At this time of the year, nights fall early, at 16.30h, it is already very dark outside. With that much rain lingering on already for days, there is not much garden job I can do outside. Sitting down relaxed, it is time to plan ahead for this year’s vegetable garden.
The main focus is on the 4 evenly divided raised beds I’ve built myself last year for the sake of easy crop rotation. I intend to rotate the beds each year in sequence so that build-up of pests and diseases in soil is reduced and that the life cycles of the crops are broken. Other advantages of crop rotation include weed suppressing, soil structure improving, and soil replenishing. Last year’s 4 plots were planted as follows:
Plot 1: legumes – half plot for beans and the other half for peas (mixed salad as intercrop)
Plot 2: brassica – Chinese cabbages, pak choi, amaranth
Plot 3: fruit crop – courgettes and pumpkins
Plot 4: roots + tomato – carrots and tomatoes
For 2008, last year’s beds will be moved each bed back one space:
Plot 1: roots + tomato – root crops break up soil structure
Plot 2: legumes – fix nitrogen for future crops
Plot 3: brassica – need need nitrogen-rich soil, need liming
Plot 4: fruit crop – need manure, need liming
The 4 beds should look like this:
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