Crop rotation.... do you?

[TorontoJoe]

One of the things heard all the time on YouTube etc is that you need to rotate your crops every year. For the most part it's not even an option for me because of space. So, tomatoes, peppers (mostly container) cucumbers, onions, garlic etc mostly go into the same spots in my garden. I imagine it's the same for most gardeners but I'm just wondering who's doing this and if they think it helps

One of the cited reasons for doing so is the plants will deplete the soil of nutrients. The thing is, I amend with plenty of organic matter. In addition to things like chicken poop. The soil is pretty good

Then there's the matter of disease. Well, I have struggled with some late blight on tomatoes in the past... but this year was a good test. It was very hot and perhaps the driest summer I can remember. Until it rained in September the plants were all pristine. Maybe some of it is soil borne but I don't know if skipping a year would help much.

Same thing with the pests. I don't have much that touches my tomatoes but that pepper fly maggot has been a real pain. But similarly... I don't think a move a few meters across the yard is going to make much of a difference.

Many.... maybe most farmers grow just one thing and don't rotate crops.... Perhaps that's something they manage with sprays and soil amendments... I don't know.... Or perhaps some really do have enough land to grow cover crops / nitrogen fixers and can actually do this?

Then there are fruit trees in the ground or anything that perennial.... Why would it only be so important for annuals?

Just wondering what everyone here does since it seems most of us range somewhere between having a backyard garden to homestead.

 

[Jigfig]

I’ve swapped spaces some, but for the most part most my plants have their spots and seem to have no problems. Fingers crossed that doesn’t change.

 

[Inflorescence]

I don’t rotate. I’ve been following JADAM principles and I return the plants to the soil which returns any nutrients they took to the soil. The soil has become healthier and there is less issue. Then I grow the same plants there.

The reasons why nutrients are depleted in commercial agriculture are several, but one of which is because they remove crop residue instead of letting the plant material break down where it was grown. That practice has depleted carbon from the soil and nutrient holding capacity. Since people have been doing that, disease and pest issues have become worse. It’s a basis of chemical agriculture which keeps you reliant on chemicals.

 

[GoodFriendMike]

Crop rotation is only needed as Valerie pointed out. In commercial settings. Different crops consume different nutrients. So the crops are non stop rotated. Harvest one, plant another. Add chems to fullfill the need for the next. For most of us. Our plot gets good compost over winter which adds back what is consumed by our plants.

 

[betdempster]

I never did because there are certain veggies I wouldn't plant next to another so I figured why would I rotate. I just took care of amending and some times replacing a percentage of the soil. . It's not like I could leave a portion planted with a cover crop because I have always had a smaller place.

 

[TorontoJoe]

Seems to be one of those things that regurgitated on YouTube over and over as something you "must do" but have no basis for doing so in a garden.

 

[betdempster]

That's what I think but maybe there are some instances where there is a reason for it... But in a home garden with limited space where you don't want to put some veggies in a place where there were tomatoes because of disease and pests that are would be more harmful to the crop you rotating in, for example, to me it doesn't make sense for me in my small place. And luckily we can always amend our soil in small scale gardens...

Btw I can't wait till it's time to start my tomatoes seeds I have my shade cloth and a plan thanks to you! This year for sure

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

This is one of my favorite YouTube channels.

 

[TorontoJoe]

The only person I know who does this is a garlic farmer near Winnipeg. In his case though I think it's also as much to protect the soil. Given that garlic is harvested in late July and not back in the ground until maybe October, that would seem a long time to have bare soil growing weeds or being blasted by the sun.

My tomatoes and peppers go out early and stay as long as I can keep them growing. With onion and garlic I get some short season plants in the same beds right away. In the case of the garlic beds I apply compost and chicken poop then plant bush beans

 

[Jigfig]

That's what I think but maybe there are some instances where there is a reason for it... But in a home garden with limited space where you don't want to put some veggies in a place where there were tomatoes because of disease and pests that are would be more harmful to the crop you rotating in, for example, to me it doesn't make sense for me in my small place. And luckily we can always amend our soil in small scale gardens...

Btw I can't wait till it's time to start my tomatoes seeds I have my shade cloth and a plan thanks to you! This year for sure

I’m looking forward to okra next year. Between one kid wanting to pick it everyday and another wanting to eat pickled okra constantly I have plenty of reason to grow it lol.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

The only person I know who does this is a garlic farmer near Winnipeg. In his case though I think it's also as much to protect the soil. Given that garlic is harvested in late July and not back in the ground until maybe October, that would seem a long time to have bare soil growing weeds or being blasted by the sun.

My tomatoes and peppers go out early and stay as long as I can keep them growing. With onion and garlic I get some short season plants in the same beds right away. In the case of the garlic beds I apply compost and chicken poop then plant bush beans

Garden fundamentals plants his garlic in the same spot every single year.

 

[Figgin' A]

Seems to be one of those things that regurgitated on YouTube over and over as something you "must do" but have no basis for doing so in a garden.

I may be in a minority with my way of thinking, but YouTube is one of the last things I go to for serious advice on gardening. YouTubers are content creators. Most have no experience or necessary qualifications to talk about what they do. Most just repeat the same things over and over again, often without fact-checking or any scientific basis.

