06/18/2026
Crop rotation spring potatoes. Not sweet potatoes.
Crop rotation is not always as easy as the guide books would tell you.
The basics are simple, don't replant the same family in the same place. Then you find folks like me that will say that nature doesn't rotate. So what do we do?
First, it is important to recognize that while nature doesn't rotate, it also doesn't grow focused beds of potatoes in Missouri where potatoes are not a native plant.
Second, some families such as the nightshades, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, need rotation more than the squash families.
Rotation can serve several functions. In our orchard alley cropping system we focus on crops that are not as attractive to deer and other herbivores. Notice I said not as attractive and some of the rotation is very attractive to herbivores so we use fencing to help.
A rotation that includes a tuber like potatoes allows for a year of significant soil disturbance to help keep weeds in check.
The basics are sketched here. You can start at any point in the rotation and build the beds over four years if just beginning but I tend to start with potatoes if you are breaking new ground. Killing the existing sod and adding compost the first year is helpful. However, due to timing, I will start a new bed with barley next spring.
This rotation fits our need for food crops as well as providing straw for growing oyster mushrooms.
It took several years to develop this basic rotation and fits our context and space. You will have to work out the rotation that fits your space.
You may be wondering where the sweet potatoes are in the rotation. We have a different location for them closer to the barn. Sweet potatoes are attractive to every herbivore in our area. We have found that keeping the sweet potatoes closer to where the majority of human traffic is helps protect against groundhogs. This means that our presence is also part of the rotation.
Peace.
