Wondering what to plant after tomatoes?
Crop rotation is incredibly important, as it optimizes the nutrients in your soil, and assists in growing absolutely delicious tomatoes.
Why Practice Crop Rotation?
Farmers world-wide have used certain practices to enhance the quality of their produce, such as growing by the phases of the moon. Crop rotation is one of these practices. Farmersdiscovered long, long ago that by growing certain crops in a certain sequence, they were able to optimize the precious resources of the soil.
If one crop is grown season after season, year after year, without a break, the soil will tend to deteriorate in both structure and the content of nutrients. But if crop rotation is practiced correctly, each subsequent crop will add nutrients to the soil that were used up by the previous crop. Crop rotation also minimizes the risk of nematodes and disease.
How to Practice Crop Rotation
The simplest rule of thumb is to grow an above-ground crop and then a below-ground crop. Better still rotate the four crop groups that benefit most from crop rotation. These are:
- Solanaceous crops including both tomatoes and potatoes, peppers and eggplants, capsic*ms and chillies.
- Cruciferous crops including cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and kale.
- Root crops including beetroot, carrots, parsnips, salsify and turnips (remember that potatoes are NOT a root crop, they are a tuber).
- Leguminous crops that include all the beans and peas you can think of.
Cucurbitaceous crops can be grown at any time.
Cucurbitaceous crops – cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes and marrows, and various melons – and various other miscellaneous crops – from Swiss chard and spinach to leeks, celery, lettuce, endive and artichokes – can generally be included anywhere, unless of course they make a bad companion plant to others planted at the same time.
The key to enjoying the benefits of successful crop rotation is planning. You should decide in advance what you will grow and where, using theabove categories to make the most of your soil’s nutrients.Don’t forget to consider the seasons when planning your crop rotation. There’s no point trying to grow tomatoes in a frosty winter, even if you’ve just harvested a crop of carrots.
What to Plant After Tomatoes
What to plant after tomatoes? Try beans.
Legumes and then the cruciferous crops, including brassicas, are what to plant after tomatoes.
Legumes are known to trap nitrogen in nodules that form on their roots, adding nitrogen to the soil.
But this benefit is only realized if the whole plant goes back into the soil. Harvesting the pods minimizes the nutrients, so leave some plants to die and rot.
Leafy vegetables use up loads of nitrogen – which is why you should plant the brassicas after growing beans and peas. But you will still need to feed the soil and add manure and compost for the crop to really thrive. If they do thrive, leafy vegetables will generally enrich the soil with phosphorus, which the root crops thrive on. The root crops then leave behind some extra potassium that our tomatoes love!
Planting Multiple Solanaceous Crops
Another factor to consider, particularly in terms of solanaceous crops, is that the different types should ideally not be grown within three years of one another. So if you want to grow tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and aubergines, you’ll need to plant different areas at different times, rotating the crops differently all the time.
What to Learn More?
Crop rotation is just one important step in creating your own vegetable garden. There is so much more to learn, and when you put the effort in, you won’t believe the results! Pick up a copy of How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes, and get gardening! And if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below.
FAQs
Legumes and then the cruciferous crops, including brassicas, are what to plant after tomatoes. Legumes are known to trap nitrogen in nodules that form on their roots, adding nitrogen to the soil.
What can I plant after tomato crop rotation? ›
Good vegetables to rotate in after tomatoes include beans and peas because they naturally fortify soils with nitrogen, and greens, because they are not too demanding. I encourage you to read my article about vegetable rotation titled Spring to Fall Vegetable Rotation: Planting for Non-stop Garden Produce.
Can I plant tomatoes in the same spot every year? ›
Try to plant tomatoes in a different spot every year, rotating through your garden space every three to four years. Planting them in the same place allows disease pathogens that are specific to tomatoes to build up in the soil. By moving them around in the garden each year, you can break up the disease cycle.
Can peppers be planted after tomatoes? ›
If tomatoes are planted in the same garden bed the following season, they can attack the next tomato crop or other member of the nightshade family such as peppers, potatoes, and eggplant.
What is the cover crop after tomatoes? ›
Processing tomatoes grown out in the field stand to benefit more from implementing a cover crop to prevent erosion, suppress weeds, add organic matter, and provide other services. A oats/radish mix can do well in processing tomato systems as the cover crops establish well in the fall and will usually winter kill.
Can I plant watermelon after tomatoes? ›
Can You Plant Watermelon Next to Tomatoes? No, tomatoes are considered incompatible to be planted next to watermelons. They are heavy feeders as the favorite summer fruit. In addition, its growth habit can turn into a large bush that can shade the main crop.
Will tomato plants produce a second crop? ›
They will grow into mature plants that will bear fruit. With careful planning, this simple exercise is a great way to get a second, free crop of fall tomatoes. And, if you get lucky with the weather, the vines can produce fruit past Halloween and into the holiday season.
Can I use the same soil from last year for tomatoes? ›
You can certainly reuse last season's soil. But understand that, while you're saving money, to have successful plants you will have to spend some extra time - time spent improving the soil's texture and replenishing its nutrients. Be forewarned.
Are coffee grounds good for tomato plants? ›
In a compost pile, coffee grounds decompose and break down, mingling with other organic matter like vegetable scraps, leaves, and grass clippings. This process creates a nutrient-rich compost that is much safer and more beneficial for tomato plants.
What is the best order for crop rotation? ›
One approach to crop rotation is to divide your plants into these four basic groups: legumes, root crops, fruit crops, and leaf crops. Imagine your garden separated into four areas, as shown in the chart at the top of the page. Each successive year, you would move each group one spot clockwise.
Avoid planting tomatoes in soil that was previously seeded with potatoes, peppers, or eggplant. Don't plant potatoes where tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants have been. Remove and destroy all infected crop detritus so it can't reinfect new crops.
What not to plant after peppers? ›
Brassicas: Brassicas such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are not good companion plants for peppers as they require similar nutrients from the soil, which can lead to competition and reduced yield. They also attract pests such as flea beetles and cabbage worms that can damage pepper plants.
What should I rotate after tomatoes? ›
Legumes and then the cruciferous crops, including brassicas, are what to plant after tomatoes. Legumes are known to trap nitrogen in nodules that form on their roots, adding nitrogen to the soil.
Can you plant tomatoes in the same spot 2 years in a row? ›
First, never plant tomatoes (or potatoes) in the same soil two years in a row. Their presence attracts root knot nematodes, which are not a problem the first year, but as their population builds in the second year, the plants suffer and often die.
What is the best cover crop for a vegetable garden? ›
Growth Rate: Buckwheat, Berseem Clover, Austrian Winter Pea, annual ryegrass, and oats are all fast-growing crops ideal for providing quick cover between crops or on sensitive sites.
What animals go after tomato plants? ›
Many home gardeners love eating garden-fresh tomatoes. Unfortunately, many pests also love to share in the bounty of vine-ripened tomatoes. Known nibblers on home-grown tomatoes include birds, rabbits, squirrels (both ground and tree), rats, hornworms, and even slugs and snails.
What not to plant after nightshades? ›
Actually, it would be advised not to plant tomatoes after any crop in the solanaceae (nightshade) family and that list includes common crops like peppers, potatoes, and eggplants.
What to do with tomato plants after growing season? ›
You will know when your tomato plants are done for the season. They'll stop producing new foliage and fruit and will begin to look peaked. You can pull the entire plant out, roots and all, or cut them at the base and allow the roots to decompose.
