Experienced summer residents never wonder whether it is possible to grow all the necessary vegetables in a small plot and get a good harvest. Knowing well the nutritional needs of each vegetable crop, its diseases and pests, competent vegetable growers plan plantings several years in advance. By alternating crops, applying the necessary fertilizers, and planting green manure, soil fertility is restored annually.
The need for crop rotation
Crop rotation is the competent alternation of vegetable crops in garden beds; its goals are:
- reducing weeds in the garden;
- formation of the structure of the fertile layer;
- restoration of soil fertility.
To achieve these goals in full, cultures are alternated, taking into account not only the compatibility of cultures. With proper crop rotation, you need to take into account the time for restoration of fertility and natural cleansing of the land. It must get rid of the larvae of pests and pathogens typical for this vegetable.
For example, after potatoes, it is better to sow pumpkin in the garden a year later. If you replenish soil fertility with mineral fertilizers, cucumbers and onions will grow well. It is better to plant a potato plantation next year after cabbage.
Good and bad predecessors
The easiest thing to understand is not to plant bell peppers. It belongs to the nightshade family, just like potatoes, tomatoes, physalis, and eggplants. Therefore, they are the worst predecessors. Their nepotism implies the presence of the same pests on the beds, the crops are susceptible to common diseases, and they take the same nutrients from the soil.
Therefore, we can say for sure that it should not be planted after tomatoes and other vegetables from the nightshade family. A close relative of sweet pepper is bitter pepper; these varieties not only do not need to be alternated, they should not even be planted in closely spaced areas.
It’s easier to grow healthy peppers on beds laid out in place of last year’s plantings of zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers; they grow well after onions. When planting, add a large amount of organic matter to zucchini and cucumbers; it rots well over the course of the season. The crop reacts poorly to fresh organic matter: it gets sick more often and forms ovaries later. During the season, manure (humus) rots well, making the soil loose and useful for this crop.
What can be grown after pepper and what cannot be grown
The roots of the plant are shallow, therefore, it consumes nutrients from the upper layers of the soil. In root crops, the roots penetrate much deeper. In this regard, you can plant after pepper:
- all varieties of radish;
- carrot;
- beets.
In addition to root vegetables, there are a number of vegetables that are classified as neutral plants. They are safely planted after sweet peppers. In addition to the root crops mentioned above, neutral plants include:
- beans;
- greens (celery, leaf and head lettuce, spinach);
- legumes;
- garlic;
- cabbage;
- onion.
It would be a mistake to plant pumpkins to replace sweet peppers. It is good to sow it before nightshade crops, but it grows very poorly after them. And all because of the toxins accumulated after the peppers. Any melons and melons planted after it (squash, zucchini) will be oppressed by harmful toxins.
Best companions
For a good harvest of sweet peppers, crop rotation alone is not enough. The fertility of plants grown next to beans increases noticeably. The smell of beans repels all pests from the bushes, the roots enrich the soil with nitrogen. Plants growing next to bean bushes receive nitrogen in an easily digestible form.
The correct choice of garden neighbors has a positive effect on the growth and development of garden crops. It is known that you can also plant them on the same bed with peppers. The following vegetables will be good neighbors for them:
- carrot;
- basil;
- coriander;
- onion.
It is clear what crops can be used to plant peppers, and what vegetables can be used to compact its beds. There is no need to listen to vegetable growers who say: I have been growing peppers in one place for decades and getting a good harvest. It is better to alternate any plantings, be it tomatoes, onions or any other vegetable crop.It is necessary to sow green manure after harvesting if the garden is so small that it is very difficult to follow the rules of crop rotation.
