We systematize the planting of crops in the summer cottage, observing the rules of crop rotation in the garden

Crop rotation in the garden is an extremely important thing, since any fan of growing summer cottages is well aware of the information that the soil depletes over the years, becomes less nutritious and helps the plants to develop worse and worse. There are many prerequisites for this. How to avoid falling crops and make your garden blooming and constantly bearing fruit? Details in this article.

Read also the article about when to plant zucchini in the country!

What gives us a crop rotation in the garden?

From year to year, pathogens accumulating in the soil and various pests deteriorate the quality of the crops grown. If the plantations, which are made by the affectionate love of summer residents, are practically unchanged and do not change their location, then the pest does not leave its homes.

For instance, Colorado beetlewho loves potatoes. If you do not alternate planting potatoes every year with beets, then the number of the Colorado potato beetle will not decrease. And even if you take many measures to destroy it. In addition to the Colorado potato beetle, soil stagnation provokes the appearance of late blight pathogens, as well as the colonization of larvae of other pests that live among the beds.

If we are talking about other cultures, then the same scheme works with them. A site that is always planted with the same crop will only increase the number of those harmful beetles that love to feast on fruits and roots. It is very difficult to withstand a huge invasion of insects, therefore, not only those plants that are their favorite delicacy, for example, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, will suffer from this factor, beans and lettuce, but also those that are extremely vulnerable by nature.

The next factor is the increased content of harmful substances in the soil, which the system of various crops contains. These secretions have toxins not only for the surrounding plants, but also for the colina itself, as the root system of vegetables is called.

For example, beets and spinach are hit first. Carrots and pumpkin are more resistant as well corn and leeks pay little attention to the poison of colina.

Crop rotation helps to avoid depletion of the vitamins of the summer cottage. After all, each vegetable has its own set of nutrients, which is laid in their cells from birth: the plant needs it for normal development and growth.

Naturally, vegetables, berries and fruits try to extract these substances from the soil when they run out of their "set". Cabbage respects potassium, but if you plant radishes there, then the potassium reserves will decrease somewhat more slowly compared to cabbage, which means it needs less potassium.

Seed planning

To correct the situation with the content and amount of the necessary substances in the soil, it is only necessary to observe the correct sequence of crops, as well as to plant them on the site from year to year in the required sequence. This is called crop rotation and is a whole agricultural science. It is not worth going too deep into the scientific jungle, it is enough to follow a few rules and, of course, adhere to a good sowing plan.

What to plant after what or competent planning of crops using the following rules:

1. On the same site, you cannot plant the same crop for several years in a row.... The same applies to those plants that are "relatives", since they have a set of common pests, and also show the same reaction to the amount of toxic substances that will release colin. Naturally, they take from the soil the same composition and set of substances necessary for growth. All summer residents who do not comply with this rule may come to the conclusion that their soils will become not at all fertile and will be completely depleted in terms of food supply. We'll have to take new soil to the site and fertilize it again, which of course costs a lot for fans of garden plots.
2. Compliance with a certain break, after which the site must take a break from a certain culture planted on it. The rest period is 2 years. Although many summer residents say that 1 year may be enough if light crops, such as salad with celery, have been planted, still a year is not enough for the complete restoration of nutrients and trace elements in the soil. Some plants will yield better yields if you extend the rest period. For example, for carrots, cucumbers and parsley it is 4 years, and it is recommended to plant cabbage every 7 years so that the harvest is large enough. Cabbage, like strawberries, is the most capricious element of a garden plot.
3. The properties of plants are difficult to overestimate, since not many summer residents suspect that they not only take nutrients from the soil, but also enrich it with their beneficial composition contained in the root system initially. Thus, if you rotate crops correctly, then you save not only the necessary supply of trace elements for a given plant, but also improve the composition and structure of the soil for the next crops. At the same time, without doing practically any procedures for this. For example, legumes loosen the soil well and add a lot of minerals to it. Landing melons and buckwheat will help saturate the soil with calcium. If you plant dope grass on the sides of your plot, then provide the plants with phosphorus, replacing the weeds with tobacco - increase the level of potassium in the soil. And if you use the planting of dioecious nettle as a preventive measure between crops, then your soil will be enriched with iron, which is useful for the growth of many useful vegetables. If you follow these rules, you can easily plan the planting of plants for quite a long time in order to accurately understand your benefits in terms of the harvest.
4. It is imperative to use compost after harvest as it helps the soil to look fresher and healthier. It's like feeding for indoor plants, those flowers that the caring hands of housewives cherish on their windowsill. If you add the plants listed above to the compost, then in addition to fresh trace elements that will come during the growth and development of these contours, you will also receive a universal fertilizer that contributes to an increase in yield even in those years when the soil seems to be losing ground.
5. Do not forget also that to remove pests from the site and thereby you can increase your crop rotation by planting those plants that scare off beetles and do not allow their larvae to develop freely in the garden. For example, a cloud of aphids can be destroyed by planting garlic or tobacco all over the area. And the Colorado potato beetle is terribly afraid of thyme. Thus, by planting these plants, you can completely expel pests from the site and clear it for planting for the next years.
6. And the last rule is the observance of a certain subordination among plants. Vegetables consume food from the ground in different ways, and therefore it is better not to plant a sequence of very demanding crops one after another.Best after heavy crops such as potatoes, beets, carrot and cabbage plant light legumes on the garden bed or lay out the site with a large layer of fertilizer.

