Skip 2 years between growing crops of the same type. (grain, legume, root, greens, etc.)

Cereal crops and non-cereal crops have extremely different diseases that they are susceptible to, so switch back and forth as much as possible.

The most disease susceptible non ceral (broadleaf) crops are dry beans, sunflower, and squash. Try not to grow these crops back to back. Plant resistant varieties, use clean culture, do not overwater, never water these crops from overhead, keep squash vines off the ground, etc.

Beet, turnip, buckwheat, leek, garlic, okra, onion, flax, and alfalfa are the most disease resistant of the non-cereal crops. Use these crops or grain between beans, sunflower, and squash. Beet and the onion family are especially good at resisting the type of white mold that can infect beans, sunflower, and squash.

Sorghum and oats are the more disease resistant of the grains.

Because of airborn fungal disease and insect migration, rotations should occassionally skip large distances. Crops should not just move to the adjacent field or plot every year.

Remove diseased plants and diseased parts.

Practice clean culture in the field and under trees and vines. Thoroughly tilling residue into the soil and watering will speed decomposition and reduce mold.

Do not practice clean culture in beneficial perennial plant plots. Many beneficial insects pupate in the soil and they tend to do it around beneficial perennials.

To control mold, grow mold resistant varieties, plant peas extremely early, plant brassica only in the fall (except turnip greens), do not water from overhead, do not overwater, till residue thoroughly into the soil, keep squash vines off the ground, keep a grass family member in the rotation, etc.

A grain cover crop can ruin a rotation if grain is already grown in the rotation.

Use fresh green grass as mulch to avoid perpetuating disease. Grow winter rye between beds to provide mulch and control weeds. Or, grow winter rye in an extra rotation, if necessary, to provide enough fresh mulch.

Try not to plant crops which are heavy feeders of the same nutrient in the same place repeatedly.

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It is important to have a small kitchen garden where animals are never used during the growing season and it is far from fresh animal manure. This is the garden which is safe to eat raw from. It should only be big enough to grow what you will eat yourself and therefore can be substantially manually cultivated, mulched, and harvested.

1. SPRING - inoculated green beans
   LATE SUMMER - turnips, collards, and kale alternating rows
   WINTER - work in manure
2. SPRING - okra
   FALL - plant oats
   WINTER - work in manure
3. EARLY SPRING - beet, transplant leek
   FALL - plant oats
   WINTER - work in manure
4. VERY EARLY SPRING - inoculated peas
   LATE SUMMER - turnips, collards, and kale alternating rows
   WINTER - work in manure
5. SPRING - transplant upland rice ( or sorghum )
   FALL - plant oats
   WINTER - work in manure
6. LATE SPRING - transplant squash, grow on trellis
   FALL - garlic, replant biennials for seed
7. SPRING - transplant onion
            allow garlic and onion to bulb 
            allow biennials to seed
   FALL - plant oats
   WINTER - work in manure

At least 2 years between each crop type.

Rice must be mulched or seriously cultivated to control weeds.

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Since many of these crops will be used as animal feed and large quantities will be required, they need to be grown with as much mechanical efficiency as possible.

1. SPRING - inoculated annual alfalfa, mung, cowpea, or pigeon pea
            for plow down
   AFTER FIRST FREEZE - winter wheat
2. SUMMER - harvest wheat
   FALL - collards and kale
3. EARLY SPRING - beets
                  transplant leek
   FALL - marigold
4. SPRING - inoculated soybeans or white beans
5. VERY EARLY SPRING - plant oats
   FALL - inoculated fava
          for plow down
6. SPRING - sunflower
7. VERY EARLY SPRING - flax
   FALL - buckwheat

2 years between each crop type, except for the fava. Fava is fairly disease resistant and fixes nitrogen well in cold temperatures.

The most vulnerable broadleafs, sunflower and beans, are only one year apart, but oats are good at suppressing white mold, with buckwheat and fava being only slightly vulnerable.

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These rotations are not intended for commercial agriculture. Commercial agriculture demands adherance to the local environmental limitations much more strictly. Extra expense to overcome local restrictions can be justified because these crops are consumed on site with no distribution costs.

North Dakota State University
Oregon State University
University of Connecticut IPM
Texas Plant Disease Handbook
Ecological Agricultural Projects
ATTRA Cover Crops