Can anyone explain crop rotation in the 14th century?

Question

Can anyone explain crop rotation in the 14th century?

Answer 1

The principals of crop rotation were not really understood in the 14th century - this did not come about until the 18th which, in the UK, led to the massive enclosure movement. one reason for which was to enable the scientific advances in agriculture to be put into force. In the 14th century, again in the UK,  the old manorial system of 'strip farming' still held sway. Under this system, each family in a village was entitled to farm a certain number of strips in the great 'common fields' which surrounded the village. These strips were allocated each year so effectively there was a crude system of rotation in that in one year Farmer Jones might grow turnips and  in another Farmer Smith wheat on the same strip. It was also the practise to leave on of the (usually 3) common fields 'fallow' every year.

Answer 2

A certain type of plant mainly uses certain types of nutritients. Therefor, you can't plant the same type of plant on the same soil every year over and over again. After a while, all the specific nutritients on that piece of land will be used.

Because of this, they invented crop rotation. In the 14th century, this meant first some wintercrops, like rye or winter wheat, then springcrops, such as oats or bailey and then don't plant anything, leaving the ground fallow. Now, the two crops planted use different nutritients, so they will both have enough. Leaving the land fallow is to let the ground regenerate. By dung from animals, fallen treeleaves and other biological waste, it builds up his nutritients, till there's plenty for the new crops.

Answer 3

Crop rotation was leaving a land fallow every three years in the north of Europe and every two years in the south of Europe to let it recover and planting a different crop every other year if they had the seeds for them. In the north it was usually winter crop, spring crop, fallow. It was to avoid overexploitation and the death of the land.

This was due to the lack of fertiliser, there was only manure at that time, the best came from bovine but there were not that many cows in those times or even sheep or goats so it was used only for the winter crop. The lack of feed for animals (there were not enough fields to grow food for humans and beasts) meant that the beasts browsed most of the year and so there was very little recoverable manure. A way to go partially around this had been found, as soon as a field was cut the cattle was put there to browse and fertilise as much as possible before either sowing again or leaving the field fallow.  

Answer 4

three-field system

A farming system prevalent in medieval lowland Britain whereby two of the three fields were cultivated while the third field was left fallow to recover its fertility. The crops were then rotated each year so that a different field was left fallow.

Strip farming is a characteristic aspect of medieval farming. Each worker farmed several strips of land, often scattered over several different fields, which he worked alongside the strips of his neighbor. The system ensured that the good and bad land was shared out fairly.

Strip farming also encouraged the community to work together for the more difficult and labor-heavy tasks. A plough was pulled by horses or oxen and the job of ploughing was shared between a whole village, with everyone paying shares in buying or renting a plough and its crew of animals.

The medieval era was the age of rotation farming, where one field was sown with wheat, another with oats or rye and a third left to rest. The next year, the second field was sown with wheat, the third with oats or rye and the first left to rest, with the pattern rotating each year. Because the soil was rested every third year, it never became overworked. The areas outside the farmed fields were usually common pasture, where anyone could allow his livestock to roam.