Compliance with these rules will help the soil to change systemically, and not unilaterally, and in order to increase the concentration of certain types of nutrients, the summer resident will only need to carefully monitor and keep records of their crops.

Another added bonus to the annual plant rotation is the constant weed control. The scourge of all summer residents can be simply and easily removed from your garden if you plant plants that are insensitive to weeds, such as garlic, onions, carrots and parsley. They are best planted after heavy crops such as potatoes or peas. The latter produce very few weeds, since they are absolutely insensitive to this type of grass.

Planting scheme: your personal crop rotation diary

The above rules are very good for studying the theory of crop rotation, but many summer residents who first encountered full workload in their gardens may not have enough time to fully study the science of crop rotation and understand the nature of planting plants on the site. For this, agronomists draw up special lists, lists or tables, which indicate which crops need to be planted first, which second and further, in order of general priority. Let's consider in more detail the most famous crop rotation schemes.

Cabbage

Cabbage is the most difficult vegetable, as it not only often gets sick, but also gathers a large number of pests around it. Any gardener can easily answer the question: what can be planted after cabbage? Anything but cabbage!

Even other species of this plant can degrade the nutrient complex of the soil very easily. This is an extreme option, and of course, after this plant, you need to fertilize the soil with compost.

Rutabaga and turnip are perfect as precursor plants, since this group does not differ in a "set" of harmful beetles that are not averse to eating delicious vegetables. After the cabbage leaf, onions or garlic take root best of all, but you can also plant carrots, potatoes, beets, tomatoes. Cabbage does not tolerate the neighborhood of tomato and beans with parsley. What can be planted in front of the cabbage so that the soil is rich enough in the vitamin and mineral layer for our capricious vegetable.

Cabbage grows remarkably after the harvest of radishes, cucumber and carrot crops, as well as after peas and representatives of the onion family. The previous harvest of annual grasses such as phacelia or rape is also excellent.

Garlic or onion

The garlic culture is less demanding than cabbage, but like onions it cannot be planted in the same place. When using the services of garlic, you need to alternate it with other vegetables. The best option for planting vegetables after garlic will be potatoes, the early ripening variety is perfect. Tomatoes are also quite suitable, as well as representatives of legumes or cabbage with cucumbers.

It is great, of course, to plant annual herbs after garlic, which restore the soil for subsequent crops and replenish the supply of minerals. And phytoncides, substances secreted by garlic with the help of its root system, will help destroy weeds and prevent late blight in neighboring crops.

Such annual herbs, which will go perfectly after a garlic bed, are great: mustard, phacelia, some varieties of green peas, as well as rapeseed and rye.

After which you can plant onions? Like garlic, it will thrive after harvesting legumes, potatoes and carrots.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are another no less demanding vegetable crop, along with cabbage, so the soil in front of them is usually abundantly flavored with organic compost and any nitrogen-containing feeding... It has not been sufficiently studied how much nitrogen exactly cucumbers need, but nitrogen is generally useful for any plants, like hay for a cow. Therefore, for a good grass stand, and in particular cucumbers, you need to pour in the powder that enriches the soil with this substance, quite generously.

