Diversity and Rotation

Diversity and Rotation

Increased diversity is one of the 5 principles of soil health. With increased plant diversity in the garden comes increases in soil health, decreases in pests and disease and more beneficial pollinators. Below are a few ways to increase diversity in the garden using cover crops and rotation.

• Plant cover crops on a rotational basis every year. Plant cover crops in the fall after summer crops are harvested or rotate a portion of your garden into a season long cover crop for even more soil health benefits.
• Consider planting something new that you have never grown before. There are dozens of vegetables that can be easily grown in your garden and the diversity that they offer can benefit your soil.
• Plant flowers in the vegetable garden and vegetables in the flower garden. Providing good nectar sources in your garden like zinnias and marigolds you can attract beneficial insects and pollinators.
• Crop rotation is important for overall soil health and disease and pest control. Rotation should be between families of species. For example, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are all part of the nightshade family and pumpkins and cucumbers are both cucurbits. An example of a good rotation would be tomatoes, followed by green beans, then cucumbers then carrots.

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