Crop rotation/veg grouping

[Poddington Pea]

Hello all!

I'm relatively new to veg growing having had an allotment for a few months before moving away and having to start again.
I'm trying to sort out my garden and have divided it as best we could to allow a veg patch as well as safe children's area, formal area etc.

We've created several beds but some are quite shaded. The shaded beds are deep dig beds and those in the sun are raised beds (after digging for blimming ages my husband agreed that raised beds might be a bit easier!). So I'll have to be carefull what I plant where, so knowing the groups properly would really help!
I've been trying to separate my seeds into the 4 groups for rotation, but am having trouble! For example, what are squash?
Is there a website anyone can reccomend that details ALL veg in their groups?

Thanks in advance for any assistance with this!

[SunnyU]

Hi Poddington Pea!

I'm sure much more experienced grapes will be along shortly but in the meantime why don't you have a look at the growveg.com website. They offer of 30 day free trial garden planner which really helped me as it colour co-ordinates all the vegetables according to their groups. I found this a very helpful tool when starting out as I could never remember what goes where...

[Poddington Pea]

Thanks! I'll take a look at that now x

[Two_Sheds]

look at the growveg.com website.

They offer this:

1. Legumes: French beans, peas, runner beans, broad beans
2. Root vegetables: radish, carrot, potato, onion, garlic, beetroot, swede, sweet potato, shallots
3. Leafy greens: spinach, chard, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach
4. Fruit-bearing: tomato, sweetcorn, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, courgette, aubergine

[Two_Sheds]

We've created several beds but some are quite shaded.

That is very important: you won't have successful fruiting plants in a shady plot, best to use that for the leafy greens and salads

[Alison]

They offer this:

1. Legumes: French beans, peas, runner beans, broad beans
2. Root vegetables: radish, carrot, potato, onion, garlic, beetroot, swede, sweet potato, shallots
3. Leafy greens: spinach, chard, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach
4. Fruit-bearing: tomato, sweetcorn, cucumber, squash, pumpkin, courgette, aubergine

You see already I disagree with some of that, although grown as a root crop, swedes are brassicas therefore should be grown in with your cabbages etc. I do a four year rotation based on the following but others will disagree with some of this:

1 - Spuds - also grow tomatillos in this rotation although in a separate bed for lack of anywhere else to put them
2 - Legumes - beans, peas, mange tout, also grow courgettes and sweetcorn in with these
3 - Brassicas - cabbage, sprouts, kale, swede, turnips, cauli, PSB etc
4 - Root crops plus a bit more - carrots, parsnips, beetroot, celeriac, spinach, onions, garlic and shallots

There's probably something I've forgotten on that and I also have a totally separate system in the polytunnel.

[Poddington Pea]

You see already I disagree with some of that, although grown as a root crop, swedes are brassicas therefore should be grown in with your cabbages etc. I do a four year rotation based on the following but others will disagree with some of this:

This is my problem!!! There seem to be alot of different thoughts on this, but I they mainly are the same.

"That is very important: you won't have successful fruiting plants in a shady plot, best to use that for the leafy greens and salads"

Thanks Two Sheds, I'd thought this too, there is sun on that area all morning, do you think it would be ok for potatoes, carrots etc?
Our garden is South facing, but stlightly angled towards the East and next door has high sheds which casts the shadow causing shade, but the whole garden does get sun for a few hours at some point during the day.

[Snadger]

Swedes are brassicas and formal crop rotation is for farmers!

[Poddington Pea]

Swedes are brassicas and formal crop rotation is for farmers!

Thanks!!! The more I read the more I think 'hang on, I managed a few spuds, hundreds of peas and some courgettes (which someone pinched before I picked!!!) on one trip every few weeks to my old allotment'

Do you 'lime'? Does anyone?

[binley100]

I did read that basically if you have an above ground veg then follow it with a below ground one.......Whether to lime or not you really need to test your soil , although some say lime your brassicas as it helps their development and against slugs etc......

[Poddington Pea]

I did read that basically if you have an above ground veg then follow it with a below ground one.......Whether to lime or not you really need to test your soil , although some say lime your brassicas as it helps their development and against slugs etc......

That's helpfull, alot more straight forward than some of the stuff I'VE read
Thank you

[buzzingtalk]

Bumping an old thread here, but how does this sound - I have 3 beds, all newly raised. One was a 'lasagne' bed which hasn't had any manure added as such, recently topped with topsoil which makes me think its suitable for roots. Other two are 1x3m and newly raised, manured in autumn and topped with topsoil and compost. Heres the plan:

Bed 1. Roots - Carrots, Beetroot, Parsnip, Spring Onion and salad stuff as I'm not massivley into roots and will need space for salads.
Bed 2. Bassicas - PSB, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard. Will be growing lots of this sort of stuff too
Bed 3. Beans - Runner beans, peas, borlotti beans, and sweetcorn. This is the sunniest bed, with the root bed behind. Bed 2 is a bit shadier so the bassicas should be fine (not too shady though, just a few hours lost)

Now, where in this would you put your squash??? I could grow in pots as I have leftover 50L pots from last year, but is this much good? At least I could position them somewhere in proper sun all day.

I'll be growing toms, salad, cucumbers, strawbs, blueberries and rhubarb at home.

Is this about right? Its very confusing, theres so much online that contrasts.

[FionaH]

I would put the squash in a manured bed with the beans, they are hungry beasties

[Two_Sheds]

Now, where in this would you put your squash?

I keep my squash waiting in the wings for spaces to appear - when the spuds are out, or anything else really

[buzzingtalk]

Not gonna be growing spuds - just the veg above. There will be room in the bean and corn bed, I seem to remember reading on here about planting them 'inbetween' beans/corn so they can trail on the floor, is this right? If so, then there's a party in the raised beds this summer haha