Crop Rotation

Crop Rotation means planting different crops in each location every year. It's a great way to prevent soil pathogens and pests from building up year after year. If you include a cover crop in your rotation, it even builds the soil! At the very least, you should try not to plant the same plant (or even plant family) in the same place for 4 years. Longer is better. This is one of the keys to easy organic gardening!

Here's my current sequence for pest & pathogen reduction: Potatoes/Tomatoes/Peppers -> leeks/onion/carrot/garlic -> Brassicas/radish -> cover -> Corn/Beans/Squash -> beets/lettuce/greens/mustard underneath beans

(yes, beans are in there twice, but the 2 year group is separated by 4 years)

Family	Members	Follows	Why?
Beets (Chenopodiaceae)	Amaranth Beets Spinach Swiss Chard
Brassicas (Cruciferae)	broccoli brussels sprouts cabbage cauliflower collards kale kohlrabi mustard radishes turnips arugula	Garlic, leeks, onions Legumes	Onion-family crops thwart parasites and pests that trouble cabbage Legumes build up soil nutrients for heavy feeders.
Carrot (Apiaceae)	carrot celery chervil cilantro dill parsley parsnips	Winter squash or pumpkins (anywhere really) Potatoes	Vining crops smother weeds, making it easier to keep root crops clean. (fairly unrelated to other crops and each other) Potatoes require digging which loosens up the soil for root crops
Grasses (Gramineae)	corn oat rye wheat	Cover crops	Cover crops help build up the soil for corn.
Lettuce/sunflower (Compositae)	artichoke chicory endive lettuce sunflower	Carrots, parsnips	Roots loosen soil, making penetration easier for shallow rooted lettuce
Onion (Liliaceae)	chives garlic leeks onions shallots	Winter squash or pumpkins Brassicas fall planted garlic and shallots should follow potato	Vining crops smother weeds, making it easier to keep root crops clean. Brassicas kill soil pests. Potato harvest results in a clear planting bed for fall-planted crops
Peas/beans (Leguminosae)	alfalfa beans clover cowpea lentils peanuts peas vetch	Cabbage-family crops or corn	Legumes fix their own nitrogen. Turn cover crops under to replace nutrients used by heavy-feeding crops.
Squash (Curcurbitaceae)	Cucumbers melons pumpkin squash
Tomato/nightshades (Solanaceae)	eggplant peppers potatoes tomatoes	Mustard, rape, turnips Potatoes can follow corn	Incorporate cabbage-family crop residues to help rid the soil of pathogens that attack nightshades Corn as a preceding crop increases yield of potatoes