Why rotate crops between beds?

Growing the same family in the same spot year after year lets soil pests and diseases — clubroot in brassicas, eelworm in potatoes, onion white rot — build up until they wreck the crop. Moving families round on a three- or four-year cycle breaks that build-up, and pairing nitrogen-fixing legumes with hungry brassicas also keeps the soil better fed.

What's the standard order for a four-bed rotation?

The classic UK order is legumes → brassicas → roots → potatoes (and tomatoes), then back to legumes. Peas and beans fix nitrogen, the brassicas that follow feast on it, roots prefer the leaner soil left behind, and potatoes break up the ground before the cycle restarts.

Where do onions, courgettes and salad leaves fit in?

Alliums (onions, garlic, leeks), cucurbits (courgettes, squash, cucumbers) and leafy greens like lettuce and chard aren't part of the core four groups. Treat them as 'others' and slot them into whichever bed has space each year, ideally not where the same family grew the previous season.

Free tool

Crop rotation planner

Pick three or four beds and we'll build a year-by-year rotation, moving each crop family round so your soil stays healthy and pests and diseases can't dig in.

Starting layout

Bed 1 normally starts with legumes. Shift the start if your beds already hold a particular family.

A simple rotation keeps soil pests and diseases — clubroot, eelworm, potato blight — from building up in one spot. Group your crops by family and never grow the same family in the same bed two years running.

Your rotation plan

4-bed, 4-year cycle

Each bed moves one family forward every year, then the cycle repeats.

Year-by-year plan

Read across each row to see which family goes in each bed that year. Scroll sideways on a small screen.

Crop family to plant in each bed across a 4-year rotation.
Year	Bed 1	Bed 2	Bed 3	Bed 4
Year 1	Legumes (peas & beans)	Brassicas	Roots	Potatoes & tomatoes
Year 2	Brassicas	Roots	Potatoes & tomatoes	Legumes (peas & beans)
Year 3	Roots	Potatoes & tomatoes	Legumes (peas & beans)	Brassicas
Year 4	Potatoes & tomatoes	Legumes (peas & beans)	Brassicas	Roots

Why this order works

Legumes (peas & beans): Peas and beans fix nitrogen from the air into the soil, leaving it richer for the next crop.
Brassicas: Cabbages, kale and broccoli are hungry feeders — they cash in on the nitrogen the legumes left behind.
Roots: Carrots, beetroot and parsnips prefer leaner soil, so they follow once the brassicas have used up the richness.
Potatoes & tomatoes: Potatoes and tomatoes break up the ground and round off the cycle before legumes start again.

After the last bed, the cycle loops: potatoes are followed by legumes again, so nitrogen is replenished before the hungry brassicas return. Other families — alliums (onions, garlic, leeks), cucurbits (courgettes, squash) and leafy greens like lettuce and chard — aren't fussy. Slot them into whichever bed has space, ideally not where their own family grew last year.

Guidance for UK home plots. A three- or four-year gap between growing the same family in a bed is the goal — if a bed is small or you only grow a few crops, even a two-year break helps. Perennials (rhubarb, asparagus, fruit) stay put and sit outside the rotation.

How to use it

Choose whether you're working with three or four beds — four is the traditional full rotation, three is a tidy option for a smaller plot. The planner fills a table with a family for every bed, every year: read across each row to see what goes where. Year 1 starts with legumes in Bed 1, but if your beds already hold a particular family you can press Shift to rotate the starting layout until it matches your plot. Each year, every family simply moves one bed forward, and after the final year the cycle loops back to the beginning. Your choices are saved in your browser, so the plan is waiting for you next time.

How the rotation works

The order is chosen so each crop sets up the soil for the next. Legumes (peas and beans) fix nitrogen from the air into the ground. The brassicas that follow — cabbage, kale, broccoli, sprouts — are hungry feeders that lap up that nitrogen. Roots such as carrots, beetroot and parsnips come next, as they prefer leaner soil and would only fork or grow leafy in freshly enriched ground. Potatoes and tomatoes round off the cycle, breaking up and clearing the bed before legumes return to feed the soil again. Keeping each family on the move means clubroot, blight and the various soil-dwelling pests never get more than a year in one spot — the single most effective bit of organic, no-spray plot management you can do. Alliums, cucurbits and salad leaves are easy-going 'others' that slot into any bed with space. Treat all figures as guidance for a typical UK garden.

Frequently asked questions

Why rotate crops between beds?: Growing the same family in the same spot year after year lets soil pests and diseases — clubroot in brassicas, eelworm in potatoes, onion white rot — build up until they wreck the crop. Moving families round on a three- or four-year cycle breaks that build-up, and pairing nitrogen-fixing legumes with hungry brassicas also keeps the soil better fed.
What's the standard order for a four-bed rotation?: The classic UK order is legumes → brassicas → roots → potatoes (and tomatoes), then back to legumes. Peas and beans fix nitrogen, the brassicas that follow feast on it, roots prefer the leaner soil left behind, and potatoes break up the ground before the cycle restarts.
Where do onions, courgettes and salad leaves fit in?: Alliums (onions, garlic, leeks), cucurbits (courgettes, squash, cucumbers) and leafy greens like lettuce and chard aren't part of the core four groups. Treat them as 'others' and slot them into whichever bed has space each year, ideally not where the same family grew the previous season.