crop rotation

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Crop rotation is an approach to deciding which crop to plant where in a vegetable garden or crop field from one year to the next.

Crop rotation is important to organic farmers growing crops on a large scale and less so to home gardeners.

The goals of crop rotation are to aid the control of soil fertility and to help avoid and reduce problems with diseases in the soil and some insects such as corn rootworms, that dwell in the soil.

Crops have different nutrients requirements and affect soil balance differently. Heavy feeders such as corn and tomatoes quickly deplete soil nitrogen and phosphorus.

Planting corn in the same place year after year will result in that area of soil becoming gravely depleted of nitrogen and phosphorus. In order to prevent this, farmers/gardeners change the location of their crops each year to prevent this from happening.

basics

balancing soil fertility