"Table Top" SFG considerations

mijejo wrote:Wait a minute . . . I thought I read in the book or saw on one of Mel's videos, that we do not have to worry about crop rotation with SFG. I believe - at least regarding nutrient rish growing medium - that adding a trowel of new compost would suffice.

What say all you SFG veterans? Do we need to rotate our nightshade crops?

I do, and my brassicas too. Season to season.

I don't.

I don't either. My one tomato box has verticulum wilt, a soil borne disease, because I used top soil in it (I didn't mean to do it, I promise!) but the boxes that started with pure and correct Mel's Mix have had tomatoes grown in them three years running.

llama momma wrote:According to the book, page 144, we are rotating crops when we plant 3 times, 3 crops, per one season in a square. There's your rotation!

One problem with this is that I still have tomatoes growing & producing(9 mos) and I am getting ready to start more seeds. I'm not complaining but I intend to replant in the same bed and a couple may be in the same squares. I have no past experience as I am just finishing up my 1st year.

I thought one of the main reasons for crop rotation was to deter soil disease. Buy rotating crops you (so they say) can eventually combat soil borne diseases that attack one particular vegetable. For instance, one of the fungi/bacteria that attack tomato may not attack a broccoli so the fungi will eventually die if tomatoes are not planted in that box for a few years. I think???

The question I have is MM a soil that will harbor diseases.????

I just use it as my "excuse" for having more boxes.

Kay

Hhhmmm I would think that the compost that is still in the square could harbor disease, fungus, etc. So, to my way of thinking, even if you put in a leaf crop after your tomatoes, while it would help with nutrient depletion, it would still harbor that fungus. Am I wrong?

What I've read, you should not even use adjoining space to grow a nightshade crop the next season. My own SFG is 2' x 23'. I planted tomatoes the first 2' x 8'. This year I will skip at least 2 rows and say, plant tomatoes in rows 10-18. The year after I plan to move it completely to one 2' x 8' bed on the side of my house. Year 4 I will put them in the other 2' x 8' bed on the side of the house and then return to the end of the 2' x 23' again.

OK, this sounds like a good discussion. Should it be moved to another area as a new post?

In the meantime, I'll try to get a reading from the Foundation or Mel.

I agree Kim. The trains been derailed ! Feel free to start a new topic on crop rotation. I think it's a worth discussion. Maybe a good rookie topic (hint. hint.)

walshevak wrote:I just use it as my "excuse" for having more boxes.

Kay

This is why I picked up lumber for so many. One box for nightshades... one box for strawberries, one for melons and whatever I end up deciding on. Most definitely there will be peas - I haven't had fresh peas since I was a kid - but I'm also looking at a couple melon varieties, carrots and maybe spinach.

I also found this green called Spigiarello - and if it's in the new catalog I'll be picking up a packet of it for sure. I've talked to the grower, and the 2012 catalog was delayed - it should be up in a week or so. From the catalog:

I can’t stop singing the praises of this fabulous green, popular in Southern Italy. Chefs I deal with ask for it now, a true
broccoli flavoured green, with tiny, nearly insignificant heads. The more you pick it the more it grows. Beautiful frilly
green slender leaves and fantastic after nipped with frost.

Yum!

As far as a derailment goes... if I have a say it's perfectly fine. Just shows me how awesome and active these forums are. So much to talk about!

I have some Spigiarello seeds that I bought last year. I planted a couple of them that didn't sprout and I forgot about them. Thank you for the reminder! Have you discovered salad burnet or parcel? They're pretty easy to grow and they're delicious herbs/vegetables.

Oh, don't tell me about more tasty things I only have so much room and so much cash allocated to buying seeds.

As an update... I picked up some cedar fencing panels somebody had left over from building a new fence last year, so I went ahead and bought the rest of the materials. It came to about $10 - and I ended up with enough materials for 20 square feet. Gosh, my balcony is gonna be cramped. Good thing I'm giving away some of it.

I was going to build them today. Unfortunately, I went over to borrow my dad's drill and couldn't find any of the bits. My parents are snowbirds in Florida - I figure he must have taken them because we was building a new set of steps. But he left the drill. I'm baffled, and it's Monday so they're gone to the flea market. Guess it'll have to wait another week - too bad the temperature is supposed to drop.

OK we can finish this GREAT discussion regarding rotation & nightshades in its own topic (also under SFG Talk: General Discussions) and keep this Table Top thread as it was intended.