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Crop rotation - can I swap peas for beans and vice versa in alt years ?

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  • 09-05-2017 12:58pm
    #1
    worded
    Registered Users Posts: 4,578 ✭✭✭


    Or does it have to be no beans or peas in that one spot?

    To understand my predicament imagine Ive two small raised beds

    Im concerned about pests, I can always add nutrition to the soil like manure / seaweed etc ...

    Thanks


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    #2
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    They are both legumes which are nitrogen fixing crops which means the bed which contains them will over time be rich in nitrates, nitrites and proteins. So swapping beans with peas and vice versa will mean those aspects remain fairly constant. The good news is that legumes are not prone to endemic pests and disease - birds (netting), pea weevil (avoid by planting early or late - basically avoid June-August), Downy mildew is a side effect of wet summers. The only real danger is excess nitrogen which can be tested for if it gets high then apply a mulch - something like soft wood chips even sawdust which absorb the nitrogen and traps it.


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    #3
    worded
    Registered Users Posts: 4,578 ✭✭✭worded


    Harry Palmr wrote: »
    They are both legumes which are nitrogen fixing crops which means the bed which contains them will over time be rich in nitrates, nitrites and proteins. So swapping beans with peas and vice versa will mean those aspects remain fairly constant. The good news is that legumes are not prone to endemic pests and disease - birds (netting), pea weevil (avoid by planting early or late - basically avoid June-August), Downy mildew is a side effect of wet summers. The only real danger is excess nitrogen which can be tested for if it gets high then apply a mulch - something like soft wood chips even sawdust which absorb the nitrogen and traps it.

    Thanks ....

    Do the wood chips / saw dust permanently trap the nitrogen or do they have to be removed so as not to release it back eventually when they rot?

    Side note on fresh wood bark / sawdust etc as mulch. When does it loose its nitrogen robbing properties ? I have wood chipping stored and it's now 2 years old and I'm afraid to add it around fruit trees incase it has a negative impact on the soil


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    #4
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    Naturally the wood chip etc retains the nitrogen only until it rots into the soil so you'd need to remove it every so often (that said it can last quite a long time as a layer on top - certainly a whole growing season), which sounds a pain but if it's just an orderly layer on top scrapping it off the beds and rotting it elsewhere is feasible.

    No idea how long stored wood chip lasts but presumably if it's dry then it should be ok. Btw, storing chips is something to be careful of - if you make a large pile of it like a compost heap it heats up and you can get spontaneous combustion Careful now!


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