What should one plant after tomatoes, for example, to “clean up” the soil?
Plants that are closely related often share pest and disease problems. One way to reduce their spread is to use crop rotation. Crop rotation involves growing families of vegetables in different locations in the garden from year to year so it becomes more difficult for pests and diseases to find the plants they favor. A general rule is to avoid planting crops from the same family in the same location for three years. For example, tomato is in the Solanaceae family, as are potato, pepper, and eggplant. If you have planted tomatoes in a certain location this year, avoid planting these other crops in this location for the next two years.