What should be planted after cucumbers next year? You need to turn your attention to something lighter, such as beets, turnips, carrots, parsley, or celery. It is strictly forbidden to plant cabbage in the garden after cucumber, which needs very fertile soil. After cucumbers, the soil is almost completely depleted, in fact, as after the cabbage itself.

To improve the composition of the soil after the cucumber family, it is better to plant legumes, as well as tomatoes, corn and lettuce.

Do not succumb to the mistaken opinion that pouring a bucket of compost onto the garden bed can make the soil fertile. It becomes fertile over time due to the fact that a certain set of nutrients and other beneficial trace elements are combined there.

It is best to observe the correct crop rotation than to constantly maintain the soil with fertilizers and nothing more. This will lead to the fact that the soil will cease to be alive and, as a victim of plastic surgery, will constantly wait for a new dose of tightening.

Strawberry

Another demanding, now berry representative of summer cottage crops is strawberry. This berry drinks all the juices from the soil so strongly that after it is transplanted (once every 4 years), the soil is so thoroughly fertilized precisely organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizing, that the compost layer sometimes reaches five centimeters. This should be done in the fall, after the entire garden has been thoroughly dug up and all the necessary additives have been added.

Strawberries are very fond of nitrogen, so after it you need to plant those crops that enrich the soil with just such a chemical. These are beans, peas and beans, they secrete the largest amount of this substance with their root system.

Also, after strawberry bushes, a huge number of pests remain, and here garlic will help summer residents: it will not only cleanse the soil of the remaining slugs that love to feast on strawberries, but will also help the soil acquire special phytoncidal properties. Your soil will bloom and ache less. It is imperative that the raspberry is planted as a strawberry-like berry. These sweet fruits have common pests, so it is better not to plant them together.

The best option is actually to plant flowers in the place of the strawberry bush: peonies, daffodils or violets, which help the soil to acquire that reserve of minerals that was completely lost during the growth of strawberries.

Potatoes

The heaviest and densest crop among vegetables sucks out a lot of phosphorus and potassium from the soil, so the soil will lack precisely these microelements. You can replenish these costs with the help of minerals, or you can do it easier and plant the area with annual grasses that secrete these substances with their root system.

The necessary annual herbs include:

• dope herb;
• mustard;
• peas;
• rape;
• rye;
• phacelia.

If it is not possible to completely remove the potato crop from the site, then try planting a pumpkin next to it, it introduces exactly the very necessary minerals required by the soil to grow potato crops at the proper level. However, remember that the second harvest will be significantly smaller than the first, which can even affect the size of the vegetables.

After potatoes, it is better not to plant tomatoes, eggplants and all nightshade crops. It is best to plant pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers, cabbage or onions before potatoes.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes will also be a rather capricious crop and after them it is better not to plant eggplants, potatoes and peppers.After regal tomatoes, as in relation to potatoes, you need to plant one-year-old herbs that fill the soil with various missing useful vitamins and microelements. If this fails, then beans are good, peas and beans.

After what crops is it better to plant tomatoes? After potatoes and carrots, of course. Zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, beets and green salad will also feel great after tomatoes. Carrots, of course, behave better, since a tomato is that few vegetables, after which a carrot can be planted completely fearlessly.

Beet

Beetroot is the most unpretentious vegetable crop, so almost any vegetable can be planted after it, and potatoes, tomatoes and other nightshade are perfect for this.

Fertilizers still have to be applied to the soil and properly feed the soil peat... After the beet tubers, garlic, onions and carrots also show a good harvest.

Carrot

Medium on capricious vegetable that needs a strong and strong shoulder. Therefore, the excellent predecessors of carrots will be: beets, tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage. On the one hand, carrots are an active vegetable, and on the other, they are quite dependent. It needs special mineral fertilizers, but at the same time it has a rather light vegetable character. Carrots can grow in completely different places on your site.

Can I plant carrot after the bow? Here he is that "strong" predecessor or even a neighbor who will help carrots and grow into an excellent vegetable. Onions release special substances that help scare away ticks, which often settle in carrot beds. Therefore, a pair such as carrots and onions is the perfect combination.

What to plant after carrots? After it, you can plant any vegetables in the garden, except for potatoes and cabbage.

