Ever wonder why your tomatoes just don’t get as big as they once did? You’re doing everything the same way as you always have. What could possibly be wrong? Planting the same thing in the same spot year after year is the problem. To plant a tomato, or other plant, in the same place in your garden year after year will deplete the soil of the minerals and nutrients your tomato and other vegetables need to be healthy.

 In order to keep your garden soil productive you will benefit from crop rotation.  So, you ask, “what exactly is crop rotation? And why is it necessary?”  

There are several benefits to using crop rotation:

Nutrient Balance: Different families of plant require different nutrients from the soil. Each plant requires specific nutrients which are depleted through repeated planting. By moving the plant your soil can be rebalanced.

Insect Control: Crop rotation also reduces the possibility of insect colonies.

Disease Prevention: Disease organisms build up in your soil if they are reinforced by repetitively planting in the same spot. The disease organism build-up can cause crop failure. You have a better chance of keeping these organisms under control by moving last year’s plant to a new location.

The easiest way to employ crop rotation is to first understand that there are six major plant groups: alliums, cruciferous, legume, solanaceous and umbelliferae. I have combined alliums (onion family) with umbelliferae (roots). And I have combined solaneaceous (tomato) with Cucurbit (melons). You do not need to follow this set of combinations, but you will need to keep track of each of your group’s movements. These groups just make it easier for me to remember. Or you can keep a small notebook of where you have planted things from year to year. An important thing to understand with this process is that legumes work to fix nitrogen into the soil where the other groups use the nitrogen.

Group One (leafy family): cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and leafy greens

Group Two (root family): carrots, onions, garlic, turnips, radishes, beets, leek and shallot

Group Three (fruit family): tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, corn and eggplant

Group Four (bean family): peanuts, beans, peas and cover crops

Divide your garden into four different areas. Move your plant from area to area each year so by the fifth year you are back where you started. The order of your groups does not really matter. But I have found it beneficial to put my tomatoes behind beans in the rotation, because legume actually fixes nitrogen back into the soil.