Tag: Crop rotation

ECONOGAL > Crop rotation

Planning the 2022 Garden

Posted on by Econogal

A cold wintry January day is perfect for staying inside and planning the 2022 garden. My planning involves reviewing the diagrams from last year showing what was planted where. Then, buying seeds is another key component. But, looking back on my notes is the most important of all.

Diagrams of the Garden

I began drawing out plant placements of my garden the second year I lived here. Because, I couldn’t quite remember what was planted where. And I wanted to rotate my crops. Crop rotation is necessary to not deplete the soil.

Before I can create a new plan, I check last year’s and then I research. There are so many facets of crop rotation that I can’t remember them all so I check and re-check with my resources both in print an online. Since I am new to growing brassicas, I need to experiment a bit with them. This year I plan to plant one section from last year with potatoes. The other area will see a repeat of legumes following the brassicas.

Last year I planted quite a few flowers in the big garden to attract pollinators. I will expand on that this season. So many people use/overuse pesticides and bees are not as abundant as in the past.

The squash were decimated by squash bugs last year so I am undecided as to where they should go or if I should skip a season. It is a fact that I need to be more diligent next summer in examining the vines. Not sure if both virus and bug repellant seeds are on the market.

Buying Seeds and Planning the 2022 Garden

Seed Packets
Need to organize the Seeds

In addition to the seeds I save from the garden, I also scour seed catalogues during the winter months. I am almost done with the winter purchase of seeds. However, they still need to be organized. Starting seeds indoors is just around the corner.

Reviewing notes is a key part of seed buying. Varieties that worked are bought again. One of my favorite slicing tomatoes was discontinued a few years ago. I still have an unopened seed packet for this year. The plant is a hybrid so saving seed from the produce does not guarantee successful reproduction. Alas, once these seeds are gone…..

I love looking at the new varieties featured in the catalogues. Experimenting with new types makes the garden fun. And if I don’t like the outcome, an easy solution for the following year is to try something else. This will be the case with cucumbers in planning the 2022 garden.

Just a few recent arrivals

Reviewing Notes in Planning the 2022 Garden

For each of the past four years I have kept notes in my yearly planners. The notes encompass weather, bug attacks and crop yields. Notations are also made on the health of the crops. The year over year comparisons are insightful.

Garden Planners from 2018 to Present

Adjustments on starting seeds as well as outdoor plantings are made from these notes. These changes are not infallible as weather changes year to year. Climate change is also making an impact over a longer time period. (Most farmers I know recognize climate change regardless of their respective political beliefs.) Bumper crops one year can turn into failed crops the next. But the overall trend in my part of the world is drier and hotter. I need to adjust for this reality as well.

Looking Forward

As the snowflakes drift down outside, I am warm and cozy inside and dreaming of the mornings where I am up with the sun poking through the garden rows. I feel such incredible joy watching the little plants grow and then produce wonderful veggies for the dinner table. There is a satisfaction hard to match and I swear the food tastes better. Winter is here for a few more months, but planning for the 2022 garden is a productive diversion from the dreary cold.

Crop Rotation, Succession Planting, and Companion Planting

Posted on by Econogal

Planting a home food garden takes more work than plopping in seeds and watering. Planning the garden is a critical component. However, some of the most important planting techniques can conflict. Primarily, I am talking about crop rotation, succession planting and companion planting. While the first two seem to go hand in hand, the last of the three can make planning and implementing a garden tricky. If, that is, you want to keep the soil healthy.

Crop Rotation

The best way to keep soils happy and pests at a minimum is to practice crop rotation. I have seen charts for various cycles of planting. Some involve rotating through a cycle of three years and others for four years. Also, some rotation plans include a fallow season. Currently the big garden is designed for a four-year cycle. I best remember the cycle with the chant Root, Fruit, Leaf, Legumes. The rotation follows the line. Thus, a fruit crop follows the space a root crop was in, the leaf crop goes behind the fruit, the legumes behind the leaf and the roots follow the legumes. Sounds easy enough, but that does not allow for succession planting in some of the row. Nor does the sequencing allow for companion planting.

 

Dill and summer squash side by side
Growing dill and summer squash together in effort to deter squash bugs

Succession Planting

Succession planting has multiple definitions. One involves growing a late season crop after an early crop. For example, both radishes and spinach are usually finished by early June. This gives plenty of time to plant a second crop. Following the rotation chart, the next crop should be from the fruit or legume family as the case may be. But now your row is no longer consistent from within.

Another type of succession planting is placing plants with different harvest dates side by side. An example would be putting beets and butternut squash side by side. The winter squash takes much longer to grow and develops above ground in contrast to the root vegetable which will be harvested at a much earlier date.

Companion Planting

I use the technique of companion planting throughout my yard. I have garlic planted at the base of my fruit trees. In theory, this wards off borers. Also, my tomatoes are grown side by side with both onion and basil. One can see quite easily what this latter grouping does to crop rotation. But I still plan to rotate the rows in the big garden.

In addition to preserving soil nutrients, crop rotation helps battle pests. The flea beetles were aggressive this year. Even though the rutabagas and broccoli were planted in different rows, the little bugs attacked both. I certainly don’t want to plant the rutabaga in the same place next year.

So far, no signs of squash bugs, but I know they are lurking somewhere. If all my squash were next to each other, they would just chomp down the row. Thus companion planting is essential to my gardening.

Garden Compromise

My intentions are to loosely follow a crop rotation through the rows. So, next year the tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will reside where the beets are now. I will still inter-plant the basil and the onion alongside the tomatoes. The plants are too happy not to. I do plan to take very close notes and lots of pictures. Sometimes I lose my sketched garden plans from one year to the next, so it helps to have photos.

Succession planting will still occur. Our late spring, early summer heat triggers bolting by June for some of the early crops. I do not want to have a lot of the rows idle. However, I will try to follow a mini crop rotation with the succession planting. Perhaps I will follow the radishes with tomatillos next year.

We eat from our garden all summer long. The health benefits are only outweighed by just how great fresh fruits and vegetables taste. To insure the garden keeps producing, we will combine the various techniques of crop rotation, succession planting and companion planting to keep both plants and soil thriving.