First, crop rotation isn't mandatory. It is primarily a commercial tool as many home gardeners simply don't have the space to do it and their gardens do just fine. Amending the soil well with quality compost 2x a year resolves many of the issues that crop rotation is directed towards. But if you have the space to rotate crops, even moderately so, then so much the better. How often ou do it and what crops follow other crops is more of a nutrient/soil amendment issue than a rotation issue. So your plan, in any form, is fine if it works for you. But keep in mind that for a plan to work it needs to be flexible. Otherwise detailed, overly-detailed, fixed plans tend to quickly fail and fall by the wayside. :) There are many green manure crops - alfalfa (not small garden oriented, legumes, vetch, clover, mustard greens, rye, etc. - each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and those who use them have their own personal favorites so seed cost and ease of care becomes the primary factor. For example, cheap end of season sales on turnip and radish seeds can be just as beneficial as fancy crown fetch or buckwheat seed. Which ever one you use it usually gets tilled in in late winter or early spring 4-6 weeks before garden planting time. In my zone I have much later first frost date than you so for me that often works out to any good day in early January when the crop has been frost killed and the ground is dry enough to be worked. Your garden is small enough that you don't really want to waste crop growing space by tying it up with mid-season cover crops. You can easily do 1 crop for the whole bed over winter. Just some thought to consider. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Green Manure Crops

Ha, ha, 100x100! Someday..... but this ate up the majority of the open lawn space and all of the sunny area in the new yard. And it's a 10x increase in garden space over what I had before! I'm already nervous I've bitten off more than I can chew. My daughter was begging for 5 pummpkin plants today and I told her OK, but only if she commits to 3 hours of weeding and watering a week to help out! Thanks for your advice. I won't stress about the rotation, then! I wonder why just about all of my organic gardening books (which are mostly aimed at people with this size garden) advocate small scale crop rotation?

This is the organic Gardening thread! Some interesting points have been expressed in the thread. One of the key organic principles is replenishment; of course referring to nutrients and organic matter. The use of cover crops, rotations, intercropping, green manures, recycling refuse and manure to name a few, fill the replenishment options. That certainly does not preclude the organic amendments for deficient nutrients or adjustment of pH. The OP specifically poised the rotation topic. It compels me to ask of those who plant the same plants in the same location, "What do you proclaim to be the cause of pests and disease?" If a plant(s) succumbs to a pest or disease in that location from year to year, do you not think that the origin might be the soil? Rotation is primarily directed at avoidance of direct exposure to pests and disease that exist in the soil. While there is also truth in healthy soil reducing the impact of pests and diseases, moving the host plant to a fresh location reduces the incidence. The continuos presence of the host (as mentioned by Peter) continues the cyles of pests and disease without interruption. By rotating crops you insert a non-host species or one that is antagonistic to that pest or disease (i.e. - marigolds for nematodes). Diversity of planting is also an enhancement, especially for pests and disease. The availability of nutrients is also a factor in the growth rate of the plants; a plant growing too fast or slow suffers stresses which are invitation to pests and diseases. Being in a zone 5 and growing many long season heirlooms I am compelled to start most for transplanting. Timing the starts attempts to have a strong plant able to adapt easily when placed within the suitable growing conditions. Transplants also permit me to properly prepare the beds. For me rotation means having a growing plant or crop in the soil 70-80% of the year. A fall green manure and/or cover crop is part of the plan. Timing of fall sowing may require inter-seeding to permit suitable germination and growth before first frost. Turning under the spring growth prior to transplanting adds nutrients and organic matter which must be given 2-3 weeks for initial decomposition; so not to starve the transplants of nitrogen. Rotation does have a part in the small and medium scale. For my two distance-separated plots totalling nearly 10,000 square feet it is simple to rotate plantings by simply leapfrogging beds. My five year rotation plan shifts each wide (3 feet) bed about 21 feet (including the paths). For nutrient replentishment I strictly limit amendments to compost, composted manure (cattle/horse) and green manure. My soil is tested every three years for comparison. My nutrient management plan is based on improvement versus maintenance. My primary plot is sand which has produced for nearly 40 years. A new plot of silt-loam on a beef farm has been in production for me over five years. My only bad year was 2009 due to very brief summer weather and only about 30% sunny days. I'm sticking to my rotation plan.

"That said I am looking for ideas how to get more fruits in..." I suppose you mean both a greater variety, and maximizing your harvest. For those aspects of soil management, I think you may benefit from inter-planting, and crowding. Assuming you have fairly decent soil (I know that I shouldn't assume, but...,) Learning the needs and habits of each plant can help you to apply some ingenuity to make best use of your space. For example... plants like lettuce, and some leafy greens don't like hot weather, and can stand a little shade. So, there's no direct reason why they need their own bed or space. Since they prefer cooler weather, with planning, they can be planted in the same areas as taller plants such as tomatoes or peppers. Because of their growth patterns, and preference for spacing, I think indeterminate tomatoes are the better choice for an inter-planting of lettuce/greens. The greens are planted early, keeping in mind (and leaving space for) your later tomato transplants. By the time the tomatoes are put in, you are already picking your first harvests of greens. And as the tomatoes grow, they provide protection from the hotter late-Spring, early-Summer sun for the plants growing under their canopy. Even without direct sun, the heat will make the greens bolt eventually, and by that time, the tomatoes will appreciate the extra air circulation provided by the removal of the greens. In the above example, the nutrient needs are slightly different, so there won't be a lot of competition. Although, you may need to add a bit more nitrogen - not a lot more, but keep in mind that inter-planting is a more intensive style. You maximize space, but you also rely more on resources. Not a problem though, doesn't even necessarily cost more money. Plenty of techniques for improving soil fertility for little, to absolutely no cost. If any other techniques come to mind, I'll mention them, but think of where you can squeeze a beet, or carrot root. Beans? They'll climb anywhere... you get the idea.