Why Is Crop Rotation Important?
Crop rotation is important for anyone who grows food crops, but for raised bed vegetable gardening and organic gardening, it is especially important. Here's why crop rotation is important for the backyard vegetable gardener.
Crop rotation means planting a different vegetable "family" in a bed each time you plant your garden. The main vegetable families include brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, etc), root & tuberous crops, leafy greens, legumes, alliums (onions, garlics), and nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, etc.) Healthy gardens rotate plants in different families among the beds each time you plant a garden.
Rotating crops protects soil balance and fertility. Different vegetables need different amounts and types of nutrients, and some, like corn, is considered a 'heavy feeder.' By rotating your crops among your raised beds, you'll prevent the vegetable plants from depleting essential nutrients or unbalancing the nutrients to the extend that deficiency diseases develop.
Crop rotation also helps manage garden pests. Some bugs, such as the striped Colorado potato beetle (above), feeds on plants in the nightshade family. This includes potatoes, but it also includes tomatoes and eggplant. By planting different vegetables in the bed in which you grew nightshade varieties last year, you'll reduce the available food supply and discourage insect infestations.
Variety is the spice of life, so why not variety as the spice of the garden, too? By moving your plantings from year to year, you'll keep your soil healthy - and the healthier the soil, the healthier the vegetables!
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