to draw a plan for placing the beds and mark each crop planted on them. Records should be kept constantly, and not everyone wants to do such accounting.
Understanding the characteristics of the development of various types of crops will help convince summer residents to pay due attention to this issue.
If negative factors accumulate in the ground for a long period of time, then you should not expect a good harvest even if the rest of the rules of agronomy are observed.
The number of crops in crop rotations can vary from three to ten. On personal plots, growers try to grow a complete list of various vegetables; in most cases, the crop rotation includes up to six, seven, or eight crops.
A few general rules for compiling a crop rotation
It is impossible to make a universal crop rotation for all occasions. In order to facilitate the compilation of crop rotation for each summer resident, we will first consider the general rules, and then we will talk about their application to specific crops.
- It is forbidden for several years in a row to plant not only the same vegetables, but also plants of a general type on the same bed. Crop rotation within the same family is inefficient.
- The longer the period of time the plant does not return to its former place of growth, the better for it and for the earth.
- When compiling a crop rotation, it is necessary to take into account the name of the mineral substances that were used by the predecessors and prevent their repetition.
- It is not advisable to leave land on the beds free from crops for rest. Then it is strongly recommended to use green manure - the soil not only rests and recovers, but is also enriched. In addition, if desired, it is possible to harvest these crops.
Recommended alternation considering predecessors
This is the easiest way to make a crop rotation. But with its help, you can significantly increase productivity. The table lists the most commonly grown vegetables and gives recommendations for acceptable predecessors.
| culture | After what crops is it recommended to sow | After which crops is it allowed to sow | After what crops can not be sown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Siderates are ideal predecessors. Good after melons or early cabbage. It is allowed to sow after carrots, garlic and onions. | Can be sown after harvesting crops of corn, beets and mid-ripening cabbage. | As predecessors, tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes are prohibited. Including eggplants of all other types are prohibited. | |
| It is optimal to choose potatoes or carrots. Not bad onion, pumpkin, garlic. | Do not sow after beets, tomatoes and peppers. Any greens (parsley, dill), eggplant and bell pepper. | Corn, it is forbidden to sow after leguminous plants. | |
| Optimally potatoes and all legumes, garlic and onions. Maybe after cauliflower. | Allowed after salads, beets and legumes. | Cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers are prohibited from being predecessors. | |
| Seedlings are planted on potatoes, zucchini and carrots. | Greens, lettuce, tomatoes and eggplant. | Pumpkin, beets, cabbage, radishes, cucumbers. These plants can significantly reduce the yield. | |
| Excellent predecessors of cabbage and green manure. Not bad to plant after cucumbers, squash, garlic and onions. | Corn and cabbage, beets, greens are strongly discouraged. | All nightshade, cucumbers, eggplants, bell peppers are prohibited. | |
| Optimal: carrots, you can after cabbage, carrots. | Onions, you can after bell pepper, cabbage. Accept garlic, tomatoes. | It is forbidden to plant after carrots and salads. The choice of cultures is carried out very carefully. | |
| Onions, cabbage, salads are allowed. Pumpkin and squash can be. | All legumes, corn, bell peppers and tomatoes can be used. | Beetroot can not be a predecessor. | |
| Any legumes, parsley and cabbage are great. Garlic, onions, potatoes do not have a harmful effect. | Greens, red beets are allowed. | You can not sow after cabbage and eggplant. Tomatoes, bell peppers, plants that use a lot of nitrogen fertilizers are undesirable. | |
| There can be any melons, cucumbers. If the beds from under cucumbers and peas are freed, you can occupy them. | You can after radishes, beets. Corn in exceptional cases. | Nightshade, pumpkin, eggplant are undesirable. | |
| Very unpretentious to predecessors. Suitable potatoes, legumes, strawberries, garlic. | Lettuces, greens, tomatoes and beets are allowed. | Carrots and cabbage are highly undesirable. | |
| Look like greens, salads, cucumbers and squash. Grows well after legumes and green manure. | Good yield after corn, cabbage, garlic and onions. There may be tomatoes, garlic. | Potatoes and tomatoes are not recommended as predecessors. | |
| Ideal bean, may be cucumbers, cabbage. | After garlic and onions, the yield is average. | Bulgarian pepper, nightshade are prohibited as predecessors. | |
| Legumes, potatoes, white cabbage are recommended. Good yield after garlic and onions. | Suitable potatoes, salads, herbs, beets. | Blue eggplants, carrots, cabbage are not recommended. These include terets and tomatoes. | |
| Green manure and legumes can be named as ideal predecessors. Cucumbers and cabbage are acceptable options. | Allowed eggplant, pumpkin, tomatoes, corn. | No need to sow after radishes and carrots. |
Due to the fact that potatoes for the most part occupy large areas, it can be excluded from the crop rotation. In some areas, it can grow up to 5 years, while you only need to change different varieties.
