In a quick-turnover bed, follow each fast crop with one from a different plant family, feed the soil with compost between crops, and sow the next crop as soon as the last is out so the soil is never bare. Pairing crops by family avoids building up the pests and diseases that attack one family, because a short rotation gives them less time to die out between crops. Plan the sequence on paper before the season starts, with sowing dates counted back from your local frost dates.
Quick-turnover rotation is the practice of growing two or more short-season crops in succession in one bed within a year, choosing each crop from a different plant family from the last.
A Fast Bed Needs A Rotation In Months, Not Years
A normal rotation moves crops through beds over three or four years (Crop Rotation). In a quick-turnover bed several crops pass through in one year, so the same bed hosts more families in less time. The same principle holds: do not follow a crop with a close relative, since the pests and diseases that attack one family can carry over in the soil.
Families To Keep Apart
| Family | Examples |
|---|---|
| Brassicaceae (cabbage family) | Kale, cabbage, turnip, radish, mustard, arugula |
| Amaranthaceae | Spinach, beet, chard |
| Asteraceae | Lettuce, chicory |
| Apiaceae | Carrot, parsnip, parsley |
| Fabaceae (legumes) | Peas, beans |
| Allium (onion family) | Onion, leek, garlic |
What You Need
- A map of beds and crops by year (Rotation Planning).
- Compost to put back what a fast crop takes (Composting Basics).
- Seed or transplants ready as each crop comes out.
Worked Example: One Bed, Three Crops In A Year
An example sequence using families from the table (dates depend on your climate):
- Spring: peas (Fabaceae), which fix nitrogen (Legumes).
- Summer: lettuce or a heat-tolerant green (Asteraceae) after the peas, or beans.
- Late summer to winter: kale or turnip (Brassicaceae) or spinach (Amaranthaceae), sown for the winter harvest.
No crop follows a member of its own family.
Method
Step 1: List the crops and their families.
Step 2: Write each bed’s sequence so no family repeats in the same bed within a short time.
Step 3: Add compost between crops.
Step 4: Sow the next crop the day the last comes out, or sow it beneath the last as a relay (Relay Planting Techniques).
Step 5: Cover empty beds with mulch or a cover crop (Cover Crops).
Common Mistakes
- Following kale with radish — same family, same pests.
- Taking crop after crop without feeding the soil — yields fall.
- Leaving beds bare — soil erodes, weeds seed and nutrients leach.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Relay Planting Techniques — overlapping the crops
- Combine with: Harvest-Only Winter Crops — the last crop of the year