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Potager Gardens

Can you plant the same things, in the same spot year after year?

18 years ago

Hello,

I just read that you shouldn't plant the same plants in the same spot year after year. I just put in a potager, with beds designated for certain things. My herbs,

and flowers, and garlic come back every year, so I can't

trade beds with my tomatoes, without digging the others out and moving them. Is it ok to keep them in that bed every year? Is there something I can do to the soil to keep it from causing diseas later on?

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Comments (7)

georich5
18 years ago
Do you have any room to plant tomatoes and peppers in the same area...then next year switch sides??? It's always better to switch out the veggies every year if you can, if not then super amend your soil over the winter.
We had a neighbor who planted rye grass in the Fall and tilled it under in the Spring. Tomatoes went in the same place every year and were fine.

Any pics????
georgeanne
haziemoon
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the info Georgeanne.
The rye grass idea may work for me.
Here's a picture of what I have started.
The field behind us is a field of peonies,
I wish it was in bloom so you could see it.
In a couple weeks it will be just beautiful.
I hope the farmer never sells!
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Aside from the pest issue, I don't see why you cannot plant any vegetabloe, including garlic, in the same bed year after year. Soil is just a medum that holds moisture and nutrients. Of the N-P-K only N is needed to be replenished often, brcause it is water soluable and excess will be drained. and you cannot have too much of if in the soil at any given time because plant have a crazy appetite for it. P is pretty stable as it sticks to the soil. K is somwhere in betwee. Also, soil acidity/alkalinity has to be checked. I believe in good tilling/turning over in the fall and spring. this will do several things; aerate, balance out nutrients and thus provide better drainage.
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diggity_ma
18 years ago
A note about ryegrass - make sure it is "Winter Rye." Don't just plant lawn-type ryegrass - it won't produce the same effect. Winter rye is available from farm and garden stores in the early fall. It grows very rapidly in the fall and early the next spring, and makes a wonderful cover crop.

But as others have said, it's best to rotate crops if at all possible.

-Diggity
harper
18 years ago
Looks like you have plenty of room to rotate. I don't. In 20 years have never had a problem. Tomatoes and peppers get planted in the same general area every year. I am generous amending the soil with fresh compost at least once a year, sometimes twice.

Harper

Here is a link that might be useful: 18 April 2006
Annie
18 years ago
Tomatoes LOVE to grow in the same place every year. If you add new composted soil and ammendments, they will be just fine. Don't need to worry about it unless you get some kind of virus or fungi in the soil.
You can rotate what you plant next to them and that will help. Some plants are heavy feeders, like lettuce, and some do best grown in soil where heavy feeders were planted the year before, without any added nutrients, like carrots. Carrots LOVE Tomatoes. Others benefit from the shade they make, like lettuce & spinache. Dill, garlic, beets and bush beans do well near tomatoes, and planted near Asparagus, both tomato and asparagus benefit. You definitely cannot move asparagus every year or you wouldn't have much of a crop.

So, just keep building your soil so that it is healthy, and . . .Ammend! Ammend! Ammend!

~ SweetAnnie4u
georich5
18 years ago
"Hazie"... you've put in some serious work here and it shows!!!!!! It's lookin good. I'm sure you'll enjoy sitting on your bench watching everything grow.
Got any vines growing up your arbors?
I'm going to plant some pole beans on mine this year. Hope it works out.
georgeanne
haziemoon
Original Author
18 years ago
I have mature grapes growing on the chainlink fence on the right.....
I have planted 3 grapes around the arbor last year,and nothing much happened....I'm hoping they will take off this year.

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