Additional Notes
Zucchini and eggplant perfectly inhibit the growth of weeds, they can be used as biological weeding. In the old garden, plants should be sown no earlier than three years later. It is imperative to observe crop rotation.
- Up to three years, all legumes can be planted in one place. In addition, these are very effective green manures.
- For a bow on a feather, it is better to choose a new place every year.
- Cucumbers are very afraid of bacterial diseases; plants can be returned to the previous bed in 3-4 years.
- For radishes, you should not allocate a separate bed, it grows well in the aisles.
- Table beets and carrots grow better on light soils, organic fertilizers should be applied to improve the structure.
Permissible combination of crops during crop rotations
In small areas, in order to increase the collection, crop rotations can be made with the combination of the following crops:
- peas can be sown together with carrots;
- completely harmonize zucchini with herbs and onions;
- sow cabbage with carrots, salads, beans;
- ordinary onions with tomatoes, beets and carrots;
- cucumbers are combined with cabbage and legumes;
- radish goes well with legumes and carrots;
- tomatoes grow well with parsley and peas;
- table red beets can be sown with onions.
For example, on one bed, you can sow cucumbers and cabbage for the first year, only tomatoes the next year, carrots and onions a year later, after which the entire bed can be given over to potatoes. This is just one example, in each case you need to choose your cultures depending on the need.
What you need to know when compiling a crop rotation
No culture compatibility table can provide comprehensive answers to all questions of interest. There are no and cannot be two completely identical household plots. In order to competently resolve issues in any situation, you need to understand the main principles of compiling crop rotations. What to look for during self-compilation of crop rotation?
Correct rotation of crops grown by groups
All plants can be conditionally divided into several large groups. Such a classification is far from scientific, but it greatly simplifies planning for ordinary summer residents. Plants are leafy, leaves are removed as a crop, for example, salads. The second conditional species is fruit. These are not apples and plums, but cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. Another large group is root crops: potatoes, beets. And the last legume: beans, beans.
Optimal cultivation in the beds: fruit vegetables - root crops - legumes - leafy plants. Then, every year, the crops “move” to neighboring beds, and so on until the full circle. It is very desirable to make one bed separately for green manure, but not every summer resident can afford it.
Rotation of crops depending on the need for nutrients
We have already mentioned that each crop depletes the soil differently, this must be taken into account when planning a crop rotation. Cabbage and pumpkin require the most nutrients, followed by nightshade, greens need the least minerals. And finally, legumes enrich the soil on their own.
On their roots, special outgrowths with bacteria are formed, in which a large amount of easily digestible nitrogen accumulates.
Crop rotation should take these characteristics into account, crops that require the maximum amount of nutrients to develop should be sown after legumes. Of course, species incompatibility must also be taken into account.
How to proceed in practice, so that the compilation of the correct crop rotation does not take much time and brings pleasure? For joy, only one thing is needed - an increase in the yield of beds. And to save time, there are a few tips on how to properly arrange a crop rotation.
Consider what and how much you would like to grow in your beds. How many family members do you have and what do they prefer to eat, what practical yield can be obtained from the beds. At the same time, do not plan the maximum possible; in practice, you are unlikely to achieve such results. Depending on these data, approximately determine the size of the beds for each crop.
Another important point is economic. Work on a personal plot should not only bring moral satisfaction, but also material profit. Grow crops taking into account the properties of the earth and the climatic zone. For example, if you live in a zone with a cold climate, then it is not advisable to try to grow heat-loving plants. It is not worth it because of a few bell peppers or a tomato to occupy the ground. It is better to buy them in the store, and plant beets, onions, garlic, etc. on the vacated area.
Draw a site plan on a piece of paper, breaking it down into beds (taking into account the above tips). Consider the location of crops depending on the light. Most summer residents have various fruit trees and bushes, the shade from them has a significant impact on growing conditions, place crops in such a way that light-loving ones do not end up in the shade. Make several copies of the site plan, broken down by beds, each year should have its own plan. You should not hope that the placement of crops will be remembered, practice shows that this is not the case.
Mark the name of the crops on the plan every year. It is desirable to indicate the yield and the amount of fertilizer applied in the context of active ingredients. There are times when you need to change the size of the beds for certain crops. This is not a problem, just change their location, length and width on the plan.
If there is a need to expand or reduce the list of vegetables, then always pay attention to the compatibility table. In this case, it is desirable to take into account which nutrients the plants prefer and what remains in the soil after the predecessors.
To facilitate the compilation of crop rotation, it is recommended to place plants in a certain order by species according to the recommendations described above, and then move them one position annually. The first bed will become the second, the second the third, and the last the first. Depending on the number of beds and the list of crops, the complete turnover of plants at the location takes place over several years.
We hope that the information will help to correctly draw up a crop rotation and thereby increase the yield of the beds and preserve the fertility of the land.
