Ch. 19 of Leviticus contains numerous instructions regarding the correct conduct in terms of one's worldly possessions as well as social conduct. In regards to planting and reaping, we are first directed (Lev. 19:9-10) "you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of your field...for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them." And a few verses later (19:19)"...you shall not plant your field with mixed seed". The question arises why we are taught two commandments regarding our fields in such close proximity to each other but in seemingly the opposite order, first the commandment regarding reaping and afterwards the commandment regarding sowing.
In order to understand this relationship, it's important to highlight that when it comes to the commandment of Peiah, the leaving of the corner of the field to the poor, the focus is on our obligation to leave the corner, not on the outcome, which is the poor person being fed. This is the universal approach of the Torah when it comes to matters of charity. My obligation to feed the poor does not emanate from my compassion for the needy but rather from the justice of separating out the part of my income that doesn't belong to me and was given to me by the Allmighty purely to fulfill the commandment of giving. This is why the word for charity in Hebrew is Tzedaka, meaning the expression of Tzedek, justice.
The commandment of leaving a corner of the field is the plainest expression of this concept. We take "our" field and portion it off, clearly demarcating the part that is ours and the part that isn't.
On the other hand, the commandment of not mixing seeds, or Kilayim, as explained by the early commentaries focus more on preventing certain outcomes in the world through the commandment. Inter-species mating, disrupt the natural order of Creation, the natural boundaries that G-d instilled into the Nature. We are commanded to do everything in our power to prevent this natural order from being disrupted.
We can now perceive why these two commandments are placed in proximity to one another. This teaches us that by clearly making a boundary in our lives between what belongs to us and what doesn't, the boundaries of Nature are also easier to uphold. Everything in the outside world is directly affected by the way we run our inner world. Inner order and discipline results in a world that is more orderly. Not just a world that is more orderly but also a world that is more fruitful and productive, as inter-species reproduction as in the case of the mule results in an inability to produce further offspring.
This is is also true when it comes to the human realm. The greatest results in terms of the upbringing of the next generation occur when there is a context and an environment based on generations of tradition and cultural background. The foundation for a stable nurturing environment is one where the child can clearly distinguish boundaries between what is allowed to them and what is not.
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