 

[Figgin' A]

Crop rotation is only needed as Valerie pointed out. In commercial settings. Different crops consume different nutrients. So the crops are non stop rotated. Harvest one, plant another. Add chems to fullfill the need for the next. For most of us. Our plot gets good compost over winter which adds back what is consumed by our plants.

I would say that plant-specific disease pressure is another reason, and it's a real threat. I don't rotate crops at home because it would be unfeasible for me, but I remove all leaves, especially diseased ones, plant material, and debris at the end of the season, which helps keep disease away. It's easier for me to do it in containers.

 

[Figless]

I never changed location of my backyard planting spots. Tomatoes was always my main crop Outdoors followed by zucchini spinach and lettuce, and garlic. Then I encountered a type of Fusarium wilt on my tomatoe plants. There was one summer where the temperatures over the week went from very hot to foggy, and cold. Every type of tomato except the cherry tomatoes was affected. For some reason the Cherry type Tomatoes were spared. I was growing several varieties, and the Fusarium wilt took them all in short order. It also jumped indoors to my indoor cultivation rooms. The symptoms were very similar. So wherever I was growing tomatoes that year ceased being a tomato plot because I was told Fusarium wilt will stay in the soil for many years. I had to pick between my indoor cultivation, and my outdoor. So tomatoes stopped being on my Garden menu. After many years I did start growing tomatoes again, but only in containers. So I guess that's an example of disease rotation.

 

[snarfing]

i do, i have 8 garden beds and rotate 6 of them. 2 are perennial beds so they dont get rotated (one is sunchokes and leeks, one is artichokes and strawberry blite) Oh i also have a strawberry and asparagus bed i guess but its not a raised bed

 

[TorontoJoe]

I would say that plant-specific disease pressure is another reason, and it's a real threat. I don't rotate crops at home because it would be unfeasible for me, but I remove all leaves, especially diseased ones, plant material, and debris at the end of the season, which helps keep disease away. It's easier for me to do it in containers.

This is something I do. I appreciate how leaving plant material in the ground is what nature does, but I dispose of any plant material that shows any amount of disease.. which by end of the season it all the tomatoes, squash and gourds. My peppers stay quite healthy but they’re all in pots

 

[Figgin' A]

This is something I do. I appreciate how leaving plant material in the ground is what nature does, but I dispose of any plant material that shows any amount of disease.. which by end of the season it all the tomatoes, squash and gourds. My peppers stay quite healthy but they’re all in pots

That helps a lot. One year, I got some of what looked like Fusarium or Verticillium wilt, but didn't pay any serious attention to it. Next year, in late September or early October, I had a dozen of tomato plants all wilt in a matter of two days. I removed all the leaves, plant material, mulch, and a couple of inches of soil from each container, and I have never had an issue since. I do see some wilt here and there, but I remove any affected leaves/parts of plants immediately, and overall, the plants stay fairly healthy until the end of the season.

Peppers for me have always been very healthy. I always remove all the debris, so that probably helps. My only issues with peppers have been occasional wireworms, which may damage or even kill young transplants, thrips, and pepper maggots. Wireworms are fairly easy to deal with. I just inspect the soil and remove them before transplanting. Thrips - insecticidal soap or DE. And, as I mentioned to you last summer, pyrethrin worked really well for me against pepper maggots.

 

[TorontoJoe]

That helps a lot. One year, I got some of what looked like Fusarium or Verticillium wilt, but didn't pay any serious attention to it. Next year, in late September or early October, I had a dozen of tomato plants all wilt in a matter of two days. I removed all the leaves, plant material, mulch, and a couple of inches of soil from each container, and I have never had an issue since. I do see some wilt here and there, but I remove any affected leaves/parts of plants immediately, and overall, the plants stay fairly healthy until the end of the season.

Peppers for me have always been very healthy. I always remove all the debris, so that probably helps. My only issues with peppers have been occasional wireworms, which may damage or even kill young transplants, thrips, and pepper maggots. Wireworms are fairly easy to deal with. I just inspect the soil and remove them before transplanting. Thrips - insecticidal soap or DE. And, as I mentioned to you last summer, pyrethrin worked really well for me against pepper maggots.

I wish there was better access to good pyrethrin here. I got a good supply of spinosad but while good for many things…. Not so much for the pepper maggots. I’m guessing spice they have to eat it to be effective. For now it’ll be a diligent regimen of bag-early, bag-often

 

[Figsee]

I have 6 rows ( 3 rows with flowers in the middle with another 3 rows) of cattle panels. I rotate my tomatoes and peppers with my beans and gourds every year. Beans are a nitrogen fixer and tomatoes are prone to fungal issues so it’s easy enough for me to flip rows yearly.

 

[hambones]

Disease pressure, especially in nightshades is the main reason that I would consider rotating. I've found that just having good growing practices helps minimize the issues though. Certain heirlooms suffer every year, but by minimizing sources of infection (removing lower leaves/branches, covering soil, minimizing soil splashing on leaves, removing sick material) I can keep growing the same things in the same beds year after year.