Perennial members must not be sited in ground that is annually turned or rotated.
Well established A person has checked it against its sources. If you skip this, the planting fails. The planner won’t allow it.
How it works
Tillage destroys the crown. Rotation moves the annuals; the perennial cannot move.
What to do about it
Split perennial members into a permanent border; rotate the annuals around it.
The evidence
Evidence: checked against 1 source in the research-based literature.
The source
Rhubarb is often planted to one side of the garden, where it will not be disturbed if the main garden is plowed or rototilled in the fall.
Plant teams that rest on it
- Brassicas with aromatic herbs
- Carrot, chive and lettuce
- Cutting garden
- Dry herb bed
- Forage strip
- Perimeter trap crop
- Pizza garden
Folklore it answers
Read next
- The fruit tree guild, role by role: which parts are load-bearing and which are folkloreThe permaculture apple-tree guild looks the same on every blog. Some of it is real and some has nothing behind it. Here is the whole thing graded, claim by claim.
- Growing rhubarb for its stalks, since the leaves are poisonousRhubarb is one of the easiest perennials to plant, and the only common vegetable where part of the harvest is toxic. Which part, why, and the myths worth ignoring.
- Growing currants and gooseberries, once your local rules allow themOne of the few fruits that crop in part shade, and the only one with a legal history. What that old ban protects, and how to plant around it.
How this rule has changed
Every change is dated, newest first. The full record, with each reason, is in the data download.
- A person read the sources and confirmed it
- Added to the rules
Plan a bed with Brassicas with aromatic herbs ›
You must rotate every crop to new ground every single year. · What can I plant now?
More ways Milpa can help
When do I plant? · What grows well together? · Plan my garden · What can I plant now? · Something wrong in the garden? · Keep a garden diary · Heard a tip?
Cite this page
Milpa Gardens. “Perennial members must not be sited in ground that is annually turned or rotated.” Evidence grade: Well established. https://milpa.garden/rules/perennial-members-not-be-sited-ground-that/
A garden planner built on graded evidence. Every claim states its evidence grade and links its sources on the page. Cite it with the grade, and add the date you read it.
Report a problem with this claim
How we grade evidence
- Well established
- The rule names its mechanism and is settled, by sources a person has read and checked or by plain arithmetic and geometry.
- Promising
- The mechanism is named and the literature backs it. A few questions are still open.
- A good hunch
- Plausible by its mechanism, but field studies are thin, so treat it as a lean.
- Contested
- The evidence points both ways, or no study has tested it, so the planner does not enforce it.
- Refuted
- The claim did not survive its sources. It is kept so the folklore can be answered.