Crop Rotation

Trying to keep up with post-zarmaggedon times, this info will yield a lot of utility when people start growing their own crops to survive.

Basically its the idea of having several beds of crop in your own garden and rotate the types of crop to maximize nutrient's replenishment and lower threats to the crop like disease build-up or insect desvastation. I think its a wonderful idea and anyone serious enough to survive in a post-apocalyptic world should at least learn the basics of this system:

The types of crops used and the time frame of the rotation sequence would depend upon many factors like climate, commercial considerations and soil quality. Here is a rough guide for a five year crop rotation sequence.

First year: Plant potatoes. A good potato crop needs a lot of manure, which would prep up the soil for the remainder of the cycle.

Second Year: Plant leeks, onions or garlic. This group of plants also needs a lot of manure or compost, for which the soil is already equipped from the potato crop. Additionally, if the farmer is interested in multiple cropping, he could plant other vegetables that need extra manure, like the gourds (pumpkin, bottle gourds, courgettes etc).

Third Year: To replenish the soil, plant legumes like peas and beans. These fix the Nitrogen in the soil, readying it for the next crop.

Fourth Year: Crops like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli that need extra Nitrogen will grow well after a harvest of legumes.

Fifth Year: Plant root vegetables like carrot, parsnips and beetroot, which can take advantage of soil nutrients lower under the ground. Wherever there is space, lettuce and other salad plants may be planted.

I suggest you go ahead and print this out:
http://organicgardening.org.uk/schools_organic_network/leaflets/CropRotation.pdf
and have it somewhere in your BOB. You never know when you might need it.

Stay Alive people!
Prepare Now!