Crop Rotation Chart
Track one family and the rest follow. With N beds, a family returns after exactly N years.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/garden-bed-crop-rotation-planner
The arithmetic
- Next year's bed
- this bed + 1, wrapping at the last
- Bed in year Y
- (bed − 1 + Y) mod beds, + 1
- Rotation length
- = your number of beds
- Margin
- beds − rest interval needed
- Zero margin
- no room for a single mistake
- ⚠ Negative margin
- rotation too short — add a bed
- Plants per bed
- rows x columns at your spacing
- Offset spacing
- fits about 15% more
- ⚠ The rest interval
- from YOUR extension service
The plan - one row per year
| Year | Bed 1 | Bed 2 | Bed 3 | Bed 4 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Your setup
- Garden
- Number of beds
- ROTATION LENGTH
- Rest interval needed
- MARGIN
- Bed length
- Bed width
- Area per bed
- TOTAL GROWING AREA
- Marker family
- Bed it is in this year
Each season
- Whole set moved in the SAME direction
- Marker family's bed written down before anything is planted
- Rest interval checked against a local source, not a general one
- Margin still zero or better after any change to the beds
- Perennials kept OUT of the rotation beds
- Anything volunteering from last year's crop pulled out
- Tools and boots cleaned between beds if a disease is present
- Notes kept on what did badly and where - that is next year's data
Your bed count IS your rotation length
With four beds a family returns in the fourth year, and no clever planting order changes that. If the interval you need is longer than your bed count, the fix is structural - another bed, a fallow year, or a break from that family - not a better plan on paper.
Rotation manages, it does not cure
It reduces soil-borne disease pressure and evens out nutrient demand. It will not clear an established problem, does nothing about airborne disease, and works less well across a small plot where soil moves on boots and tools. Useful, and not a guarantee.