Crop Rotation
• The practice of planting different vegetables
in different places in the garden each year.
Best Practice:
4 Year Rotation
• Rotate plant families to different areas
of the garden space, not revisiting a
particular area for 4 years.
Disease & Pest Prevention
• Rotation with a kind of plant that is
not a host for a particular pathogen
prevents buildup of that pathogen or
insect over the years.
• Rotate by plant family, not just
different plants, since different
members of the same family may be
susceptible to the same disease.
Maintenance & Improvement
of Soil Fertility
• Rotation prevents depletion of the same
nutrients from the soil year after year.
• Inclusion of leguminous crops and
green manures in the rotation help add
nitrogen to the soil.
Weed Control
• Vary weed-susceptible crops with weedsuppressing crops.
• “One year of seeds = 10 years of
weeds!”
Cost Savings
• Good rotation practices result in less
need for fertilizers, insect control
products.
• They’re expensive!
Greener
• Rotation results in fewer chemicals leaching
into our environment.
Better & Healthier Harvests
For a Better and Healthier You!
Develop a Crop Rotation Plan
• List veggies by plant family name.
• Divide garden into equal sections
according to how many years the
rotation is to last.
• Decide on a method to track veggie
planting from one year to the next.
FA M I L Y
V EGG IE
ALL I AC E AE
O n ion
L e ek
CO L OR C O DI NG
Gr a y 4 0 %
Ga r li c
Sha l lot
AP I AC E AE
Ca r rot
O ran g e
Pa r snip
Pa r s le y
A S T ER A CE A E
Le t t uc e
BRA S S I CAC E AE
B r o c c o li
Ligh t Gre en
Radish
Cabbage
Caul i fl o w er
K a le
Pak
G re en
Ch o i
Coll a rd s
K o h l rabi
CHE N O P OD I AC E AE
B ee t
Chard
Pi n k
Spin a c h
Good
K in g H e nr y
CO N V O LV U LA C EAE
Sw ee t P ot a t o
CUCU R B I T A C E A E
Cu c um be r
T an
Wat erm el o n
Go u rd
Z u c c hi n i
Gold
Me l on
Win ter S qu as h
Pum p kin
PANI CO ID E AE
Co r n
PAPI LI ON A CE A E
Pe a s
Be a ns
SO L O N AC E AE
Ligh t Y e ll ow
B r ig h t Gre en
T om a t o
Pep p er
Pota t o
Red
Eggplant
VALE R I A NA C EAE
Mac h e
Aqua
PL A N T I N G L A Y O UT
BED
#
SE A S O N
2 0 09
Sp r ing
1A
Su mm er
2 0 10
le ttuc e
but te rn ut s q ua s h
le ttuc e
Fall
Win te r
Sp r ing
1B
Su mm er
br o c c o l i/ra d is h
spin ac h
but te rn ut s q ua s h
spin ac h
Fall
1C
but te rn ut s q ua s h
c o l la rds
Mac h e
oni o n
T om a to/ P ep pe rs
oni o n
Su mm er
br o c c o l i/ra d is h
but te rn ut s q ua s h
b e et
oni o n
Fall
c o l la rds
Win te r
c o l la rds
Su mm er
le ttuc e
b e et
tom a to
Fall
le ttuc e
tom a to
pea
spin ac h
oni o n
c u c u mb e r
spin ac h
oni o n
Fall
Cila nt ro
Win te r
Cila nt ro
Sp r ing
Su mm er
Cabbage
c u c u mb e r
Le t tuc e
Sp r ing
2C
b e et
Le t tuc e
Win te r
Su mm er
Pa r snip
c o l la rds
le tt uc e
Sp r ing
2B
Mac h e
c o l la rds
Win te r
2A
spin ac h
c o l la rds
br o c c o l i/ra d is h
Fall
1D
spin ac h
oni o n
c o l la rds
le tt uc e
Su mm er
Sp r ing
2 0 12
c o l la rds
Win te r
Sp r ing
2 0 11
oni o n
c u c u mb e r
b e et
tom a to
oni o n
bean
c u c u mb e r
tom a to
tom a to
bean
c u c u mb e r
Fall
Win te r
Sp r ing
2D
Su mm er
Fall
spin ac h
Win te r
s pin ac h
Sp r ing
2E
Su mm er
Fall
Win te r
Radish
b e et
le tt uc e
T h a nk s an d Ac kno w ledg e me n ts
Te x t Cred its :
M aste r Ga rdening Handb ook
A Guide t o Gardening in V irginia
V irg inia C oo pera tive E xtension
Roda leÕs Ill ust rated Encyc lopedia o f O rgani c G ardening
T he He nry D o ubleda y Researc h A ss ociation
Editor -in -chie f Pau li ne Pears
P ict u re Cred its :
Pa tt y T ow nse nd o f the New K ent C ou nty V irg inia C oo pera tive E xtension O ffi ce
Budd y a nd Ma x, G olde n Re trievers E xtra o rd in aire