Regarding Garden Rotation

[nancygene]

I rotate my garden and would like to know how soon I can plant tomatoes back to a spot that I had already planted them before? I planted some about two years ago in a spot that I would like to plant them again this year. Would that be ok?

[imafan26]

Most souces say tomatoes should be on a three year rotation, especially if you had insect or disease problems. If you did not have issues with the tomatoes you had before it should be ok.

[jal_ut]

I planted some about two years ago in a spot that I would like to plant them again this year. Would that be ok?

Yes.

[imafan26]

Preventing soil depletion of nutrients is one reason for crop rotation and many people do not rotate crops unless they have problems.

I actually do not rotate crops because of nutrient depletion. I have to rotate crops mostly because of insects and disease.

Nematodes are common, and pretty impossible to get rid of permanently, soil solarization and resistant cultivars are the best defense. French marigolds and sunhemp are planted in rotation to drive their numbers down.

I don't have much problems with aphids since I use companion plants, but I do have problems with other insects. I have to move peppers or the pepper weevil is a problem.

I have not been able to plant sweet basil for two years because of basil downy mildew. I am currently having problems with tomato yellow curl virus in one plot and can only plant resistant cultivars and rotate crops out of the solanaceous family.

I do some fungicide, alcohol, and soap spraying, but mostly I depend on attracting predators, so I cull the sick plants instead and either do not plant them or I change their location.

https://www.growveg.com/growguides/crop-rotation.aspx

[veggiedan]

FWIW, I've planted cherry tomatoes in exactly the same spot for about ten or years in a row. The soil usually rests between crop-years (though this year I have sugar snap peas on those trellises), and I dig in some compost before replanting the tomatoes. But the yields are enormous, and the plants do every bit as well now as they did originally. No diseases ever, though some years the stink bugs are more of a pest than others.

[imafan26]

Letting a plot rest or fallow is also a good plan for breaking the insect and disease cycle. It helps if you do not plant anything in the same spot 365 days a year.

Most people don't have a big plot of land to rotate crops in, and do plant the same thing year after year until they have problems. If there aren't that many problems you can maintain that kind of planting plan for years, it really depends on your circumstances. Where people have a winter, they can put in a green manure like winter rye as a rotation crop.

If you live in a relatively isolated area you don't need to worry about getting bugs and diseases hopping the neighbor's fence. If you live where I do, I can plant tomatoes 365 days a year, but there is no relief from bugs and disease and it only gets worse every year, until I have to rotate out of that family for a while. I try to avoid most pesticides to preserve the beneficial insects. I have to plant heat tolerant, insect and disease resistant cultivars. I have grown peppers and tomatoes in shade houses, they do have some advantages, but they do need to be monitored more because they can be devastated faster if a pest or disease does get in.

[rainbowgardener]

I have a small and mostly shady garden, with few spots to grow things like tomatoes. So I don't rotate. I do add compost, spring, fall, and mid summer and keep it mulched all the time. It works for me, though it does mean I have to be more vigilant about diseases and disease prevention.

[Gary350]

I never worry much about crop rotation except for corn it is a stripper crop. Corn will strip all the nutrients from the soil. If you rotate other plants will not like being planted where corn once was the soil will have a nitrogen shortage. I rotate my garden around and don't worry much about where I plant things expect for where corn was last year.

The last several years I have planted corn in the same place over and over I feed the heck out of the corn with Urea and 15/15/15 before I plant. That has been working fine.

Now that I have moved from TN to AZ gardening is totally different. I can not buy Ammonim nitrate, urea, 15/15/15, lime, super phosphate, tripple super phosphate, sulfur, bone meal, many other items and garden seeds. Getting ready to plant soon maybe this week.

[jal_ut]

Now that I have moved from TN to AZ gardening is totally different. I can not buy Ammonim nitrate, urea, 15/15/15, lime, super phosphate, tripple super phosphate, sulfur, bone meal, many other items and garden seeds. Getting ready to plant soon maybe this week.

I find this interesting. Are there no farms in Arizona? The supplies you name are mostly farm supplies. Look for farm supply stores. Sometimes tractor and implement companies have those things too. Lime is an ingredient in plaster and mortar. Usually available at lumber yards or mason supply houses. Good luck.

[Gary350]

Now that I have moved from TN to AZ gardening is totally different. I can not buy Ammonim nitrate, urea, 15/15/15, lime, super phosphate, tripple super phosphate, sulfur, bone meal, many other items and garden seeds. Getting ready to plant soon maybe this week.

I find this interesting. Are there no farms in Arizona? The supplies you name are mostly farm supplies. Look for farm supply stores. Sometimes tractor and implement companies have those things too. Lime is an ingredient in plaster and mortar. Usually available at lumber yards or mason supply houses. Good luck.

Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal Mart sells small 5 lbs bags of fertilizer for $10 labeled, cactus fertilizer, fruit tree fertilizer, palm tree fertilizer, etc. The bag have information on the front like 12/7/7 for cactus ferliter and 3/1/1 for a different fertilizer. My opinnion 3/1/1 would be almost worthless and a total waste of $10. I did fine a farm supply store about 15 miles away but it is horse and goat food and other things for goats and horses.

Plants at Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal Mart has been, cactus in pots, palm trees in pots, fruit trees in pots, lots of desert bushes and plants in pots. No garden plants until today. Lowe's got a shippment of garden plants today they all seem to be 1 plant per pot $3.87 and $5 per plant. It seems stupid to pay $3.87 for 1 cabbage plant because 1 head of cabbage at the grocery store is 89 cents I bought a purple cabbage yesterday.

There are a few big farms to the south. So far I have not found a good place to buy garden supplies like I am accustom to in TN. I bought a bag of Tripple Super Phosphate fertilizer advise of AZ Coop Extention and several seeds on ebay. I still need to order seeds for Napa Cabbage AZ Coop Extention says, mild winter garden is great for all the cold weather crops. HAHA yea right except for this year 21 degrees F at night for 5 days a few weeks ago and it snowed here yesterday Scottsdale had 2" of snow. All the news channels were talking about the snow in Phoenix. I know there are several garden plants that do fine down to 20 degrees I had no problem with them in TN.