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Author Topic: Crop rotation for small amount of veg  (Read 2925 times)

Shinding

  • Joined Jul 2016
  • West Wales
Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« on: February 11, 2017, 02:33:39 pm »

We have some large raised beds (apx 250 x 150cm) in our new home and I am growing veg for the first time this year. I have been reading up on crop rotation but I am unsure how it would work for the limited amount of veg I am going to try this year (I've limited what I'm growing purely because it's our first year).

So, when guides say to keep a bed for, say, brassicas I prob won't need to use the whole of a bed just for brassicas - so, anyone have any ideas about planning for this?

Many thanks (ASH's have been brilliant for so many of my rookie Qs!!).

Shinding

hexhammeasure

  • Joined Jun 2008
    • golocal food
    • Facebook
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2017, 04:21:48 pm »
my first thought when I read your post was a little laugh at the idea of not filling a brassica bed! with summer brassica and winter brassicas the mustards, radishes swedes cabbages broccoli calabrese cauliflower and a whole host of other related groups I have difficulty growing everything I want, and thats on 2 acres! 


Don't worry about being exact but in general don't follow a planting with a member from the same group for example after cabbages don't plant brussel sprouts or follow onions with leeks. my own rotation generally fits in as:


heavy feeders (potatoes/ squashes
alliums
Legumes
Brassicas.


however I split that into 2 rotations one for summer brassicas and one for winter brassicas


hope that doesn't confuse you more!


Ian
Ian

Black Sheep

  • Joined Sep 2015
  • Briercliffe
    • Monk Hall Farm
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2017, 04:51:36 pm »
Divide each bed into similar sized sections and rotate those rather than whole beds at a time?

Depending how many of the 250x150 beds you have you could look at Square Metre Gardening as a method too.

Shinding

  • Joined Jul 2016
  • West Wales
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2017, 09:52:21 am »
Glad I gave you a laugh Ian:) - I'm afraid I've been too chicken to start growing a load of veg for the first time as up until now I can kill off the hardiest of plants! Also, I'm experimenting with trying to kill off a load of weeds, in various ways, in the other beds I'm not using this season. Yes your advice does make sense - thank you.

BS; just had a quick look at SM gardening and it sounds really interesting (just need to see about making peat free compost) - has anyone on here tried this type of gardening?
Shinding

Terry T

  • Joined Sep 2014
  • Norfolk
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2017, 10:28:48 pm »
If you plan on bringing more beds into rotation in the next yr or two it may not be worth getting too worried about it for now. It's difficult to plan when nxt year you may want to grow a different area of each veg group.
Once you've given it a go you will have a better isea of what does/ doesn't grow well for you and what you eat most of etc.
If you do then get any real disease problems e.g blight on potatoes or clubroot on Brassicas, just make sure these go into one of your new beds nxt year.
For now just have fun, then you can fill gaps as they arise without being troubled by your plan.

Part time dabbler

  • Joined Aug 2016
  • Cornwall
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2017, 12:49:42 pm »
Given that this is your first year in a new home I would not worry about planting too much, if it all comes good then i am sure you have new neighbours who you can pass off unwanted excess to and if not there is always the compiost heap. Just enjoy trying out new vegatables and dont worry if any dont come out so well.
Physically part time in the garden, mentally full time in the garden

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2017, 07:41:13 pm »
Glad I gave you a laugh Ian:) - I'm afraid I've been too chicken to start growing a load of veg for the first time as up until now I can kill off the hardiest of plants! Also, I'm experimenting with trying to kill off a load of weeds, in various ways, in the other beds I'm not using this season. Yes your advice does make sense - thank you.

BS; just had a quick look at SM gardening and it sounds really interesting (just need to see about making peat free compost) - has anyone on here tried this type of gardening?

 Yes in the original way that was first set out by Mel Barthomomew about 1978 and eve. since about 1985 .
Moving on with his second book when it came out in about 2008 where he does not use mother earth in any form .

 One good place to find out what you can compost & a sensible method of doing it quickly to get a quality compost that is ready in around 18 days is to look up " The Berkley 18 day hot composting method ".

 If you like it & want help with SM gardening or The  Berkley method drop me a PM . I'm retired & have plenty of time to try & type .

 You can if you so choose use just  pure compost  if you have a large enough pile , the peat is just an inert filler that free drains & allows air to the roots  . Vermiculite is similar but it also holds tremendous even levels of moisture laden with valuable nutrients till the plants call for them. Having both in the bed fil;l means that the growth medium is very light all year round

Over a few years your beds will be being , " Built " with composts of differing ages & differing stages of decomposition . This allows many stages of decomposition to give all year round nutrient release etc. a
By  year four or five you will only be adding your own home made composts .. which is brill for you will know exactly what you have in them & they are not only cheap but they will contain everything your plants will ever need besides water  .

 One last thing  ,EPSOM SALTS & BORAX .

Cauliflowers need a grow-able level of it to get good cauliflowers . Giving them an annual pre planting raked in dressing  for the first three years helps no end in any new garden
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

farmers wife

  • Joined Jul 2009
  • SE Wales
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2017, 08:57:43 pm »
Think charles dowding of No dig has done experiments on rotation and 5 years is fine so dont worry about it for a while yet.

Shinding

  • Joined Jul 2016
  • West Wales
Re: Crop rotation for small amount of veg
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2017, 04:40:26 pm »
Thank you everyone - 18 day composting sounds like it may be helpful for us Cloddopper - thank you. Think for this year I'm going to use the existing beds as they are and with a little more time I'll discover how I'd like to garden and look into square metre gardening to see if that's the route I'd like to go down. As a few of you advised, I'll not worry too much this year about where I'm planting and just ensure I don't plant the same things next year.
Shinding

 

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