Crop Rotation

Crop rotation is the practice of changing crop types every harvest cycle or so. Reducing pest loads is a good practice because different crops will attract different pests. Rotating the type of plant you grow in your garden will stop a single type of pest from overwhelming your crops. This technique is part of cultural control, which in turn is used in integrated pest management.

Crop rotation basics

Pests like leaf miners, whiteflies, and caterpillars are more likely to infest specific types of crops, while more generalist pests like aphids, mealy bugs, and spider mites are likely to remain on and attack unhealthy plants. Changing your plants after every growing season will reduce the food sources of the established pests, and will help you find what thrives in your garden's unique environment.

Crops used for rotation will need to have similar growing requirements, but are different enough such that the same pests are unable to attack every type of crop. For example, a simple crop rotation schedule for an allotment gardener with full sunlight could start with a leafy vegetable like lettuce, swap to a species of bean like butterfly pea, change to herb like chives, and then back to a leafy vegetable.

Short-lived annual plants are best for this practice, with the harvest or eventual death of these plants planned to coincide with a community garden's calendar of events. Because annual plants will eventually die naturally or when harvested, the plot will need to be replanted regardless, giving gardeners opportunities to grow new plants to start the cycle again.

Plants for crop rotation

Choose one plant from each category per growing cycle. Remember to choose plants that fit your environment!

Annual Leafy and Root Vegetables

• Bayam (Amaranthus tricolor)

• Cai xin (Brassica rapa Caisin Group)

• Chinese mustard (Brassica juncea Broad-leaf Mustard)

• Waterleaf (Talinum triangulare)

• Kai lan (Brassica oleracea Alboglabra Group)

• Kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group)

• Kang kong (Ipomoea aquatica)

• Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

• Radish (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus cultivar)

• Tapioca (Manihot esculenta)

• Xiao bai cai (Brassica rapa Pak Choi Group)

Beans and other legumes

• Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea)

• Long bean (Vigna unguiculata)

• Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

• Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)

Fruiting vegetables

• Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia)

• Brinjal (Solanum melongena)

• Chilli (Capsicum annuum)

• Lady's finger (Abelmoschus esculentus)

• Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Herbs and spices

• Chives (Allium tuberosum)

• Laksa (Persicaria ordorata)

• Sawtooth coriander (Eryngium foetidum)

• Spearmint (Mentha spicata)

• Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Annual flowers

• Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globose )

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)