Crop Rotation

Farmette · August 10, 2012

How many of you practice crop rotation and to what degree? I have a series of raised beds, some in full sun, some in partial shade. Example, 5 beds of tomatoes and 3 of peppers. How does one rotate in that situation and is it even necessary? After Septoria, after Early Blight? Have not yet had any issues with Late Blight. Do you leave one bed fallow?
Bottom line is, do you think crop rotation in raised beds is necessary?
Thanks for any replies.

salix · August 10, 2012

I garden in "informal" raised beds, that is, no boards or such to keep in the dirt. I rotate every year between/among the brassicas, alliums, solanums (probably the wrong term, but you know I mean tomatoes and potatoes!), legumes and 'miscellaneous'. Probably works out to a 4 or 5 year rotation and so far it works well, there is no disease or loss of fertility. The only portion that isn't rotated happens to have the more or less perennial herbs, rhubarb and strawberries. Oh yes, and also a strip for flowers as we must also feed the soul...

Farmette · August 10, 2012

Growing in amended compost each yr, what is the likelihood that tomatoes and peppers grown in the same bed would develop root knot nematode. Is that something that one sees regularly in Wisconsin?

moon1234 · August 25, 2012

I grow in Wisconsin. I think you should read the UW's paper on how to grow tomatoes in Wisconsin.

Generally it is best to practice a 3 year or longer rotation away from Solanaceae family crops (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc.) in the same area. Follow tomatoes with melons or corn. Then the next year put onions, garlic, etc. in that spot. Then you can plant back to toms or go another year with carrots, lettuce, brassica (broccoli, kale, etc.). This will break the diease cycles up.

Late and Early blight do not over winter in Wisconsin as long as all plant tissue is dead. Most viruses come from insects so insecticides or row cover are your only options there. Septoria and Bacterial problems are USUALLY from splashing soil so mulch heavily to prevent splashing so and use fungicides when necessary. I stick to copper based products as they usually have good prevention of most bacterial and fungal problems.

Farmette · August 25, 2012

I am sure there are some people that do not have disease every year, but I wonder about the majority of us. Growing a large number of plants might make it more difficult. I've been lucky so far, potatoes 3 yrs. in a row without a problem, but will rotate next yr. Very little tomato disease this yr, even though it is the 2nd yr. Have installed drip irrigation and I think that has helped alot.
I've used copper, but also Actinovate and Exel LG.
Where in Wisconsin do you grow? I have read the UW paper as well as obtaining info from many sources, but wondered what the majority of people do since crop rotation is not always possible.
Thanks for the replies!

Quote:

Originally Posted by moon1234

I grow in Wisconsin. I think you should read the UW's paper on how to grow tomatoes in Wisconsin.

Generally it is best to practice a 3 year or longer rotation away from Solanaceae family crops (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc.) in the same area. Follow tomatoes with melons or corn. Then the next year put onions, garlic, etc. in that spot. Then you can plant back to toms or go another year with carrots, lettuce, brassica (broccoli, kale, etc.). This will break the diease cycles up.

Late and Early blight do not over winter in Wisconsin as long as all plant tissue is dead. Most viruses come from insects so insecticides or row cover are your only options there. Septoria and Bacterial problems are USUALLY from splashing soil so mulch heavily to prevent splashing so and use fungicides when necessary. I stick to copper based products as they usually have good prevention of most bacterial and fungal problems.

zabby17 · August 27, 2012

Farmette,

I don't know anything about Wisconsin (though I imagine it has some similarities to Ontario---I'm in zone 5 with a cold winter and a short but sometimes quite warm summer).

But I wondered about crop rotation too when I started gardening, and it seemed to me that most of the recommendations for it was based on the assumption of a field situation, not raised beds.

For purposes of nutrient replacement, it certainly doesn't really apply to raised beds, at least not mine, where I plant intensively and encrich the soil aggressively every season.

As for diseases, I've only occasionally had blight, and my understanding is that it's is killed by a cold winter, so shouldn't be an issue.

The main disease I have is brown spots turning to yellowing leaves starting at the bottom of a plant, which I assume is septoria---the pattern sure suggests it is something splashing up from the soil. It seems to be less since I started mulching with paper as well as straw, though it's still there. But it doesn't seem to affect productivity---I simply pull off affected leaves, and it never gets too bad till very late in the season.

