Crop rotation and Winter crops

In general I plant vegetables in rotation to avoid build up of diseases in the soil. I base it on three groupings (a fourth grouping would include potatoes):

- Roots and Onions
- Brassicas
- Others (beans, courgettes, beetroot, leaf crops such as lettuces and spinach ...)


Lettuces are one of the exceptions as they are quick to mature so fill in gaps, when the slugs don't get to them first of course!

Autumn sown Broad Beans

The main part of the vegetable patch is one long bed which runs along the south side of the house.


Last year the planting (from West to East) was

- Roots: mainly parsnips of which I still have some to dig up
- Brassicas: Purple Sprouting which would have still been going if the Cabbage White caterpillars hadn't beaten me
-Others: dwarf French beans, climbing flat beans and runner beans. I planted broad bean 'Bunyards Exhibition' at the start of November (my grandfather always planted them on November 5th) once I had cleared the last of the dwarf beans. As you can see from the photo they have come through the frosts and snow well and should crop in May/June before the blackfly hit, and before I plant out the brassicas. Note to self - remember to pinch out the tips when in full flower to deter any early blackfly


So this year the order will be Others, Roots, Brassicas.
Task for this weekend is to dig up the remaining parsnips and incorporate a load of compost into this area ready for the beans. The Brassicas area will get an organic fertiliser added prior to planting. The Roots area has nothing added to it, just a thorough digging over to ensure the parsnips and carrots roots are straight.



Another smaller bed, new last year, follows a similar 3 year pattern. Last year it had courgette and Swiss Chard in it ('others' group). Overwinter I planted it with a red onion 'Electric', which will have matured in Apr/May, and will continue with the 'Roots and Onions' group. The red onion variety is meant to be a heavy cropper.


The planned new bed for the year will have a goodly quantity of compost in it so will be perfect for courgettes and maybe a squash or pumpkin for a change.

In the greenhouse I always grow tomatoes ensuring that they are never planted in the same soil to avoid diseases. I tried to grow winter salad crops in the greenhouse but suspect I left the sowing too late as the 'lambs' lettuce is only just beginning to germinate! Must sow winter salads mid September this year