Garden Terms
Crop Rotation: What is it? Why do we need it?
Crop rotation is a system of planting different families of vegetables in a series. Mix it up. If you pull out a tomato plant, do not plant another nightshade family plant in its place nor another fruiting plant. (Nightshade plants include tomato, Irish potatoes, peppers and eggplant.) Instead fill that hole with a legume (peas and beans), leaf (cabbage, chard, spinach), or root vegetable (carrots, beets, rutabagas).
WHY? Because insects and disease that touched your first crop are still present in the soil. It's an easy feast if you plant the same thing in its place. By rotating the types of plants, it provides plants the best chance at an easy early start. Crop rotation is a must in organic gardening.
Crop rotation is a system of planting different families of vegetables in a series. Mix it up. If you pull out a tomato plant, do not plant another nightshade family plant in its place nor another fruiting plant. (Nightshade plants include tomato, Irish potatoes, peppers and eggplant.) Instead fill that hole with a legume (peas and beans), leaf (cabbage, chard, spinach), or root vegetable (carrots, beets, rutabagas).
WHY? Because insects and disease that touched your first crop are still present in the soil. It's an easy feast if you plant the same thing in its place. By rotating the types of plants, it provides plants the best chance at an easy early start. Crop rotation is a must in organic gardening.
