Crop Rotation
Crop rotation has been practiced for thousands of
years being an important factor of organic gardening.
Throughout human history, wherever food crops have been produced, rotation
cropping appears to have been practiced. The underlying principles for planning
effective cropping systems began to emerge in the middle years of the 18th
century.
By 1951 in Britain, Newman Turner was
promoting an eight-course crop rotation for organic farmers in his book
Fertility Farming. For the home vegetable grower, complex rotations are hard to
manage but simple 3-course crop rotation is far better than no rotation at all.
Better still, four-course crop rotation or even a five-course crop rotation.
Beyond this level, most growers will be unable to control what’s going where
without perfect planning.
There are many different systems for rotating
crops, some simple and some quite complex, designed to ensure that the
following crops utilize nutrients left by previous crops. Is an easy approach
to growing high-quality and abundant food, whether you are a hobbyist or a professional
grower.
Growing the same crop in the same place
for many years in a row gradually depletes the soil of certain nutrients and
selects for a highly competitive pest and weed community. Without balancing
nutrient use and diversifying pest and weed communities, the productivity of
monocultures is highly dependent on external inputs.
Conversely, a well-designed crop
rotation can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and herbicides by better
using ecosystem services from a diverse set of crops. Additionally, crop
rotations can improve soil structure and organic matter, which reduces erosion
and increases farm system resilience.
To be functioning at our best, humans
require good nutrition, proper rest and exercise. When we focus on these
things, we are able to do more with less effort. The same is true of soil. Think beyond the elements which are in your garden space.
Learn how those elements are being used and by whom. There’s more than just
earthworms and ants under the soil surface. There are also billions of
microorganisms, known as the soil food web. Those microorganisms all have their
own complex roles to play in how they interact with your plants.
Beyond the organic matter you add, the
plants you place within the soil also work for the benefit of the soil food
web. As plants convert sunlight through photosynthesis into sugars for growth,
some of those sugars are released through the roots into the soil to feed many
of the microorganisms living there. Chemicals released by plant roots can
trigger microorganisms to go to work or to go dormant.
If you plant spring crops, summer crops
and fall crops; you may already be following a principle of crop rotation. When
you think about it, succession planting and crop rotation can be the same
thing.
It is complicated – and fascinating –
but it doesn’t need to be intimidating.
The most important thing to remember
with crop rotation is to avoid growing the same crop in the same place for two
years running.
There are about 10,000 plant species
that are used as vegetables the world over. Of these, about fifty plant species
or so are commercially important. It is therefore important to classify
vegetables into groups or classes to better understand or discuss them.
Vegetables that share some characteristics are grouped together.
Broadly there are five methods of
classifying vegetables. These include; Botanical
classification, Classification based on hardiness or temperature,
Classification based on plant part used, Classification based on culture and
Classification based on life cycle. Grouping plants by botanical family
makes it possible to save space and promote mutual protection among vegetables.
Crop rotation will not be applicable to perennial systems. However,
rotating cover crops in the alleys between perennial crops represents an
opportunity to increase the biodiversity of perennial systems and protect
against pest buildups. There are several options related to alley cover crops:
they can be rotated annually to a different cover crop, or mix of cover crops,
or every other alley can be planted to cover crops, leaving alternate alleys
bare. Some farmers believe this practice can provide some level of frost
protection because bare ground will absorb and give off more heat. Also, some
farmers will plant different cover crops every other alley and each year
“switch” the alley cover crops.
Crop
rotation often feels intimidating or overwhelming to some people but it's
really easy to breakdown. My goal is to breakdown for you.
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