Pepper

Pepper is related to those vegetable representatives, the root system of which lives better in the upper layer of the soil, where it feels best, so after it it is good to plant vegetables that have longer and deeper roots. These are primarily onions, garlic, cucumbers, beans and any other greens. This also includes any root vegetables, for example, beets, carrots, radish or radish.

After what crops is it better to plant pepper? After anything other than potatoes and cabbage.

Peas

Peas are almost the ideal predecessor for half of the garden. It will enrich the soil with nitrogen, but it will also help other vegetables grow. What to plant after peas next year? This vegetable also nourishes the soil with potassium and phosphorus, so after it tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, beets, melons, zucchini and so on bear fruit perfectly.

The only drawback of peas is their susceptibility to fungal diseases. Its root begins to rot with an abundant amount of water, so peas should never be poured. After it, the soil is completely unsuitable for planting other beans, which can also "get sick". All this is because the spores persist in the ground for five to six years.

In order to collect all the knowledge visually, you can make a special table of alternation of vegetables in the garden or crop rotation, which will help to visually evaluate those crops that live well together on rotation. On the contrary, arrange all those vegetables that are undesirable for planting in future seasons. You can also put all your knowledge in order and make another list. It seems difficult only at first glance - you need to draw up another table: “what to plant after that in the garden”.

Cultures "neighbors" and "enemies"

Another important issue when planting and establishing your crop rotation in the garden is the rules for neighboring crops. Many gardeners have a certain influence on each other, which can be both good and bad.In order to avoid mistakes in this regard and get a good and bountiful harvest, you need to master the rules of the correct planting of crops of "friends and enemies".

It all depends on the root system present in each plant, because the toxins released into the soil can either organize the protection of neighboring vegetables from problems, or attract them, thereby shortening the life of neighboring plants.

The following vegetable crops are well tolerated by joint planting:

1. Potatoes and beans, cabbage, corn, spinach, eggplant, horseradish, carrots, radish, dill, lettuce. All these plants bring invaluable benefits to potatoes, sucking excess water from the soil, and onions and garlic, located close, will protect the root crop from late blight, which can affect this crop.
2. Garlic will have a positive effect on many garden neighbors who are planted next to it. A tandem of garlic and strawberries will look best at their summer cottage, since these two crops benefit each other mutually. Garlic helps strawberries to get rid of pests and diseases, and red berries help garlic to get better yields. Likewise, a garlic bulb will grow larger if carrots are growing nearby.
3. It is better to plant dill and corn next to cucumbers, which enriches the soil with microelements.
4. An excellent neighbor for carrots will be peas, and for peas themselves, potatoes, tomatoes or eggplant will be the best neighbor.
5. Separately, it should be said about the flowers that are adjacent to many vegetable crops, for example, gladioli, carnations and roses, which will help not only enrich the soil with a vitamin and mineral complex, but also protect vegetables from pests.

Cultures that absolutely cannot get along with each other:

1. Nuts practically do not get along with anyone, since they inhibit the root system of most vegetables, releasing juglone into the soil.
2. Wormwood and legumes planted at the same time also become a bad neighbor for vegetable crops.
3. Fennel is generally a persona Non grata in the garden, because all cultures feel bad with it. It is better to plant it separately from others and next to a small flower garden or shrub.
4. Crops such as potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries grow poorly together.
5. Eggplants and tomatoes generally do not tolerate other representatives of the nightshade. Therefore, if you dare to plant peppers nearby, then both will develop poorly.
6. A couple of cabbage and strawberries will also have a bad neighborhood, since the former is the most demanding vegetable of all summer cottages, and the latter surrounds itself with a huge number of pests that can damage the cabbage root system.

Having memorized these rules by mouth, the summer resident can still experiment on his site. Because it happens that a large neighborhood can be harmful, and a small share of "communication" does not affect the growth of other cultures at all.

For example, valerian yarrow or nettle, which are planted in small quantities at the edge of the garden, in no way affect the yield of vegetable crops, on the contrary, they will even help them by enriching the soil with the necessary substances and microelements.

Thus, any gardener can master such a concept as crop rotation, and applying it in practice, he will plan sowing in his summer cottage for many years. This will help protect the soil from the loss of all nutrients, and will also help plants, with the help of the forces of nature, maintain a normal balance. At the same time, the summer resident will not have to spend money on various fertilizing, since the fertilization of the site will go naturally.