Once the early potatoes have been harvested, the beds are ready for new “inhabitants” and you can something plant after early potatoes that have been dug up. It would seem that nothing could be simpler, find any vegetables with a short ripening period and plant them in the vacant space! But it’s not that simple – you’ll have to remember a term like “crop rotation”.
In short, crop rotation is the skillful alternation of crops in a plot. Crop rotation helps to significantly increase the return from using the plot without significant investments.
For example, there is a rule that the same bed should not be planted with the same crop for several years in a row, especially one with a high need for trace elements. Firstly, the same vegetable, cultivated in the same place year after year, will extract the same substances from the soil, as a result of which its former yield will inevitably decrease. Secondly, there is a great risk of “contaminating” the area with pathogens that will accumulate and thrive in the same place and on the same crop season after season. Thirdly, with such inept gardening, the soil is quickly depleted. So what to plant in place of the early potatoes that have been dug up?
And potatoes are just the same “gluttonous” crop with a high need for nutrients. That is, after it, you need to plant vegetables and herbs that are suitable for such an already “well-used”, depleted soil.
In addition, remember that any beds need periodic “rest”, so from time to time they should be left unsown (fallow).
So what is suitable for planting if half of the summer is still ahead?
Onions, garlic
This is always a surefire option. These crops are unpretentious in care, grow quickly, regularly and abundantly give vitamin greens to the table, release phytoncides to help their neighbors in the garden, and are great for thickening plantings.
Carrots, parsnips, root parsley, dill, fennel
These umbellifers are also a great option for crops that will grow excellently after potatoes. They don’t even need pre-sowing fertilization. Just carefully loosen the beds, moisten them, sow the seeds and lightly sprinkle with a dry layer of soil.
Legumes
Unpretentious legumes such as beans, peas, and beans will feel good on a bed after potatoes. They are extremely easy to care for – loosen and water, you only need to erect small support structures for the “lianas” to climb more conveniently. And you can harvest from decorative bushes until late autumn. In addition, legumes do an excellent job of enriching the soil with nitrogen for future crops.
Beets, chard
Root beets and chard also belong to crops that can grow with minimal care on soils depleted after potatoes. These vegetables are tasty and healthy, ripen in 1.5-3 months, depending on the variety, and the main problem when growing them is thinning the seedlings.
Cabbage
Cabbage after potatoes in the area is another great option. Almost all representatives of this family will gladly please you with an excellent harvest, even planted in mid-summer. The only thing is that most of them will have to be grown through seedlings – you simply won’t have time with the seedless method.
Lettuce, spinach
Different types of lettuce and spinach grow exceptionally quickly, do not require a lot of effort from the gardener to care for, and do not take up much space in the garden. Just what you need. Today there are varieties of them that ripen completely by the end of the second week after sowing! Plantings will only need to be thinned, loosened, and watered.
Zucchini, squash
“Planted and forgot” – this is about them, about pumpkins. Soaked seeds are planted in warmed beds to a depth of 4-5 cm, which subsequently require only loosening and good watering about once a week. And you will get a harvest in a month after the first flowers bloom.