Help me plan next years Veg Garden

[Mervyn]

I know I need to rotate my plants for next year , I made the mistake of planting potatoes in the same place two years running , and that mistake is showing now. ( I don't have good soil to begin with , I'm working on that)

I've attachec a picture with the basic layout of my garden now, (not too scale )

I will most likely not grow potatoes at all next year , I still want to plant the rest though.

So some questions for all.

I know i should move the location of the leeks/onions , I was thinking too where I have Tomatoes this year. Then maybe move the Tomatoes to where the squash are.

and move the squash to where the onions leeks were.

As for the potato area, I am looking for suggestions as to what to plant there.

So, tell me what you think ?

[butterfly]

You sure go to a lot of trouble for design for a veggie garden

cant help you here. I just rotate which is the most important thing to do besides the soil ammendments

[Mervyn]

Making some rectangles in paint isn't much effort at all

But I just don't want to randomly rotate the plants, I want to place them where they can do the soil the most good.

I know enough for example not to put the tomatoes where the potatoes were, but I don't know if putting the onions were the tomatoes were is bad, or putting sqash where the onions were is a good idea and so forth.

[new2garden]

I found this website when planning my garden.
http://www.oisat.org/control_methods/cu ... ation.html
Helps identify what different family your crops belong to.

[kelly_m]

Hey Mervyn.

First thing first...do not plant the potatoes near the tomatoes...not good companions.

A suggestion though...think about beans...any type. T%hey are good for replenishing the soil and are good companions to any of the veggies.

check this out...

http://www.mi.ca/compendium/

Or another good one..

http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/jardin/eng/potager.htm

K

[butterfly]

Yes kelly correct

peas and beans are leguimes and I bury the plants back into the soil when they are finished

I have my potatoe patch about an 1/2 area away from the rest of the garden


But then next year I need to find another spot an it is not good to plant them in the same place eyar after year as I am told

Any truth in this? and why?

I ask beause I do remember my grandad using the same patch every year and he had terrific spuds to feed 8 of us all winter

[Mervyn]

This is how I understand why to rotate crops.

Every plant takes certain nutrients from the soil ( some add ) if keep planting the same plants in the same area some key nutrient will depleted from the soil.

Secondly, the various pest we all hate that have the nerve to eat our veggies will overwinter in the ground near the plants they like best, by rotating crops, when they emerge in the spring, they won't have a food supply (hopefully) and will die out, or at least be controlled.

I should have mentioned, the plants I have in that diagram are only my "main" plants, I always have some sort of "filler" plant between rows

This year I had two rows of potatoes with a row of peas in between, between the onions and and leeks I had carrots, and with the squash I had some radish , I harvested all the radish except for two so I could harvest the seeds, and they can act as a "trap crop"

I also like the white flowers

And between the tomatoes I had parsley and Basil.

I guess beans it is... I don't really like beans though