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What can i plant in april


What To Plant in April

What to Plant in April

Yes, Yes, Yes! April is finally here meaning that your garden soil is finally warming up! April is the best time to plant most of your vegetable seeds after your last frost for all zones. It’s still not too late to plant tomatoes and peppers from seeds as well! Check out the below vegetables that can be started in April. Be sure to check your gardening zone for last frost dates.

Listed below are flower, vegetable and herb varieties that are great to start planting in April based on the Hardiness Zone that you live in.

Beans (Zones 3-10):
There are two main kinds of beans found in gardens, bush beans and pole beans. Start planting both bush and pole beans now that the soil and air are warmed up as they should not have been started indoors. Try a continual 7-10 day sowing of different varieties, this will give you continual bean crops and not one large harvest with wasted crop!
Learning More: How to Grow Beans
Suggested varieties: French Garden, Golden Wax

Beets (Zones 3-10):
Beets are a perfect cool-weather vegetables that come in a variety of hues and shapes. All Zones can sow beets now for a fast, early summer treat!
Learn More: How to Grow Beets
Suggested Varieties: Early Wonder , Chioggia

Cabbage (Zones 3-10):
Cabbage is one of the easier plants to grow in the garden. Sown in April will lead to a great summer harvest! Select a variety that is right for your location (size and maturity length) and be sure to fertilize and water when cabbage head begins to form.
Learn More: How to Grow Cabbage
Suggested varieties: Late Flat Dutch, Golden Acre, Michihili

Carrots (Zones 3-10):
Carrots are a tasty summer treat for both humans and pets. Sowing in April will be sure to produce an early summer crop!
Learn More: How to Grow Carrots
Suggested varieties: Little Finger, Scarlet Nantes, Rainbow Mix

Corn (Zones 3-10):
Corn is a fast growing crop! Corn is delicious when grilled, boiled or steamed fresh off the stalk. Try a small plot of corn two weeks after the last frost, working your way to a large field of several varieties.
Learn More: How to Grow Corn
Suggested varieties: Honey Select Sweet, obsession, Butter and Sugar

Cucumbers (Zones 3-10):
Fast growing vine or bush cucumber plants can produce an abundance of cucumber fruits for a summer harvest. Be careful to pick a variety for the space you have in your garden. Cucumbers can be transplanted three weeks after being started or planted directly two weeks after the last spring frost.
Learn More: How to Grow Cucumbers
Suggest varieties: Spacemaster 80, Boston Pickling, Burpless Bush Slicer

Eggplants (Zones 3-10):
Eggplants are a great meat substitute and can come in different colors of white, orange, light purple and various shapes, for an attractive summer harvest.
Learn More: How to Grow Eggplant
Suggested varieties: Florida Market High Bush, Rosa Bianca

Herbs (Zones 3-10):
Herbs are great to grow inside year-round, but if you want to plant outside now you can start to plant heat loving herbs like basil, oregano, cilantro, thyme and sage.
Learn More: How to Grow Herbs
Suggested varieties: Italian Basil, Greek Oregano, Slow Bolt Cilantro, French Thyme, Broadleaf Sage

Lettuce (Zones 3-10):
Lettuce is a fast grower, so you can stagger the plantings for a continuous harvest. Sowing lettuce in late spring is great for late summer and early fall crops!
Learn More: How to Grow Lettuce
Suggested Varieties: Parris Island Cos, Garden Leaf Blend, Iceberg

Melons (Zones 3-10):
Melons are great for hot, long summers and a staple for summer picnics and family fun! Start seeds indoors and transplant outdoors after 6-8 weeks.
Learn More: How to Grow Melons
Suggested varieties: Tasty Bites, Honey Rock, Rocky Ford Green Flesh

Onions (Zones 3-10):
If you haven’t already, April is the time to start transplanting or directly sowing onions! Be careful to select an onion variety appropriate for your garden zone. If you are in a cooler climate, plant long day onions and if you are in a warmer climate, plant short day onions.
Learn More: How to Grow Onions
Suggest varieties: Red Grano, Ailsa Craig Exhibition, White Sweet Spanish

Peas (Zones 3-10):
Delicious green peas and sugar peas should be planted in April as they will flourish in the spring weather and will produce an abundance of May crops!
Learn More: How to Grow Peas
Suggested varieties: Dwarf Grey Sugar, Sugar Ann, Alderman 

Peppers (Zones 3-10):
Fresh, crisp peppers are a garden favorite and can produce high yields when planted close together. April is the time to sow as many different varieties as possible! They come small, big, hot, mild and an array of different colors. If you haven’t already planted your peppers outdoors, now is the time to do so!
Learn More: How to Grow Peppers
Suggested varieties: King of the North, Early Jalapeno, Joe Parker

Summer Squash (Zones 3-10):
Summer squash is such a tasty summer treat when roasted or grilled! Planting summer squash in late April will lead to fresh, tasty squash and zucchini in the summer.
Learning More: How to Grow Squash
Suggested Varieties: Scallop Blend, Early Prolific Straightneck, Garden Spineless

Tomatoes (Zones 3-10):
If you haven’t already started your tomato seeds, start them now! Homegrown tomatoes taste delicious fresh, or they can be used for canning, sauces and other recipes.
Learn More: How to Grow Tomatoes
Suggested varieties: San Marzano, Sun Gold, Bradley, Red Zebra

Annual and Perennial Flowers (Zones 8-10)
April is a great time to start to sow your flowers indoors so they can be ready for summer blooms!
Annuals: Marigolds, Zinnias
Perennials: Tidal Wave Silver Petunias

If you would like to see a detailed map and planting schedule for your state please select below:

April Garden Guide: Planning, Planting, and More

I love the month of April! Glimpses of green life pop up in the form of garlic stalks, which handle the unpredictable spring weather with fortitude, or daffodils blooming in the garden. In this April Garden Guide, I share some ideas for prioritizing seed starting, planting seedlings, garden maintenance, and more.

