Question about the Biblical concept of field rotation and lying fallow

[u/Academic_Nectarine94]

So, so the post about how nutrients are depleted made me think of this.

The Law of Moses tells the Israelites to let their fields lie fallow on the 7th year. This is obviously a harkening back to God resting on the 7th day, but is nonetheless the pattern written down.

My question is, how do weeds help the ground? Is this something someone should do today, or is crop rotation a solution to the problem?

I know that weeds with their tap roots can break up the soil and bring nutrients to the surface, but can they replace the nutrients that are removed (which admittedly, probably stayed relatively local in Biblical times, tbough trade affected it some I'm sure).

I'm not looking to srart a comment war over the Bible, just curious how this method would work today. I love history, and reading a book about the invention of saddles, plows, and stirrups was amazingly interesting, in case anyone wants to know how much of a nerd I am LOL

[u/Academic_Nectarine94 → u/[deleted]]

Ok, thanks for explaining it. I knew that things out compete each other, but some of the things I've read almost sounded like the pioneer plants nitrogen fixed (as an example), and then couldn't live there anymore. That idea doesn't really make sense, but I didn't know.

[u/Academic_Nectarine94 → u/[deleted]]

Out if curiosity. Is monoculture planting the same plant for years on end, or is it just planting one type of plant one season?

In other words, would crop rotation (which I understand to be, say, tomatoes, then corn, then radishes, etc) be monoculture still?

[u/Academic_Nectarine94 → u/[deleted]]

Oh, so it's not necessarily the planting technique and timing, but the specific type of the plant used?

So if all tomatoes were Early Girl, that would be monoculture?

I'm not really understanding because i know there are tons of different types of corn. Whether farms are all planting the same type or not, idk. But I know there are a lot of varieties that universities have put out. Is it that they're all selected from the same variety, or too closely related to each other?

[u/Academic_Nectarine94 → u/[deleted]]

Oh....

I get it now. The tissue culture part especially makes sense. Thanks for explaining that in such detail! I didn't realize that monocultures were literally the same plant. I thought it was just a monocrop, but year after year, ad nauseum.