Crop Rotation Why use crop rotation? How do you plan a rotation?
To help control pests and diseases it is " Moving crops around helps to stop You can find examples of crop rotation
a good idea to grow families of vegeta- the build up of pests and dis- in many gardening books. However,
bles in separate plots and move them eases, which are found in the soil. you can design your own by following
around (rotate) them each year. these steps:
" Plants need nutrients in different
Year 1 amounts and take them from 1. Make a list of all the vegetable
different parts of the soil. types and number of plants that
Changing the crops in an area you want to grow.
means that nutrients in all parts of






soil are used. 2. Group the plants together in bo-
tanical families. The chart on the
" Families of vegetables often need back of this leaflet shows you
similar nutrients (food). Keeping which plants belong in which fami-







families together means that crops lies.
get the best growing conditions.
Year 2 3. Draw a plan of the growing area.
" Some plants have dense foliage Divide into equal sections. You
(leaves which are close together need as many sections as the
and lots of them). These plants number of years you want the ro-







help to stop weeds growing. tation to last. So for a four year
Changing from plants that do not rotation you need four sections.
have dense foliage, to those that
do the next year, will help to keep 4. Work out which crops are going in



the weeds down. which area. Families should be
together, but if you have more
This means that all the plants from the How long should the rotation last? than one crop for an area, then
potato family would go in one area and choose plants with similar growing
all the plants from the carrot family in The longer the rotation the better, but needs.
another as shown in the diagrams the normal length is 4 years. The first 2 5. Keep records of what actually
above. years of a 4 year rotation is shown happens, not just what you
opposite. planned. Use this information
when planning for next year.
Crop rotation A Student s Guide
Crop
rotation
A student s guide
to planning
a crop rotation
DUCHY ORIGINALS HDRA
Organic Gardens for Schools
2. Group plants together by botanical family.
Crop Rotation Weed control
To find out which are related look at the
If annual vegetable crops are grown in the same
table on the back of this leaflet.
Some plants have dense foliage like cabbage and
place year after year, there is a tendency for soil
lettuce, these are good at suppressing weeds be-
3. Draw a plan of the growing area. Divide it
borne pests and diseases to become a problem,
cause they stop light reaching the soil. Others,
into equal sized sections according to the
and for plant health and vigour to decline.
such as onion and carrot, do not.
number of years that you want the rotation
Alternating plants with these different growth hab-
To avoid this it is good practice to move the crops
to last. Try 4 to start with. Distribute the
its helps to keep weeds under control.
around the growing area. This is known as rota-
crops that you want to grow within these
tion.
sections. The first rule is to try and keep
How long should the rotation be?
families together; if a section is to hold
Why use rotation?
more than one family, try and keep those
The longer the rotation the better, but the usual
Pest and disease control
with similar growing requirements together.
length is 4 years. This means that crops return to
Plants which belong to the same family are
Using a bed system can make this part of
their original site after 4 years. If the soil is
grouped together when planning a rotation. Re-
crop rotation easier.
already infected with persistent problems such as
lated crops are prone to the same soil-living pests
eelworm or clubroot, try to extend the rotation of 4. You may find that it is difficult to divide
and diseases. Moving them around in an organ-
susceptible crops even further. your area up into 3 or 4 equal sized sec-
ised rotation helps to prevent the build up of
tions the quantity of one type of vegeta-
problems.
ble might be too large. In this case reduce
Nutrient requirements
the amount of plants you are to grow
Plants need nutrients in varying amounts and take
rather than abandoning the rotation.
them from different levels within the soil depending
on the species and root depth. Varying the plants
5. Be flexible. It is important to keep the ma-
grown in a specific area helps to make best overall
jor families together. Short term crops for
use of the soil.
example lettuce and other salads and early
carrots and so on, can be fitted into any of
Soil treatments
your plots.
Crops vary in the soil treatments that they require.
When a crop rotation is used, crops that require the
6 Keep records of what actually happened,
same soil treatments are kept together as much as
not just what you planned. Use this infor-
How do you plan a rotation?
possible. This helps to ensure that they have the
mation when planning for the next year.
best possible growing conditions. It also means
Crop rotation may appear to be very complex, but
that over the course of the rotation the whole grow-
Further reading
once you start planning you will find that it is rela-
ing area will receive the same treatment.
tively straightforward. You will find examples of
Manure and compost add these to greedy feed-
Green Manures for Organic Soil Improvement
crop rotations in many gardening books. These
ers such as potatoes, leeks, brassicas and mar-
- HDRA Step-by-Step booklet
tend to be based on standard British crops. Even
rows. Do not use on carrot, parsnip and beetroot.
Beds Labour-saving, space-saving, more pro-
if you grow other crops you can still plan an effec-
Lime if necessary to increase pH, add to cabbage
ductive gardening
tive rotation. The following, outlines the basic
family section in autumn before planting; this helps
- Pauline Pears, HDRA/Search Press 1992
principles of crop rotation:
discourage clubroot. Keep away from potatoes,
Soil Care and Management
where it could
 Jo Readman, HDRA/Search Press 1991
1. Make a list of all the vegetable types and
encourage scab.
The Vegetable Garden Displayed
quantities that you want to grow over a
Leafmould can be used anywhere, but particu-
- Joy Larkcom, RHS 1992
season.
larly beneficial before root crops because it condi-
Planning the Organic Vegetable Garden
tions the soil.
- Dick Kitto (Thorsons 1986)
Crop rotation A Teacher s Guide
Crop
rotation
A teacher s guide
to planning
a crop rotation
DUCHY ORIGINALS HDRA
Organic Gardens for Schools