Rotating Vegetables by Family (2024)

FAQs

Rotating Vegetables by Family? ›

Related vegetables share disease problems, so a true rotation needs to be between vegetable families. Usually a 3-year rotation is advised, meaning that there will be 2 years of unrelated vegetables in the middle, between related vegetables.

Alternate Heavy and Light Feeders

Heavy feeders, including corn, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, and cucumbers, require a lot of nitrogen to produce their flowers, fruit, and leaves. To rest the beds, plant carrots, potatoes, beets, or onions, which don't need as much.

Over time, insect pest and pathogen numbers build in the area and damage to vegetable crops increases. Using crop rotation helps keep insect pest and pathogen numbers at low levels. In addition, the type of vegetable grown in a particular area in a garden has a direct effect on the fertility of the soil in that area.

One approach to crop rotation is to divide your plants into these four basic groups: legumes, root crops, fruit crops, and leaf crops. Imagine your garden separated into four areas, as shown in the chart at the top of the page. Each successive year, you would move each group one spot clockwise.

The method involves dividing a field into four sections and systematically rotating different crops in each section over a period of four years. This departure from mono-cropping had transformative effects on soil health and agricultural productivity.

For example, one season you might plant crops that fix nitrogen in the soil; the next season plant crops that use a lot of nitrogen. You could also alternate sod-base crops with row crops, crops that attract certain insects with those that do not, or weed-suppressing plants with those that do not suppress weeds.

Legumes and then the cruciferous crops, including brassicas, are what to plant after tomatoes. Legumes are known to trap nitrogen in nodules that form on their roots, adding nitrogen to the soil.

If you opt for rotation, tomatoes should be rotated on a three-year cycle–tomato one year and other vegetables the next two years. (Either way, the potting soil should be refreshed every one to two years.)

Can I plant tomatoes in the same spot every year? ›

Try to plant tomatoes in a different spot every year, rotating through your garden space every three to four years. Planting them in the same place allows disease pathogens that are specific to tomatoes to build up in the soil. By moving them around in the garden each year, you can break up the disease cycle.

Squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and pumpkins are prone to developing fungal issues like powdery mildew and downy mildew. They also tend to be easy targets for vine borers and squash bugs. If we grow those pest-susceptible crops in the same place every year, we will be compounding those pest issues year after year.

Perennial vegetables such as soft fruit, rhubarb, asparagus and globe artichoke aren't replanted each year, so they may need their own dedicated bed.

If you have enough space in your garden and good soil quality, you may prefer to plant in rows. Rows can be economical and easier to get started because they make use of the existing soil and don't require a lot of setup.

When growing different varieties of plants side by side, try to group them together by water needs. Deep-rooted vegetables like tomatoes and asparagus should be placed in the same bed, as they will thrive with less frequent (but more thorough) watering that soaks deep into the soil.

Most annual vegetables benefit from being fitted into a rotation but not all – there are quite a few 'grow-anywhere' crops that can be fitted in wherever and whenever is convenient. Perennial vegetables like asparagus and artichokes needn't fit into a rotation as they stay in the same place.

Many edibles commonly grown in vegetable gardens need to be replanted every year. Crops such as zucchinis and cucumbers are known as annuals because their natural lifecycle only lasts a season. Other plants, such as garlic and kale, are biennials.

Good vegetables to rotate in after tomatoes include beans and peas because they naturally fortify soils with nitrogen, and greens, because they are not too demanding.

Rotating the placement of plant families will keep the soil healthier, the plants healthier, and the diseases at bay (in theory). The standard rotation goes something like this: Salad (leaf) first, Tomatoes (fruit) next, carrots (roots) third and peas (legumes) after that.