Crop rotation, the solution to yield problems!

What is crop rotation?

Crop rotation is the sequence of crops staggered over the years on the same plot. It is an important element of soil fertility management, and therefore an asset for increasing yields.

 Why?

Crop rotation makes it possible toreduce the spread of parasites. Many parasites (bacteria, viruses, fungi)  specific to this or that vegetable are tough. They remain in the ground from one year to the next. Moving the plant disrupts their life cycle and reduces their spread without the need for pesticides to eradicate them.

This also helps to preserve the soil. Vegetable families do not always havethe same needs. They take specific nutrients from the soil, at different levels of depth depending on their root system. If crops are not alternated, the soil may be significantly impoverished after several seasons.

How do you do it?

The plan of the vegetable garden is established by alternating optimally 4 groups of plants:

-         Seed vegetables or legumes (beans, beans, peas...), which enrich the earth with nitrogen, and which are therefore also called "green manure".

-     Leafy vegetables (salads, cabbage, spinach, leeks...), which need a soil rich in nutrients and most of which are particularly fond of nitrogen.

-    Root vegetables (carrot, beetroot, turnip, potato ...) and bulbous vegetables (garlic, onion, shallot ...), more or less demanding,   which draw their nutrients in depth.

-     Fruiting vegetables (tomato, eggplant, zucchini ...), which are rather greedy.

Thus, it is advisable to avoid growing potatoes two years in a row in the same place to avoid tiring the soil, but also to avoid the development of diseases such as late blight.