Garden Bed Rotation – Time for a Change of Scenery

Posted by Cathy England
July 13th, 2009
Filed in Garden Pests and Diseases
Tags: crop rotation, diseases, pests, soil health

Garden bed rotation is a wonderful way to trick the damaging insects and diseases that may winter over in the ground and wait for the same plant to be placed there again in the spring.  By moving plants around, the organic gardener can avoid this common garden problem.

Why Garden Bed Rotation?

There are a few reasons that this is a good idea.  Large scale farmers, if they are savvy, use this method as well.  When the same crops are planted year after year in the same location, bugs and diseases may lie in wait, or the soil may be depleted of vital nutrients needed by that crop when beds are planted with the same family of plants year after year.

This calls for a bit of record keeping.  Many gardeners keep journals from year to year in order to keep track of where things have been planted so that beds can be put on a three year rotation.  This is an organic tool that helps with healthier plants, and less work in the garden next spring.

Be careful to learn your plant families.  Cole crops include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts.  Peas and beans are in the legume family, and tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes are in the nightshade family.  It is important that you not just rotate your plants, but that you do not place a crop in the garden where another family member has recently been.

Plants in the legume family are nitrogen fixers.  This means that they make nitrogen available in the soil.  Because plants like squash, melon, and cucumber need nitrogen in the soil, rotating those plants to last year’s legume bed will be a beneficial move.

Additionally, garden pests will be fooled.  Insects that are particularly bothersome to one crop have no interest in others.  As a result, planting tomatoes and peppers in last years cole crop bed, will ensure that there are fewer hornworms waiting to attack your tomatoes.

Rotation in Only One Bed

Even if you only have one garden bed, rotating rows of crops from one end of the garden to the other is helpful.  Harmful insects lay eggs in the soil under their favorite plants.  When the larvae hatch in the spring, and do not find their plant within a few feet, they will not survive.

It is generally recommended that plants are put on a three year or longer rotation.  With that in mind, do the best that can be done to rotate the crops, or try planting something altogether different this year.  There is also the option of creating another bed somewhere, or using containers to help in this process.

If it is still not possible to rotate crops in a suitable way, you may need to be extra vigilant about your soil in the fall.  Plant a cover crop if needed, or ensure that extra compost or other organic material is well dug in or layered in order to provide extra nutrients to the soil.

If possible, as an added preventive measure, cover your entire bed with a dark tarp or other dark plastic.  This will help to warm the soil, even in the winter, and will help to kill off some of the weeds and pests which may be lying in wait for spring.  This will also help the soil to warm up sooner in the spring so that planting may begin a few weeks early.

Garden bed rotation is a good overall practice for any farmer or gardener, organic or not.  History has given us examples, the potato famine and the dust bowl, of what can happen when the same crop is planted in the same place year after year.  As an organic gardener, it is your job to start with the soil, for that is where all good plants are grown.  Rotation is the main key to keeping your soil, and your garden as healthy as it can be.