Crop Rotation Planner & What to Plant Next
Plans what to plant next
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.
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.
After Wheat, the best next crop is Chickpea (gram). Rotating to a different botanical family breaks pest and disease cycles, and alternating heavy feeders with nitrogen-fixing legumes keeps the soil fertile without relying only on fertiliser.
Next: avoid the red "avoid" crops next season, and slot a legume in every 2–3 years. 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
- 24 across 9 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.