New garden and crop rotations

[Rob the Radish]

Hi,
I am new here as of yesterday, stumbled across the site while searching for info on my new plot.

What i would like to know is.....my plot is almost 30 metres long and 6 metres wide, how do i best go about planting it, and rotation each year ?

I had in mind divide it into four areas, one area for root crops (still need to learn what they all are), one area for brassicas (thats a new word to me completely) but have been told they should have there own area ! an area for veggies not covered by the previous two, and an area for spuds, then each year move them all down one plot.

Does this sound the proper way forward ? so far this year i have just planted rows as i have been donated seeds or seen packets i liked in the garden centre, so no organisation at all yet, but i want a plan to follow next year.

As you may tell i have absolutly no idea on gardens at all, this is my first ever venture, i expect to get lots wrong, but would like to have something to show on my plate for all the digging, weeding, barrowing manure and watering i have done so far, and i have only just started !

Regards, Rob.

[rustylady]

Dividing into four sounds good. Brassicas are any member of the cabbage family. Root crops are things like carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes etc, where you eat the root instead of the leaves. Don't get too hung up on where stuff goes though, some things belong to more than one "family" and you will probably end up sticking things in the "wrong" bed either to fill up empty space or to squeeze in things you have started in pots or cell trays. There's nothing wrong with that. Rotation is used mainly to prevent build up of diseases specific to certain types of plant if they are grown in the same place year after year.

[Rob the Radish]

Thanks, to be honest it is slightly confusing what everything is, been reading up on brassicas and get conflicting advice.

The idea of rotation is very simple to me having worked on an arable farm, so i know thats a good idea and the reasoning behind it, also understand different plants take diffent things from the soil hence rotation works for most plants.
It is the best way to go about it that i am trying to work out, i would love to have a plan that i look at and know exactly where i am at and what i am doing next, things like, what parts to dig and when, i love digging, and left on my own will dig every bit in site, which i believe is not a good thing for brassicas, and if i have a plan i know where to put my free manure i seem to keep getting given. getting information overload trying to work it all out, only been gardening two weeks, who would believe it is so in depth.

[Snadger]

Your rotation will only work if you like eating the same ammount of each of your four crops? The other downside is for it to work you could finish up with land being unproductive for a lot of the time,especially in winter?

Don't get me wrong, rotation is a good idea, but not the be all and end all. By not replacing' like with like' but also having crops that you like to eat available, fresh, for 52 weeks of the year THAT is the important thing.

Try your plan the first year............ but don't make it a 'fixed in stone' plan and let it evolve as your gardening expertise evolves!

Here endeth the first lesson!

[Rob the Radish]

Very good point, hadnt thought about that, thought that was the downside of an allotment, not been able to have something growing all the time.
I hope that as my knowledge increases on seasons and timings i will know what to plant so to have no wasted ground.

Might need a rethink on on the whole idea.

Thanks for the eye opener, Rob.

[rustylady]

Main thing Rob - don't get stressed!!! You are supposed to be enjoying it

[Rocketron]

Dividing into four sounds good. Brassicas are any member of the cabbage family. Root crops are things like carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes etc, where you eat the root instead of the leaves. Don't get too hung up on where stuff goes though, some things belong to more than one "family" and you will probably end up sticking things in the "wrong" bed either to fill up empty space or to squeeze in things you have started in pots or cell trays. There's nothing wrong with that. Rotation is used mainly to prevent build up of diseases specific to certain types of plant if they are grown in the same place year after year.

(cough) brassica(cough).

[zazen999]

Dividing into four sounds good. Brassicas are any member of the cabbage family. Root crops are things like carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes etc, where you eat the root instead of the leaves. Don't get too hung up on where stuff goes though, some things belong to more than one "family" and you will probably end up sticking things in the "wrong" bed either to fill up empty space or to squeeze in things you have started in pots or cell trays. There's nothing wrong with that. Rotation is used mainly to prevent build up of diseases specific to certain types of plant if they are grown in the same place year after year.

Turnips and swedes are also brassicas.....so should be rotated with them, if disease is the reason for rotating.....

[Corris]

Love digging?

Want to visit Norfolk? You and your spade?

[Rob the Radish]

Main thing Rob - don't get stressed!!! You are supposed to be enjoying it

Very true, but i am loving it, just if i start something new i like to have at least some idea what i am doing, not only do i want the plot to look smart, i want it to work as well. difficult when i aint got a clue.

[Rob the Radish]

Love digging?

Want to visit Norfolk? You and your spade?

Lol, Reckon a few of the other plot owners have me in mind first, good job really as am nearly out of digging on my plot now.

[Two_Sheds]

Your rotation will only work if you like eating the same ammount of each of your four crops? The other downside is for it to work you could finish up with land being unproductive for a lot of the time,especially in winter?

thought that was the downside of an allotment, not been able to have something growing all the time.

My plot is a 4 bed rotation, roughly. Nothing is measured, and I don't plan how many kilos of anything I want. It's too much stress.

Bed 1 :legumes & sweetcorn (I grow a LOT of kidney beans)
Bed 2: brassicas
Bed 3: roots & pumpkins
Bed 4: alliums & spuds

That's what works for me: you can tinker with the formula as much as you like, or over time you might decide to abandon any formal plot plan and just plunk things wherever.


I never have empty ground, ever. I always have plants waiting in pots to go out, as soon as a space becomes available: and if there's no crop there, I'll sow a green manure.

[rustylady]

Turnips and swedes are also brassicas.....so should be rotated with them, if disease is the reason for rotating.....

I did say that some veg appear to belong to more than one "family", therefore turnips and swedes whilst being brassicas are also root crops

[Snadger]

...................I never have empty ground, ever. I always have plants waiting in pots to go out, as soon as a space becomes available: and if there's no crop there, I'll sow a green manure.

You must follow an annual rotation plan then TS, where you do follow like with like as long as its in the same year?

I favour a true crop rotation (loosely adhered to) but its each to there own I suppose.

[taff]

you don't have to pslit it into 4, you can split it into 8 or less or more. Are you going to be growing fruit, are they going to stay where they're put? Work out how much ground you'd be giving to them, because they probably won't be going anywhere, so that's some of your area taken up.
Nearly everything except root crops will benefit from the manure, so decide how many root crops you want, and roughly how much space they'll take up, and don't manure that bit, or pile all the manure somewhere out of the way till you know where you want it.
As for the rest, you have all winter coming to make a plan, so you can change your mind as you go. Get a piece of paper and draw it out how you'd like it, then keep changing it till you have a concrete plan....don't forget the eventual size of what you're growing, things like winter cabbage, squash and courgettes take a lot of room, see if you can grow up areas instead of on the ground too.