Video - Crop rotation at their summer cottage
In the natural environment, there is rarely a monoculture. Plants coexist in a certain community, where each of them has its own place and role. When a person began to cultivate plants, the first thing he did was to save them from competition with their neighbors, calling the latter weeds.
And what did we end up with? In a monoculture, specific pathogens and pests accumulate, the soil is unilaterally depleted, “fatigue” is manifested from the accumulation of substances released into the environment by one crop. All this increases many times with the constant cultivation of the same plant in the same place for many years.
Noticing a progressive drop in yields, farmers have mastered ways to protect themselves from this phenomenon since ancient times. Remember from history the slash-and-burn system, the use of deposits and so on. When growing vegetables in gardens, traditionally used increased doses of manure and household compost, which also solved most of the problems. And what to do in the garden in our time, in order not only to maintain, but also to increase the level of soil fertility?
One way is to use crop rotation, that is, alternation of cultures in time and space. In the garden, crop rotation cannot be fully used due to the fact that the area is limited, and it is impossible to use crops that improve fertility, but are not vegetables (perennial grasses, cereal-bean mixtures, etc.). But it's quite possible here. fruit cycle.
How to organize a fruit crop in the garden
Cultures are divided into several groups. One group combines crops that have similar requirements for growing conditions, as well as common pests and pathogens. Usually they are also related to each other; it is preferable to combine cultures of the same family.
Here are some examples:
- cucurbits: cucumber, zucchini, squash, crookneck;
- nightshade crops: tomato, pepper, eggplant, physalis, potato;
- cabbage are represented by cabbage and cauliflower, Beijing, broccoli, kohlrabi.
Roots it is not kinship that unites, but the method of cultivation, in which the food organ grows in the soil. Here are representatives of cabbage root crops: radish, radish, daikon, turnip, forehead; and celery: celery, carrots, parsnips, root parsley; and haze: beets, rhubarb. stands apart onion and garlic.
When growing different crops, they alternate them in groups so that the culture (or group) returns to its original place after 3-4 years. Within each group, the area under a particular crop can vary considerably. This is due to the preferences of the owners of the garden, productivity and other reasons.
The garden area is divided into sections according to the number of groups, and each section is already divided into crops. Be sure to include the introduction of organics for pumpkin or cabbage. Under root crops and onions, it is better to apply only mineral fertilizers.
Crops alternate sequentially in time (by years) on one plot, and in space all crops will be available every year, but in different plots.
Fruit change examples
First option:- 1 plot: cucumber, zucchini, patisson;
- 2 plot: tomato, pepper, eggplant;
- 3 plot: cabbage, cauliflower;
- 4 plot: beets, carrots.
- 1 plot: cucumber, zucchini, patisson;
- 2 plot: onion, garlic, shallot, leek;
- 3 plot: cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage;
- 4 plot: tomato, pepper, eggplant;
- 5 plot: radish, daikon, beets, carrots.
Intermediate crops and green manure
Different vegetables respond differently to monoculture. For example, potatoes and corn can be grown in one place for many years, but for them, fruit change is also preferable. If such crops occupy a large area, then to improve fertility, the so-called intermediate crops or green manure, which are sown after harvesting the main crop and plowed into green manure. It can be, for example, cereal-bean mixtures (peas + oats; peas + barley; mustard).As an intermediate crop, other vegetable plants can be used, which occupy the area when the main one has already been removed. For example, after harvesting early potatoes, you can sow radish or daikon, radish, plant garlic.
Features of combined crops
It is still possible to combine sowing and planting of different crops in one area at the same time ( combined crops) and successively ( compacted crops).
There are plants that willingly grow next to each other, they are called synergists. Examples: pumpkin, squash, cucumber and corn; tomato and lettuce; tomato, potato and radish and so on. Other cultures do not like neighbors very much (for example, dill and beets). Read more about the favorable and unfortunate neighborhood of plants in the garden in the articles from the reading list for this lesson.
Compactor crops grown either before the main one, or simultaneously with it, but harvested much earlier. So, in the aisles of sowing tomatoes, you can grow radishes, lettuce. Cabbage is planted with potatoes and so on. There is a huge field of activity for gardeners.
Slightly different placement perennial and green crops. Due to the small area, they allocate their own plot with a different alternation of crops:
- 1 plot: salad;
- 2 plot: dill;
- 3 plot: parsley;
- 4 plot: radish;
- 5 plot: basil.
A special case of fruit change is decorative vegetable garden, in which plants perform the function of both utilitarian and decorative at the same time. Many green and aromatic plants are highly valued as ornamental crops: lettuce, dill, basil, fennel, oregano and others.
Crop rotation or crop rotation allows you to clearly regulate the cultivation of vegetables in the garden, calculate the need for fertilizers, plant protection products, plan the timing of work, and so on. Gardening becomes easier and more understandable.
By the way, you can choose green manure to improve the soil in your garden. in the online store of the agricultural company Search- In chapter
