Planning Crop Rotation

Routines help our lives run smoothly in so many ways.  My husband excels at remembering exactly when to do certain maintenance on the car and the house.  Immediately after a heavy rainstorm, he's up on the ladder, cleaning out the gutters so they won't become clogged with leaves.  He's also faithful about the lawn mowing that starts in just a few weeks.  There's a certain comfort to these routines, isn't there?

The last couple of years, my husband has made it his routine to pick out the tomato and pepper plants, and to place them in exactly the same spot in our yard.  After reading about crop rotation for gardens, I am trying to convince him that we have to shake up his way of doing things.  Planting the same vegetable in the same spot can deplete the soil of nutrients and encourage pests.  There are some wonderful organic gardening books and on-line guides that address crop rotation, complete with guides for specific plants. 

I may not get it perfect, but I am trying to sketch out a plan for moving every little vegetable into a different spot than it was last year.  There may be beans or peas next to the house where the tomato plants used to grow, and something different will take at least one row of the terrace garden.  I really liked the convenience of my lettuce row last year, so I'm trying to determine where I can move that.  Then there's the squash...I'm still working on it.