permaculture

208 Facilitator’s Handbook for Permaculture Workshops

Creative thinking : Design a crop rotation plan

Method : Discussion and group brainstorm

Tools : Black/white board, large paper, markers

References : PC Book MOD 7 – Farming;

PC Book MOD 6 – Home and Community Gardens;

PC Book MOD 9 – Integrated Pest Management

Objective : Participants learn about and create a crop rotation system

Step 1

The facilitator should talk through the following key aspects of crop rotation and answer

any questions the participants may have.

Crop rotation is an important part of farm management because:

• Different plants use different amounts and types of nutrients from the soil.


• If the same type of plant is grown in the same place each year, some nutrients
  will be depleted while there will be too much of other nutrients.


• The soil will be out of balance and production will decrease.

Crop rotation helps because:

• It balances the amount of nutrients taken from the soil.


• It reduces pest and disease problems – Some pests and diseases live in the soil
  and will cause a lot of damage if the same type of crop is grown on the same
  land over and over again.


• Changing crops will allow diseases and pests to die out before the plant that they
  attack is replanted in that soil.

Good methods include:

• Never growing the same type of vegetable in the same garden bed twice in a
  row.
  
  
  • All beans can be considered as 1 type of vegetable.
  
  
  • Tomato, eggplant, capsicum, potato, and chilli can all be considered as 1
    type of vegetable because they are all from the same family (solanaceae).
  
  
  
  


• It is also good to give the land a rest for a few months every 2 years to help it
  regain its stock of nutrients.


• During this first period add lots of compost and mulch.

Step 2

Discuss with the participants any traditional or modern crop rotation techniques they

know or use already.

EXERCISE

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