Follow on sowing .....

[Kristen]

"then i'd have to leave the beds empty for 18 months??"

Yeah

I would suggest you consider the change over date to be 1st July, rather than 1st Jan that way you will have to use some catch-crops, rather than moving to next-but-one rotation's crop a year early!

"some people sow peas where the current peas are growing"

Its not a problem until you get disease, or "soil sickness" because the mono-cropping has taken all of a particular mineral out of the soil. But then its hard to fix. So prevention-better-than-cure.

Don't think there is any Right / Wrong way, its a balancing act with the voice of experience (not mine I hasten to add!)

[Demeter]

FG the way I look at it there is more than three families, so if you have 3 beds but want to grow 2 crops per year, why not look at a 6-crop cycle or something like that i.e. separate out potatoes from carrots and other roots, make alliums into a new family group by themselves, introduce cucurbits and/or sweetcorn and/or catch crops into the plan - that way you can be sowing and planting all year round, two or more crops a year from the bed, each crop from a different family, for 3 whole years. And if you get stuck for overwintering crops, stick on a green manure to keep it going.

I'm trying to work out a plan for the next year or so based on the above, with the added advantage that I haven't yet decided how many beds I will have. The current idea is 6 rotation beds plus another area for permanent and mixed planting, but if I can't come up with a rotation plan that allows me, at least in theory, to keep all areas in use at all times then I might rethink. (I'm not expecting to get everything in use all year round just yet, I just want to have a Vision For The Future...)

It's all frying my brain a bit - and on the whole I'm quite attracted by the Snadger approach to rotation (i.e. don't follow like with like, otherwise don't worry too much about it). I just want to make sure I have things growing as much of the year as I reasonably can.

[SarzWix]

I'm afraid I may confuse things more here, but if I'm getting 2 crops out of a bed within the same year, then the 2nd crop is usually from the SAME family For instance, my onion bed remains an onion bed from Spring through to Spring - Spring sown onions are followed by over-wintering leeks! Then Peas & Beans with broad beans going in in the autumn, then brassicas, then miscellaneous, then potatoes. Empty beds are covered with manure, or compost, and covered with weed-suppressant.
Admittedly, this is only my second year, but our Allotment Secretary wins prizes in all the big shows, and reckons this is an ok way to do it.

[Snadger]

I'm afraid I may confuse things more here, but if I'm getting 2 crops out of a bed within the same year, then the 2nd crop is usually from the SAME family For instance, my onion bed remains an onion bed from Spring through to Spring - Spring sown onions are followed by over-wintering leeks! Then Peas & Beans with broad beans going in in the autumn, then brassicas, then miscellaneous, then potatoes. Empty beds are covered with manure, or compost, and covered with weed-suppressant.
Admittedly, this is only my second year, but our Allotment Secretary wins prizes in all the big shows, and reckons this is an ok way to do it.

Each to there own Sarzwix!

Without trying to huff anyone or say the way I grow is the only way,I'll try and explain why I wouldn't use your method.

Say your spring planted onions had a bit of rust or an odd one had white tip or basal rot? Would you think it was a good idea to plant with leeks straight after?

If your spring sown peas and beans had a touch of chocolate spot would you think it was a good idea to plant broadies in the autumn on the same plot?

If your spring planted brassicas had a touch of clubroot, shanking or cabbage root fly would it be a good idea to plant spring cabbage in the same area?
I could go on, .......if your tatties were blighted would you plant a Christmas crop in the same spot?

The above listed problems are only the problems that are evident to the naked eye. What about nutrient depletion and trace element depletion when trying to grow a similar crop one after the other?

These in my view are the downsides of using your system but if it works for you so be it!

[SarzWix]

I never take the huff over good advice Snadger and it's certainly worth thinking about.

[lynda66]

i've got so many different varieties growing in the same beds, no way can i rotate everything lol (yeah bought loads of seeds, planted them, then read about rotation) so i reckon, if they haven't got bugs, they will have to go wherever they will fit when the last lot comes out ....... though i have been working on it so i can rotate the front garden if i don't get the allotment sorted by spring.