Crop Rotation in the Home Garden

As a gardener, you probably already know that crop rotation is important to reducing disease and preventing insect pests from devouring your fruits and vegetables. What you might not know is that in order to reap the benefits of crop rotation, it is necessary to rotate entire plant families to a new area of the garden each year.

Many gardeners mistakenly believe that rotating the specific vegetable is sufficient to prevent disease and insects. Although you may see some benefits from simply moving your tomatoes to a new area, rotating the whole plant family is more effective.

Plant families attract the same insects and are susceptible to the same diseases. Fortunately, they also tend to require the same growing conditions. This means watering and plant care is easier when plants are grouped according to family. Plant families and common plants that belong to those families are listed at the end of this article.

How to Rotate Crops by Plant Families

Roland E. Roberts, Extension Vegetable Specialist from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, recommends sketching a circle to represent your garden. Divide the circle into wedges, like pieces of pie, to represent each vegetable family. Label the sections with numbers, beginning at the top and proceeding in clockwise direction with successive numbers.

Fill in the sections with the vegetable families to be planted in each section for the first year. To develop a garden plan for the second year, rotate crops from section 1 to section 2. Each crop should be rotated clockwise to the next section.

Follow the procedure in successive years. Sketching your garden plans ahead of time, and saving it for the following year, makes planting easy and assures you that all your vegetables are rotated properly.

Plant any "new" vegetables within its family group. For example, if you decide to grow eggplant, in the second year, place it in the section with the nightshade vegetables. Even though you may wish to change the specific vegetables you grow, if you plant them in the appropriate section, you do not need to worry about rotating individual plants, as they will simply be moved when you rotate that plant family

Crop Rotation: Rotate Plant Families

Nightshade Family: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes
Legume Family: Beans, peas and lentils
Grass Family: Sweet corn, popcorn
Mustard Family: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, turnip, radish, Chinese cabbage, kale, collards, rutabaga
Gourd Family: Cucumbers, melons, squash and pumpkin
Lily Family: Onions, shallots, garlic and chives
Composite Family: Lettuce, endive, chicory and artichoke
Goosefoot Family: Beets, Swiss chard and spinach

SOURCES:

Texas Agricultural Extension Service: Vegetable Rotations, Successions and Intercropping
The United States Environmental Protection Agency:GreenScaping: The Easy Way to a Greener, Healthier Yard
University Of Illinois Extension: Organic or Not -Tips for Reducing Pest Problems