crop rotation

[salad daze]

my husband (bless him) has built me three raised beds 8ftx4ft aprox I want to grow beans- salads- cabbages- onions and some root veg. How do I rotate my veg between my beds as you can see I am a newcomer to this having grown basket tomatoes and some cabbages in the past.
hope you can HELP

hopefully salad daze

[stanhol]

Hi Salad daze,

Its best to rotate a minimum of 3, i usually use a 4 year rotation, if you have strawberries use a five.

So, divide your plot into 4, group your veg into their families! ie, brassicas, legumes, roots, potatoes.

I usually follow legumes with brassicas because they are greedy feeders, then potatoe group then roots. Draw a grid of 4 by 4 and fill in the box`s!

You can intercrop other crops that will eithermature before the main crop or not get in the way of your main crop, for example, radish, beetroot etc.

Crop rotation is good for reducing problems with pest and disease and keeping your soil in good condition.

Good luck

Sandra

[salad daze]

thanks for the info sandra we are still settleing in the beds and turfing round the sides so that I don't make a mess of the rest of the garden.

Ive just bought a soil testing kit and will set about that tomorrow

salad daze