Why would you practice crop rotation for your vegetables? This is what Wikipedia says about it:
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar/different types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.
Crop rotation gives various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals and other crops. Crop rotation also mitigates the build-up of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped, and can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants.
Every year you rotate between root and bulb, fruit and seed and leaf and stem vegetables. Here is a list of which vegetables belong to each group.
Root & Bulb
- carrots
- parsnip
- potatoes
- beetroot
- kohl rabi
- radishes
- onions
- leek
- garlic
Fruit & Seed
- peas
- beans
- tomatoes
- capsicum
- sweet corn
- eggplant
- pepper
- cucumber
- endive
- courgette - zucchini
Leaf & Stem
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- broccoli
- celery
- lettuce
- silver beet
- spinach
- brussels sprouts
Long-term crops such as asparagus and rhubarb are grown outside the rotation.
This works quite well with square foot gardening. Just draw a diagram of what you planted where and then rotate from year to year.
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