April planting calendar
springWhat to plant in April
Peak spring planting for zones 6-8. Zones 3-5 finish indoor seed-starting and begin hardening off. Zones 9-10 shift focus to summer crops as cool-season harvests wind down.
Universal April tasks
These tasks apply to most temperate gardens across the US and UK in April. Check the per-zone sections below for the specific crops to plant in your zone.
- Harden off transplants before moving them outdoors — 7-10 days.
- Direct-sow carrots, beets, lettuce, peas, and brassicas.
- Start cucumbers, squash, melons, and basil indoors (zones 3-5).
- Plant asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, and bare-root fruit trees.
- Set up trellises, tomato cages, and row cover hoops.
- Mulch perennial beds once soil has warmed to 10 °C.
UK gardeners — April
April is the UK's main sowing month. Direct-sow carrots, beetroot, lettuce, peas, salad leaves, radishes, spring onions. Plant maincrop potatoes. Sow runner and French beans indoors. Last frost passes in much of the south by month's end — H5 gardens can risk tender transplants under fleece.
Most of England and Wales falls in RHS H4-H5 (roughly USDA 7-8). Scotland skews cooler (H3-H4); coastal southwest skews warmer (H5). See UK hardiness ratings →
April planting by USDA zone
Pick your USDA zone for the full crop-by-crop list for April. Each zone page includes sowing, transplanting, harvesting, and maintenance actions.
Zone 3 — April
4 actions- Sow indoors: Cucumbers, squash, melons, basil
- Sow indoors: Second succession of brassicas and lettuce
- Prep & plan: Outdoor beds
See full zone 3 plan →
Zone 4 — April
4 actions- Sow indoors: Cucumbers, squash, melons, basil
- Sow outdoors: Peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, kale
- Transplant: Onion sets, leeks, brassicas (late April)
See full zone 4 plan →
Zone 5 — April
4 actions- Sow outdoors: Peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots, beets, kale
- Transplant: Brassicas, onions, leeks, potatoes
- Sow indoors: Cucumbers, squash, melons, basil (early April)
See full zone 5 plan →
Zone 6 — April
4 actions- Sow outdoors: Peas, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, beets, brassicas
- Transplant: Tomatoes (late April, after last frost), brassicas, onions, leeks
- Sow outdoors: Potatoes (late April)
See full zone 6 plan →
Zone 7 — April
4 actions- Transplant: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (mid- to late April)
- Sow outdoors: Beans, corn, cucumbers, squash, melons
- Sow outdoors: Final cool-season succession
See full zone 7 plan →
Zone 8 — April
4 actions- Sow outdoors: Tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn, cucumbers, squash, melons, okra
- Sow outdoors: Sweet potato slips
- Harvest: Strawberries, spring brassicas, peas, lettuce
See full zone 8 plan →
Zone 9 — April
4 actions- Sow outdoors: Heat-tolerant tomatoes, peppers, okra, southern peas
- Sow outdoors: Eggplant, sweet potatoes, melons
- Harvest: Strawberries, citrus, spring greens
See full zone 9 plan →
Zone 10 — April
4 actions- Sow outdoors: Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, hot peppers
- Harvest: Cool-season crops finishing — lettuce, peas, brassicas
- Maintain: Install shade cloth for tomatoes and peppers
See full zone 10 plan →
Zones 1-2 and 11-13 in April
Sub-Arctic zones 1-2 (interior Alaska and northern Canada) are still effectively dormant for any month outside June-August. Greenhouse and cold-frame work dominates the calendar; outdoor planting compresses into a 60-90 day window.
Tropical zones 11-13 (Hawaii, southern Florida, Puerto Rico) have no frost cycle. Calendar timing depends on the wet/dry seasons rather than spring/fall frost — most temperate crops grow October through April, with the hot-wet summer as the off-season.
Source and methodology
Timing curated against US Cooperative Extension publications (UNL, UMN, NC State, Texas A&M, UF/IFAS, Oregon State) and cross-checked against the RHS sowing calendar for UK readers. Frost-date averages from NOAA Climate Data Online. Curated by the Growli editorial team.