Graphic by: Tom Myrick

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When designing the Veggie-Bed layout, we decided to group vegetables with similar nutritional requirements in the same plots.  The groups are designated to the following categories:

• Leaf Crops (utilizes nitrogen in the soil)
• Legume Crops (replenishes nitrogen in the soil)
• Root Crops (utilizes potassium in the soil)
• Fruit Crops (utilizes phosphorus in the soil)

After creating the new beds, a mixture of manure and compost for increasing the nitrogen level, along with potash (potassium) and colloidal phosphate (phosphorus), was worked into the ground.

Each growing season, a mixture of manure and compost is cultivated into the raised rows, and the soil is tested and amended if needed. The vegetable groups are rotated in the following order:
Leaf Crops → Legume Crops → Root Crops → Fruit Crops → Leaf Crops

Our layout creates a four-year rotation cycle that will help improve soil health, prevent the spread of plant diseases, and reduce insect infestations.
Writer: Tom Myrick