Peas/beans in same place year on year?

2cats1kid

Hi there. I've been looking into the whole crop rotation thing, and have found very good reasons why tomatoes, potatoes, brassicas should not be planted in the same place year on year, but not peas and beans.

We have a path down the side of the house and it's bordered by a fence, which has a small bit of ground (15" max width alongside). The best use for it seems to be peas and beans as I can put a trellis or similar up on the fence for them to climb up, and it will make use of a pretty useless patch (has had hostas, bergenias in just to cover it up!).

Peas and beans are nitrogen fixers, aren't they, so shouldn't deplete the ground too badly. Are there any pests which I'm likely to get from reusing this patch for them each year?

If this won't work, any suggestions for things to grow in a squirty narrow bit (it goes down to about 10" wide). I have herbs elsewhere, so don't need a herb patch.

Larumbelle

There are plenty of diseases that affect peas and beans. One of my books says that bean and beans should always be rotated, mainly because of lime depletion and fungal and bacterial susceptability. Anthracnose, cercospora, root rot, watery rot and rust are soil-borne funguses that can survive in the soil for at least two years. Peas and beans are also susceptible to blight and mosaic viruses, and though they are bacterial, not rotating can make them more susceptible.

The book goes on to say that if you really can't rotate the crop, you should practise scrupulous garden hygeine, ensure that every last trace of the plants are removed from the soil at the end of the season, and that humus should be dug into the bed and pH levels measured and rectified before planting the following year's planting. Also you should choose varieties that have some disease resistance. Crop rotation is always preferable, but if it just isn't possible, you should be careful.

15 inches is plenty of space for many crops. Why not take a look at the square foot gardening website? You don't have to follow it completely, but the idea is that as long as soil is optimised to give plants everything they need, their roots won't need to go out so far, and so they need less space. Growing upwards with support can mean that even 'big' plants will grow in a small amout of space.

Hope all of this helps

~Chameleon~

You could always rotate with cucumbers and tomatoes which can be tied into the fence for support. There should also be room for a row of brassicas or something like chard, pak choi, oriental leaves etc which would all benefit from following a crop of legumes.

2cats1kid

There isn't much depth of soil in that bit either - it looks like they have put concrete down along the length to put the fence posts in, and then discarded the builders rubble along the fence.

OK, I'll work on the principle that I can't replant there and think in terms of cucumbers and brassicas. Maybe lettuce or something? Potatoes wouldn't be any good as you really can't dig in that bit - combination of the poor soil and not being able to get any leverage with the fork against the paving slabs. I've built the depth up with compost to try to improve things.

I'll start off with peas and beans and then add that narrow bit into my SFG/rotation for future crops.

Thanks for the help.

RobRover

just come across your thread and it's got me thinking. runner beans were never originally grown as a veg crop but as a decorative climbing flower and they are perrennial in nature. they don't usually survive British winters but surely if they are a perrenial plant then they should be ok to remain on the same spot year on year even if you replant each year.

daska

or... use rectangular planters which you can empty easily?

mum_of_4

I like many people on my allotment site have beans in the same place each year.

Mine are at the top of my plot, where they don't cast a shadow on anytging else. and I just have a trench that I fill with kitchen waste each year with some manure if I have any. I then just dig a bit of it out after I've harvested all the beans.


I couldn't do this with all the peas that we grow.