With peas or lettuce it makes sense to ask what to plant straight after harvest — the bed frees up mid-summer with plenty of season left. Tomatoes are different. Outdoor tomatoes crop practically into October, greenhouse ones longer still, so by the time the bed frees up there's rarely time for a conventional second crop.
That doesn't mean there's nothing to do with the bed. The question simply shifts from "what else can I plant this year" to "how do I prepare this bed for winter and what should go here next year".
When tomatoes finish and why a second crop is out
Outdoor tomatoes carry on into September, and the first frosts usually end the season for them — below 5 °C ripening stops, and frost kills the plant outright. Greenhouse and polytunnel tomatoes hold on a few weeks longer. Either way, it's too late for anything needing more than a few weeks to harvest.
What you can still manage if the bed frees up earlier
If you clear the tomatoes in the second half of August or early September — because of blight, say — a few options remain:
- Overwintering spinach — sown now, it merely slows through winter and is picked in early spring.
- Lamb's lettuce — one of the few vegetables hardy enough to keep picking under snow.
- Overwintering garlic — if the bed only frees up in October, this is planted exactly then and clashes with nothing else.
Sowing anything faster (radish, lettuce) is only worthwhile up to mid-September; later it generally won't reach a usable size.
What not to plant on this bed, even next spring
This matters more with tomatoes than "what to plant right now". Tomatoes are Solanaceae and leave disease spores behind in the soil that survive for years:
- Late blight (Phytophthora) — the usual reason tomatoes collapse at the end of the season. The spores persist in the soil and in infected foliage.
- Verticillium and fusarium wilts — fungal diseases that attack the plant's vascular system and last 3–4 years in the soil.
So no other Solanaceae — peppers, aubergines or potatoes — should go on that bed for at least 3–4 years. And it isn't only about the tomatoes themselves: growing them in the same spot year after year is one of the commonest reasons tomatoes accumulate disease over time.
What does belong on the bed next spring
| Group | Examples | Why it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Legumes | beans, peas | return to the soil the nitrogen tomatoes used up |
| Alliums | onions, leeks | a different family, sharing no Solanaceae diseases |
| Brassicas | cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower | nitrogen-hungry, so they do well after feeding |
How to prepare the bed after tomatoes in autumn
- Remove all the foliage and the roots — unlike peas or beans, don't leave tomato roots in the ground; disease spores can overwinter in them.
- Don't compost infected foliage — it belongs in the household waste or on a bonfire, never on the compost heap.
- Consider green manure — white mustard or phacelia sown now protect the soil through winter and enrich it in spring.
- Plan what goes on this bed next year — with 3–4 year gaps needed for Solanaceae, it pays to keep a record of where tomatoes grew last year and the year before.
Tomatoes are a good reminder that autumn in the garden isn't only about harvesting but mostly about planning ahead. A full overview of what else to get done now is in the guide to autumn garden jobs, and how to rotate crops from year to year in the article on crop rotation.
Frequently asked questions
What can I plant after tomatoes this year?
If the bed frees up by mid-September, you can still manage overwintering spinach or lamb's lettuce. If it clears later, the sensible options are green manure or preparing the bed for October garlic — for conventional vegetables it's generally too late.
Why shouldn't I plant peppers or potatoes after tomatoes?
Tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and potatoes are all Solanaceae and share diseases such as late blight and verticillium wilt. The spores of these diseases survive in the soil for 3–4 years, so Solanaceae shouldn't return to the same bed until after that.
Should I compost tomato foliage?
No, and preferably never. Tomato foliage is often infected with blight by the end of the season, and the spores don't die in an ordinary garden compost heap — next year they'd come back. Put infected foliage in the household waste or burn it, and don't add it even to a pile of healthy leaves.
What should follow tomatoes next spring?
Legumes (beans, peas) are the best choice, since they return nitrogen to the soil, followed by onions or brassicas such as cabbage and broccoli. All three groups cope well with soil after Solanaceae and help break the disease cycle.