A Nifty Chart For Rotating Crops In Tire Gardens
By Janet Tucker
As I discovered, and as everyone says, it’s not such a good idea to plant the same kind of crops in the same place season after season. Doing that causes bugs and diseases to build up and make gardening much less fun and productive. There are four main categories of veggies: Greens (lettuce, broccoli, celery, cabbage, herbs, etc.), Roots (potatoes, onions, beets, garlic, carrots, turnips, etc.), Fruits (tomatoes, squash, cukes, eggplant, beans (legumes), etc.) and Seeds (corn, amaranth, etc.) Some veggies have smaller roots and only need a single depth to grow. But, obviously, you can plant a shallow-rooted veggie in deeper soil, if you want.
The best way to keep things under control is to have a record of what was planted when, so the categories can keep cycling around. Since I like to use tires, and since tires can be used singly, in twos, or (more unusually) in threes, I came up with a chart for rotating veggies at each depth of tire. Here is the chart:
CROP ROTATIONS FOR DIFFERENT ROOT DEPTHS/TIRE STACKS
Shallow Depth Roots/Single Tire
Root Veggies: Shallots, Radish, Garlic, Spring Onion
Fruiting/Legume Veggies: Bush Beans, Patio (Container) Varieties of Fruiting Veges
Green Veggies: Spinach, Lettuce, Radicchio, Parsley, Basil, Cilantro
Medium Depth Roots/Two Tires
Root Veggies: Leeks, Carrots, Beets, Onions, Parsnips, Turnips, Rutabagas, plus same as Shallow Depth Roots
Fruiting/Legume Veggies: Okra, Fava Beans, Peppers, Pole Beans, Eggplant, Peas, plus same as Shallow Depth Roots
Green Veggies: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chard, Celery, Arugula, Cabbage, Kale, Collards, Chinese Cabbage, Endive, plus same as Shallow Depth Roots
Seeds: Amaranth, Corn, Sunflower
Deep Depth Roots/Three Tires
Root Veggies: Sweet Potato, Irish Potatoes, Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes), plus Same as Medium Depth
Fruiting/Legume Veggies: Cucumbers, Pole Beans, Summer Squash*, Winter Squash*, Melons*, Tomatoes, Okra
Green Veggies: Brussel Sprouts, plus Same as Medium Depth
Seeds: Same as Medium Depth
*Requires several feet of lateral space (use tractor tires?)
