Crop Rotation Planner & What to Plant Next
Plans what to plant next
“The best tip on this tool is probably in the comments already.
Pick what you grew last and see the best crops to plant next — ranked by family and nutrient needs — plus a ready-made 3–5 year rotation that breaks pest cycles and keeps soil fertile.
What did you grow last?
Rotating to a different botanical family each season breaks pest & disease cycles; legumes refill nitrogen for hungry crops.
Best next crop: Adzuki Bean
after Wheat · 4-year plan
Great — a legume restores the nitrogen the previous heavy crop used up.
Great — a legume restores the nitrogen the previous heavy crop used up.
Great — a legume restores the nitrogen the previous heavy crop used up.
Next: avoid the red “avoid” crops next season, slot a nitrogen-fixing legume in every 2–3 years, and check each crop also fits your climate and soil before sowing.
Crop rotation — key facts
- Golden rule
- Never follow a crop with the same family
- After a cereal
- Plant a legume (restores nitrogen)
- After a legume
- Plant a heavy feeder (uses the nitrogen)
- After nightshades
- Avoid potato↔tomato; rotate to legume
- Return gap
- 3–4 years before the same family
- Benefit
- Fewer pests/diseases, better fertility
- Crops
- 181 across 18 botanical families
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
How the rotation is worked out
Two simple rules drive a good rotation. First, never follow a crop with one from the same botanical family — nightshades (tomato, potato), brassicas (cabbage, mustard), cereals (wheat, rice) and legumes each share pests, diseases and nutrient demands, so repeating a family lets problems snowball. Second, alternate feeders: nitrogen-fixing legumes leave the soil rich, so follow them with hungry crops (cereals, brassicas, cotton), then return to a legume to top the nitrogen back up.
The planner scores every crop as the next choice after the one you grew — rewarding legume↔heavy-feeder swaps and penalising same-family or two-heavy-feeders-in-a-row — then builds a multi-year sequence that keeps families apart. The result is fewer pests, lower fertiliser bills and steadier yields.
What to plant after tomatoes / potatoes
Don't follow with another nightshade — both share blight and wilt. Rotate to a legume, then a cereal or leafy crop.
What to grow after wheat or rice
A nitrogen-fixing legume (chickpea, lentil, soybean) is ideal — it restores the nitrogen the cereal used and lifts the next crop's yield.
3–4 year crop rotation plan
Generate a ready sequence that alternates families and feeders so no family returns to the field for years.
Vegetable garden rotation
Rotate beds by family each season — nightshades → legumes → brassicas → roots — to keep soil-borne problems down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is crop rotation and why does it matter?+
Crop rotation means growing different crops in sequence on the same field rather than the same crop every year. It breaks the build-up of pests, diseases and weeds tied to one crop, balances how nutrients are used, and — with legumes — naturally restores soil nitrogen. It's one of the oldest and most effective ways to protect yield and soil health.
What should I plant after tomatoes or potatoes?+
Not another nightshade. Tomato, potato, chilli and brinjal share the Solanaceae family and the same soil diseases (like blight and wilt), so follow them with a legume (beans, peas, chickpea) to restore nitrogen, then a cereal or leafy crop — never one after another.
What is the best crop to plant after wheat or rice?+
After a cereal like wheat or rice, a nitrogen-fixing legume (chickpea, lentil, soybean, pea) is ideal — it replaces the nitrogen the cereal used and improves soil structure. This tool ranks every crop as the next choice after the one you grew.
How does a legume improve the rotation?+
Legumes host bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots, leaving the soil richer for the next crop. Placing a legume before a heavy feeder (cereal, brassica, cotton) cuts the fertiliser that crop needs and lifts its yield.
What is a good 4-year crop rotation?+
A classic pattern alternates families and feeder types — for example heavy feeder → legume → leafy/root → cereal. Pick your starting crop and the planner builds a 3-, 4- or 5-year sequence that avoids repeating a family in consecutive years.
Why shouldn't I grow the same crop every year?+
Monocropping concentrates the pests, diseases and weeds that specialise on that crop, and drains the same nutrients each season — so yields fall and input costs rise. Rotation resets those cycles.
Which crops belong to the same family?+
Key families to avoid following with each other: nightshades (tomato, potato, chilli, brinjal), brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, mustard), legumes (chickpea, lentil, soybean, pea, groundnut), cereals (wheat, rice, maize) and cucurbits (cucumber, pumpkin). The planner flags same-family choices in red.
How long before I can grow the same crop again?+
A general rule is to leave at least 3–4 years before returning a crop (or its family) to the same field, longer for crops with persistent soil diseases. The multi-year plan here spaces families out automatically.
Does rotation work for small kitchen gardens?+
Yes — even a few beds benefit. Rotate by family between beds each season (nightshades → legumes → brassicas → roots) to keep soil-borne problems down and fertility up.
Do I still need fertiliser if I rotate?+
Rotation reduces but doesn't always eliminate fertiliser needs — legumes add nitrogen, but phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients still get used. Combine rotation with a soil test and targeted nutrition for best results.
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