The few times I've growin tomatoes in a bed that had something from another family the year before, it didn't seem to make any difference.

So I've stopped worrying about it. My raised-bed gardening is very different from a field situation---because the amount of square footage is smaller, I can make sure my soil is very good and plant at a closeness that would not work in a field situation anyway.

I have 11 beds, three of which get good sun in spring before the trees in the neighbour's yards fill in. So I use those mostly for my lettuce, onions, chard, etc. (And beans, which grow anywhere.) And the eight with the best sun stick to tomatoes and peppers.

Just my own experience. Good luck!

Z

August 10, 2012	#1
Farmette Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 985	Crop Rotation How many of you practice crop rotation and to what degree? I have a series of raised beds, some in full sun, some in partial shade. Example, 5 beds of tomatoes and 3 of peppers. How does one rotate in that situation and is it even necessary? After Septoria, after Early Blight? Have not yet had any issues with Late Blight. Do you leave one bed fallow? Bottom line is, do you think crop rotation in raised beds is necessary? Thanks for any replies.

August 10, 2012	#2
salix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: north central B.C. Posts: 2,310	I garden in "informal" raised beds, that is, no boards or such to keep in the dirt. I rotate every year between/among the brassicas, alliums, solanums (probably the wrong term, but you know I mean tomatoes and potatoes!), legumes and 'miscellaneous'. Probably works out to a 4 or 5 year rotation and so far it works well, there is no disease or loss of fertility. The only portion that isn't rotated happens to have the more or less perennial herbs, rhubarb and strawberries. Oh yes, and also a strip for flowers as we must also feed the soul... __________________ "He who has a library and a garden wants for nothing." -Cicero

August 25, 2012	#4
moon1234 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 54	I grow in Wisconsin. I think you should read the UW's paper on how to grow tomatoes in Wisconsin. Generally it is best to practice a 3 year or longer rotation away from Solanaceae family crops (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc.) in the same area. Follow tomatoes with melons or corn. Then the next year put onions, garlic, etc. in that spot. Then you can plant back to toms or go another year with carrots, lettuce, brassica (broccoli, kale, etc.). This will break the diease cycles up. Late and Early blight do not over winter in Wisconsin as long as all plant tissue is dead. Most viruses come from insects so insecticides or row cover are your only options there. Septoria and Bacterial problems are USUALLY from splashing soil so mulch heavily to prevent splashing so and use fungicides when necessary. I stick to copper based products as they usually have good prevention of most bacterial and fungal problems.

August 27, 2012	#6
zabby17 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ontario Posts: 211	Farmette, I don't know anything about Wisconsin (though I imagine it has some similarities to Ontario---I'm in zone 5 with a cold winter and a short but sometimes quite warm summer). But I wondered about crop rotation too when I started gardening, and it seemed to me that most of the recommendations for it was based on the assumption of a field situation, not raised beds. For purposes of nutrient replacement, it certainly doesn't really apply to raised beds, at least not mine, where I plant intensively and encrich the soil aggressively every season. As for diseases, I've only occasionally had blight, and my understanding is that it's is killed by a cold winter, so shouldn't be an issue. The main disease I have is brown spots turning to yellowing leaves starting at the bottom of a plant, which I assume is septoria---the pattern sure suggests it is something splashing up from the soil. It seems to be less since I started mulching with paper as well as straw, though it's still there. But it doesn't seem to affect productivity---I simply pull off affected leaves, and it never gets too bad till very late in the season. The few times I've growin tomatoes in a bed that had something from another family the year before, it didn't seem to make any difference. So I've stopped worrying about it. My raised-bed gardening is very different from a field situation---because the amount of square footage is smaller, I can make sure my soil is very good and plant at a closeness that would not work in a field situation anyway. I have 11 beds, three of which get good sun in spring before the trees in the neighbour's yards fill in. So I use those mostly for my lettuce, onions, chard, etc. (And beans, which grow anywhere.) And the eight with the best sun stick to tomatoes and peppers. Just my own experience. Good luck! Z