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Field Rotation Planner.
Field Crop Rotation Planner
Multi-year crop rotation for soil health, pest pressure reduction, and nutrient cycling.
Why rotation matters
Continuous monoculture (same crop in same soil year after year) creates compounding problems:
- Pest pressure builds: pests specific to that crop accumulate over seasons. Tomato hornworms, squash bugs, brassica root fly all establish multi-year populations
- Disease soil-borne: pathogens like Verticillium, Fusarium, club root persist in soil and infect successive crops
- Nutrient depletion: heavy feeders strip the soil of specific nutrients faster than amendments can replace them
- Soil structure decline: same root depth and pattern year after year creates compaction at consistent depth
- Weed dominance: weeds adapted to that crop's culture (timing, spacing, harvest) thrive
Crop rotation breaks these cycles. Pests don't find their preferred host two years in a row. Soil-borne diseases lose their host between seasons. Different root depths and feeding patterns balance the soil. Different culture timings disrupt weed lifecycles.
Rotation principles
| Principle | What it means |
|---|---|
| Family rotation | Don't follow with same plant family. Tomato → tomato no; tomato → bean yes (different families). |
| Heavy feeder → light feeder → fixer | Heavy feeders (corn, brassicas, tomatoes) deplete N. Light feeders (root vegetables, alliums) take less. Legumes (beans, peas, clovers) fix N back. |
| Root depth alternation | Deep-rooted (carrots, parsnip) → shallow-rooted (lettuce, brassicas) → deep — distributes feeding zones |
| Cover crop windows | Insert cover crops between cash crops to build OM, fix N, suppress weeds |
| Pest break | 3+ year gap between same family on same ground breaks most pest cycles |
Plant family reference
| Family | Crops | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Solanaceae (nightshades) | Tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato, tomatillo | Heavy feeders; soil-borne disease pressure |
| Brassicaceae (cabbage) | Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radish, turnip, mustard | Heavy feeders; club root risk; allelopathic to nematodes |
| Cucurbitaceae (squash) | Cucumber, melon, squash, pumpkin, zucchini, watermelon | Heavy feeders; vine; pollination-dependent |
| Leguminosae (beans) | Beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, alfalfa, clover, vetch | N-fixers; soil-builders; rotation foundation |
| Apiaceae (carrots) | Carrots, parsnip, celery, parsley, cilantro, dill, fennel | Light feeders; deep-rooted; pest-deterrent |
| Alliaceae (onions) | Onion, garlic, leek, shallot, chive | Light feeders; antimicrobial |
| Asteraceae (sunflower / lettuce) | Lettuce, sunflower, artichoke, chamomile | Mixed; lettuce light feeder; sunflower heavy |
| Chenopodiaceae (beet) | Beet, chard, spinach, quinoa | Moderate feeders; cool-season |
| Poaceae (grasses) | Corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley | Heavy feeders (cereal); cover crops light feeders |
| Cannabaceae | Cannabis, hops | Heavy feeders; hemp specifically pulls N intensively |
Cover crops in rotation
| Cover crop | Role | When |
|---|---|---|
| Crimson clover | N-fixing; rapid biomass | Fall-winter; terminate spring |
| Hairy vetch | N-fixing; cold-tolerant | Fall-winter |
| Winter rye | Soil cover; weed suppression; allelopathic | Fall-winter; terminate spring |
| Buckwheat | Quick smother crop; soil cover; phosphorus mobilizer | Summer (45-60 day cycle) |
| Oats | Quick biomass; winter-killed | Late summer; dies in winter |
| Daikon radish | Tap-root; breaks compaction; "biological tillage" | Late summer; winter-killed |
| Mustard | Allelopathic to nematodes / pathogens | Spring or fall; biofumigation |
| Mixed (4-5 species) | Diversity; multi-function | Any season; "cocktail cover crops" |
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