🔄 Crop Rotation Planner By Plant Family
A standard 4-year rotation (Legumes → Leafy/Brassica → Fruiting → Root, then repeat) helps reduce soil-borne disease and balance soil nutrients. Add your beds and last year's crop family to see what to plant next.
One step round a four-stage cycle
Each bed's answer is the family that comes next in a fixed loop, wrapping from the last stage back to the first:
order = legumes → leafy/brassica → fruiting → root → legumes
next = order[(position of last year's family + 1) mod 4]| Last year | Plant next | For example |
|---|---|---|
| Legumes | Leafy / brassica | lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale |
| Leafy / brassica | Fruiting | tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers |
| Fruiting | Root | carrots, beets, onions, potatoes |
| Root | Legumes | beans, peas |
The order is not arbitrary. Legumes leave nitrogen behind, so the hungry leafy crops follow them; fruiting crops take the next turn; roots come last, on ground whose nitrogen has been drawn down, which is what stops carrots forking into leaf. Then legumes rebuild it. Add a bed for each plot you keep - the tool tracks them separately, so beds at different points in the cycle stay out of step.
Where the four groups are a simplification
- Potatoes sit in the root group here because of how they are grown, but botanically they are nightshades like tomatoes and peppers and share their diseases. Keep them off ground that grew tomatoes last year.
- Onions are grouped with roots too, though they are alliums and carry their own problems.
Frequently asked questions
What is the order of a 4 year crop rotation?
Legumes, then leafy and brassica crops, then fruiting crops, then roots, and back to legumes. Each family returns to the same bed once every four years.
What should I plant after tomatoes?
Root crops. Tomatoes are in the fruiting group, so the planner moves that bed on to carrots, beets or onions for the following season.
Can potatoes follow tomatoes in the same bed?
Better not. They are the same plant family and share blight and other soil-borne problems, so treat them as one group when you plan, even though this tool lists potatoes among the roots.