Zucchini is present in almost every garden. Many do not know what crops can be planted after them to get the maximum return in the form of a rich harvest.
First, it should be noted which plants should not be grown after zucchini.
This list includes all representatives of the pumpkin family - pumpkins, squash, melons, watermelons, cucumbers.
Plants that do not belong to this species can be planted after zucchini.
Potatoes are plants with medium soil nutritional requirements, so they are ideal as a follower crop. Gardeners have also long noticed that potatoes grow larger in loose soil. If sufficient organic matter was added under the zucchini, then the conditions for potatoes will be ideal the following year.
Like potatoes, tomatoes are crops that have medium soil fertility requirements. They will yield an excellent harvest after zucchini. By the way, eggplants and peppers will also grow well and bear fruit in a zucchini bed.
Carrots will give an excellent harvest, because the root crops will grow larger in the soil loosened by zucchini.
Like carrots, beets grow larger and sweeter after zucchini. If you plan crop rotation in advance, you can add semi-rotted manure or compost under the zucchini. This will be excellent nutrition for them, and the root crops (beets, carrots) will happily “eat up” the remaining nutrients next year.
Beans will not only give a good harvest, but also enrich the soil with nitrogen. This is a great option if the garden is small and in a year you plan to plant pumpkin plants again in the squash bed. They need a lot of nitrogen, so planting beans will help grow a good harvest.
Like beans, peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which is in a form accessible to plants and easily absorbed.
Planting onions has proven itself well. This crop also has different diseases and pests with zucchini, so you can safely grow onion plants.
When alternating crops, you should take into account various factors. For example, if zucchini grew without organic fertilizers (compost, manure, mulching), the soil will be severely depleted.
In this case, it is better to sow legumes (beans, peas, lentils), which are less demanding in terms of fertility.
If you have fully fertilized the bed with organic matter, and also additionally fed and mulched the zucchini, then more demanding crops, such as nightshades, will give a rich harvest after them.