Crop Rotation Log

Keeping track of your crop rotation plan is a good practice to get into. At Modern Steader we started tracking our crop rotation schedule with a simple Crop Rotation Log to allow us to plan ahead and work efficiently. You can download the PDF of the Crop Rotation Log and fill in the blanks or download the EXCEL spreadsheet and use that.

Farmers in the Middle East used a form of crop rotation as far back as 6000BC. They did not understand the science behind the practice; they simply knew, through trial and error, that it worked. Growing the same crop in the same place for many years (monoculture) leads to an increase in pests and soil-borne disease. With crop rotation, various crops are grown in such a way that no crop is planted on the same piece of land more than once in at least three (preferably four) planting cycles.

Below is a good sample from Farmer’s Weekly of a crop rotation system using five plots, over five growing cycles.

Growing tips for a continuous supply

The steadier your supply of vegetables, the better your cash flow. So stagger your planting to ensure a continuous supply of the crops. Do this by making smaller plantings at regular intervals (for example, every four weeks) during the planting season. Use days from planting to predict maturity, and plan your harvesting accordingly.

You can also achieve a steady supply by using single plantings of crops that don’t require a certain stage of maturity to be ready for harvesting. These can simply be harvested when they are large enough. A good example is sweet potatoes.