What follows what — and when to plant the next round
Two tools in one place: a plant-family compatibility grid that says which crop can safely follow which and how long to wait, and a succession planner that staggers plantings so harvest comes in steadily instead of all at once.
Crop compatibility grid
Read down the left for the crop family you grew last year, and across for what you're considering next. A check means it's a clean break; an X means the same disease and nematode pressure carries over.
Last year ↓ / Next ➝
Nightshade
Cucurbit
Brassica
Legume
Sweetpotato
Grass
Strawberry
Nightshade
ok
ok
ok
ok
Cucurbit
ok
ok
ok
ok
Brassica
Legume
Sweetpotato
ok
ok
ok
ok
Grass
Strawberry
ok
ok
ok
ok
ok
Nightshade (tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato)
Keep 3 years between plantings. Southern blight, bacterial wilt and root-knot nematode build in the soil where nightshades repeat.
Cucurbit (watermelon, cucumber, squash, melon)
Keep 3 years between plantings. Fusarium wilt, gummy stem blight and cucumber beetle pressure carry over on cucurbit residue.
Brassica (broccoli, cabbage, collard, kale)
Keep 3 years between plantings. Clubroot and black rot persist in soil and residue; a break also breaks the cabbage worm cycle.
Legume (snap bean, pea, soybean)
Keep 2 years between plantings. White mold and root rots build up, but legumes leave nitrogen behind for the crop that follows.
Morning-glory family (sweetpotato)
Keep 3 years between plantings. Root-knot nematode and soil rots are the limiting factor in repeated sweetpotato ground.
Grass (sweet corn, small grain)
Keep 1 year between plantings. Grass crops are the cleanest break in the rotation — they suppress many vegetable soil pathogens.
Rose family (strawberry)
Keep 3 years between plantings. Strawberry ground carries anthracnose and crown rot; a long break plus a grass cover is standard.
General Southeast rotation guidance for soilborne disease and nematode management. It is not a field-specific diagnosis — a soil test or an extension agent's call on your ground overrides it.
Succession planner
Days to first pick come from the published extension budget's own planting and harvest window for that crop, so the dates track the same calendar the cost numbers assume.
Staked tomato: roughly 90 days from planting to first pick, with a pick window of about 89 days in the published budget.
#
Plant
First harvest
Last harvest
Acres
Expected lb
1
Apr 5, 2026
Jul 4, 2026
Jul 26, 2026
0.5
21,000
2
Apr 19, 2026
Jul 18, 2026
Aug 9, 2026
0.5
21,000
3
May 3, 2026
Aug 1, 2026
Aug 23, 2026
0.5
21,000
4
May 17, 2026
Aug 15, 2026
Sep 6, 2026
0.5
21,000
Yield per planting uses the budget's own per-acre yield — your own harvest records override it as soon as you log them.