you could not be gardening for long before someone , somewhere , take a firm stand yourotate your crops . It seems at times the go - to , catch - all solvent for whatever problem you may have . For this reason , a small gardener with circumscribed outer space may before long find oneself themselves enquire “ Yeah , but is it reallythatbig of a peck ? ”
as luck would have it , we have Admiralty mile of study from which to draw that decision . Many citizenry have researched the effects of crop rotation ( or a lack thereof ) to give us all — from the backyard gardener to the 100 - acre granger — an idea of what the effects might be if we do n’t .
1. Yields Will Decrease
Yields are how much useable material you get from a given plant , and though the study often done on crop rotation are geared toward gravid conventional farming , the lessons are the same . Take for instancethis reportfrom the Pennsylvania State University ’s telephone extension service :
“ The yield benefits are often look out on . ”
In their cogitation , Indian corn following soybeans will often yield up to 20 percent more than continuous corn on the same field . When following corn with corn , however , yield run short down every twelvemonth .
TheNoble Foundation Agriculture Divisionalso get hold an interesting result in one of their cogitation on peanuts . They did a one - year rotary motion of cotton followed by a one - twelvemonth gyration of two different potpourri of peanut vine and run into an addition in takings of 1,185 pounds per acre .
So perhaps fuddle in a little diversity when you rotate your crops — two different motley of earthnut , say — and see even sound outcome .
2. Diseases & Pests Will Proliferate
The majority of plant diseases subsist in soil , and nothing will quite ruin your yields like diseased plants . harvest rotation , however , breaks up the bike . Or as it is succinctly put inThe Organic Gardeners Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control(Rodale , 1996 ) , “ Many garden pests survive the wintertime and can reinfect a craw if it is grown in the same spot yr after year , However , if the suited host plant is absent , the pest starves . ” This is a fairly simple concept , yet gravely of import .
Like diseases , blighter also winter in territory . Although a lolly moth may still fly all over your garden even if you spread out your crops , it may help with other pest that issue forth from the soil . From the Rodale Institute’sUltimate Encyclopedia of Organic Farming(Rodale Books , 2009 ):
“ Colorado potato beetles like to eat potato plants , but they also enjoy feasting on love apple leaves and eggplant foliage . Since these beetle overwinter in the grime , if you plant mad apple in the smirch where you grew potatoes the year before , you could be ask in a mallet job for your eggplant bush from the twenty-four hours they ’re plant . ”
Same could likely be read for flea beetles and other ravagers , so be mindful to circumvolve crop menage , not just crops , as you figure out your grow design .
3. Weed Pressure Will Increase
In his fantabulous piece , “ The Role of Crop Rotation and Weed Management , ” Charles L. Mohler makes a breaker point few other researches have : that sens can be managed through crop rotation . Rather , weeds can become a job without it . He describes how using cover crops between planting can curb weed press and how take into account certain beds to go fallow ( let whatever grows to develop ) then killing it can greatly trim back weed populations .
But perhaps the most important point he makes is that slow - uprise , weed - prone crops — wintertime squash rackets , pumpkins , cultivated carrot , onion , melons — should be followed by fast - growing , easily weeded crops . be after to stick with these often vining crops in a “ rapid sequence ” of flying crops like prickly-seeded spinach , lettuce or radishes will aid to knock back any weed semen that may have resulted .
Indeed , if you ’re considering the possibility of having to fight some weeds in your craw rotation , you may already be one stone’s throw ahead of the game .
4. Nutrients Will Be Depleted
Maintaining healthy grime look greatly not just on what is added to it , but on what is taken forth . plant life are generally classified as light , intermediate or heavy feeder in reference to their nutritional need ( loosely nitrogen ) . Broccoli and corn , for example , are laboured feeders ; peppers are a medium confluent ; and cabbage is a light confluent . Tomaintain respectable stain , a weighed down feeder should not be followed by another heavy feeder . If you do n’t rotate crops with their mineral and nutrient needs in mind , you will shortly find your territory less fertile .
make a crop rotation architectural plan can seem like a portion of work — and indeed , it can be ! But with a little effort put into your garden strategy at the start of a time of year , you ’ll be well on your agency to farm a healthy , abundant harvest that will sustain you through the season .
