Confusion re crop rotation

[Anita Plot]

Can somebody help me. I am a bit confused about where to put beetroot and leaf beet in my rotation plan. Is it a brassica or one of the other thingies

It would seem that nearly everything I want to grow need nitrogen - erm - how do I put this into the soil please.

[mazel-bee]

I would put the leaf with the salad leaves and I believe ( could be very wrong) that the beetroot would be with the carrots, parsnips, swede and other root veg.
Probably better to wait for someone a bit more experienced to come along.
If you are growing beans,
When they have died off, if you leave the roots in the ground they put nitrgen back in the ground. ( No good for this season though)

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi Anita - welcome to the Vine. If you are a bit confused re: crop rotation, try this months GYO mag (March 2007) there is a very useful guide. DDL

[roitelet]

Hi Anita,

I always consider beetroot and leaf beet things which do not need to be strictly rotated like brassicas, onions and spuds. Obviously I do not grow them in the same place all the time but they are slotted in as and when. As for nitrogen try a general purpose fertilizer this year.

Peas and beans fix nitrogen in the soil so next year you will have some areas that are higher in nitrogen where you can put your leafy things.

Best of luck

[*Feather*]

I would put the leaf with the salad leaves and I believe ( could be very wrong) that the beetroot would be with the carrots, parsnips, swede and other root veg.

Hi mazel-bee
Swede is a brassica (latin name brassica napus), not a root vegetable... even though the root is what we eat!

[*Feather*]

As for nitrogen try a general purpose fertilizer this year.

roitelet,

Are chicken manure pellets and growmore general fertilizers?

[Two_Sheds]

Nettles are high in nitrogen: a good fertiliser recipt: fill up a 4 pint plastic milk bottle with leaves, top up with water, shake and leave to ferment for a couple of weeks. Dilute in a watering can about 1 part nettle juice to 9 parts water or thereabouts (I never measure anything) and use to feed your leafy crops. I keep topping up the bottle with nettles for a ready supply. Mix the nettles with comfrey for extra goodness and a more balanced mix of nutrients.Try not to inhale, or you may be put off for life.

[Snadger]

roitelet,

Are chicken manure pellets and growmore general fertilizers?

Chicken manure pellets are a high nitrogen feed.

Growmore is a general 7-7-7 feriliser with equal parts of NPK. I think it was devised during the last war for the 'Dig for victory' campaign and seen as a cheap all round fertiliser.

Chicken manure pellets are usually sold as organic fertiliser but Growmore is inorganic!

[rustylady]

All growing things need nitrogen, along with other chemical elements. Even an organic fertiliser will break down into chemical elements or whatever you call them. Plants then take what they need from the soil. Just because they are called chemicals does not mean they are necessarily bad. Even the air we breathe can be subdivided into things like Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, etc ( I can't remember any more from school). Most of these occur naturally, but can be artificially created. Hence, blood fish & bone which used to be a mainstay general purpose fertiliser for gardeners was produced from animal carcasses so could be said to be "organic" is now often frowned upon because of the animal content. Oh Dear, I am sounding pompous, really don't mean to be.

It is a very complicated subject and I don't know all of it, but I do know that Growmore (which I do use) is what they call a balanced fertiliser which doesn't cause abnormal growth. Nitrogen is the "fast grow" part of a formula. I'm sure someone on the Vine will come up with a good website to visit if you want to investigate further.

[*Feather*]

Thanks Snadger and rustylady! I got given two 5Kg tubs, one of chicken manure pellets and another one of growmore, and wasn't sure how to use them...