by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: April 02, 2009   Last Updated: October 08, 2010

 "Monoculture" is the practice of planting the same crop in the same place year after year. Both the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and the Irish potato famine are examples of "monoculture" and the devastation that it can cause.  The Irish potato famine was caused by a pathogenic fungus that grew and spread throughout the soil, resulting in the total demise of the food staple of the Irish poor. Any type of crop that grows in soil will draw nutrients from the soil, and to a large extent, that is how most plants have always managed to get their nutrition. 

There are many advantages to crop rotation. The technical term for crop rotation is "poly-culture." When crop rotation is used, the new crops that are planted in the place where something had previously been can used to replenish some of the lost nutrients. This is a much more effective way to nourish the soil, and by extension, crops that are grown there, than by using chemical or synthetic fertilizers and nutrient replacements. 

Some of the advantages of crop rotation are:

* Crop rotation prevents soil depletion

* Maintains soil fertility

* Reduces soil erosion

* Controls insect and or mite pests. It is most effective as a means to control insects and pests when the pests are present before the crop is planted, when they have no wide range of host crops, and when the insects and/or pests don't have the ability to fly from field to field.

Additionally, crop rotation is beneficial for other reasons:

1. Reducing our reliance on synthetic chemicals

2. Reducing pest build up.

3. Aiding in disease prevention

4. Aiding in the control of weeds.

When crops aren't rotated, their repeated presence leeches nutrients out of the soil, and that in turn affects the crops, reduces their productivity, hinders their growth, and can result in the spread of soil born diseases throughout the soil, as was the case with the Irish potato famine.

*Benefits of winter cover crops* -

One very space effective and beneficial way to accomplish crop rotation in small areas is to plant cover crops which will interrupt the cycle of repetition. Cover crops can put some of the nutrients that a plant absorbs from the soil right back into it. Many crops will benefit from the nutrients that cover crops replace. Rye (or winter rye,) are excellent cover crops that can protect the soil from erosion. 

After planting a winter cover crop, the plants can then be tilled into the soil where they will act as a source of green manure which can

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