Four-bed crop rotation: myth?

The four-bed crop rotation approach is based on the idea that, when you grow the same crops in the same beds, year after year, pests and diseases specific to these crops gain a foothold. Also, key nutrients associated with a particular crop become depleted. To avoid these difficulties, you should rotate your crops. That’s good advice, but the method proposed is challenging.

With a four-bed crop rotation system, unrelated crops pass through each bed each season, utilising four or more beds. For example, a bed of legumes is followed by a bed of brassicas, then alliums, green manure, cucurbits, Solanaceae, and so on.

That makes sense, at least on paper, but it’s impossible to achieve in a home garden unless you have more beds than you need. Planting and harvesting times vary among the different groups. Also, some crops have a long season and can be planted several times, while there’s only a small window of opportunity for others. Trying to follow a four-bed rotation to the letter just leads to headaches and lower production.

I’ve met many gardeners who have tried to achieve this, believing that it’s the holy grail of horticulture and all good growers do it. Some had even set up complicated spreadsheets to plan and cross-reference with companion-planting guides. You can understand their relief when I told them that they didn’t need to do any of that.

Don’t let these ‘rules’ interrupt the flow and enjoyment of growing your food. If you plant something unrelated to the previous crop, and you aim to rest beds with tomato, potato, eggplant and other Solanaceae crops for three years (they’re particularly prone to disease), you’re on the right track.

Header image by Alamy