This page may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

In the March Garden Guide, I discussed starting seedlings and a bunch of other fun stuff. In April, I’ll continue my careful watch over the seedlings I’ve already started inside. Meanwhile, the weather outside will dictate opportunities for sowing and transplanting in the garden.

Click here to see my Year-Round Gardening Calendar.

Remember, these April garden tasks are based on my gardening in USDA hardiness zone 6a. You may need to make adjustments for your climate. See below under ‘Garden Planning’ for more ways to adjust this schedule for your needs.

1. April Harvest

Crops that were sown in early fall, covered by row cover, cold frame, hoop house, greenhouse, or some other kind of protection, can be harvested in early spring. Depending on your hardiness zone, you may also be harvesting other early spring crops and herbs fresh from the garden.

Here is what I harvest in April:

Broccoli seedlings under grow lights – waiting for a dry day to get to the garden!

My broccoli seedlings look so good I could eat them right now! Patience you must have, young padawan. The harvest will outweigh a seedling snack!

2. April Garden Planning

Weather dictates actions more than annual calendars. Some years I’m waiting until the snow melts to do a lot of these items, while other years Mother Nature gives me the green light early. Whether you want to start seeds indoors or sow seeds outdoors, this spring guide covers planting times for 30 popular crops.

Don’t forget I’m gardening in USDA hardiness zone 6a – you may need to make adjustments for your climate.

Starting Seeds Under Grow Lights in April

The following seeds can be started indoors. For details about starting seeds indoors, see my step-by-step guide. If you need to purchase seed starting materials, check out my Amazon shop.

Sowing Seeds Outside in April

Sow the following seeds, which can cope with the early spring weather.

Preparing the beds for planting: I mixed finished compost with coffee grounds before adding it to the raised beds.

Planting Outside in April

Outdoor planting ramps up in April! Here’s what I like to plant this month.

When you purchase my award-winning book, The Suburban Micro-Farm, you get four garden planning tools as a bonus, including my Seedstarting & Planting Worksheet, that will AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE all of your planting dates based on your frost date. Amazing!

3. April Garden Maintenance

Here are a few things to make time for this month.

Storing Winter Gardening Implements

Building Infrastructure

Rainwater harvesting conveyance trench, which encourages water to run away from the house

Pruning Perennials

Improving Soil Fertility

It’s the perfect time of year to improve the quality of your soil.

Set your garden up for success by adding soil amendments like finished compost, worm castings, fresh or dried herbs, or aged manure to inactive gardens with a digging fork. Here are 9 organic amendments that I recommend.

But first, beware! Compost and manure are commonly contaminated with herbicides, even if you don’t use herbicides in your yard or buy only organic approved compost soil.

Apply soil amendments responsibly to protect local watersheds. Never apply them to frozen ground, over-saturated ground, or right before a large rain event.

I’m so excited to get my seedlings in the ground. How about you? What are you most excited about this month?

READ NEXT:

What is planted in April in open ground and for seedlings

April is one of the busiest months in the new season for the amateur gardener. The size and quality of the harvest obtained in the fall depends on how competently and in full all current work will be carried out.

The second half of the month is the time of intensive sowing and planting. Perhaps that is why we received so many different questions from you on this topic. We will try to answer in detail all the most frequently repeated ones. nine0003

So, today we will talk about what is planted and sown in April.

Please tell us what vegetable crops can be sown in open beds in April?

Tatyana Vasilyeva, Tula

In your climate, vegetable and green crops can be planted after April 17th. Cold-resistant crops are sown first. For their germination, it is enough that the earth at a depth of 10 cm warms up to + 5 degrees. nine0003

To check how dry the soil is, stick a shovel into the ground up to the middle of the bayonet. If water starts to ooze from the ground and the ground sticks strongly to the metal, then the soil is not yet ready. Wait another week.

But after April 20, a lot of vegetable crops can be sown in the ground. These are carrots, radishes, turnips, radishes, beets, peas, beans, corn, sunflowers.

Feel free to sow all green and aromatic herbs: leaf celery, leaf and root parsley, dill, lettuce, onion sets, parsnips.

This year in most of the territory of Russia, April turned out to be completely “crazy”. Such sharp changes in temperature and pressure have not been seen for more than 100 years. The temperature either dropped to -10 degrees, then increased to + 18.

This year, experts recommend that all gardeners put high arcs over the beds and always have non-woven covering material or a film on hand in case of sudden cold snaps. nine0003

If you permanently live on your plot, it is better to use a film, as it gives more heat, but does not allow moisture to pass through. But you can pick it up at any time and water your vegetables.

If you come to your site only for the weekend, use agrofibre for shelter, which allows any precipitation to pass through. But, alas, it keeps heat worse during frosts.

Read more about how to grow some vegetables and our best vegetable varieties in our published articles:

How to grow carrots;

"How to grow beets";

How to Grow Onions;

"How to grow a radish";

"When to sow roots";

"Terms of sowing seeds";

"We plan the vegetable crop rotation on the site in advance."

The general rule for all vegetable and spicy-tasting crops that are sown directly in the garden in April: before sowing, be sure to soak all seeds in a solution of "Zircon" with "Cytovit" (4 drops per liter jar of water). nine0003

Depending on the crop, the soaking time is different (but not less than 3 days). Once the seeds are swollen or shriveled (in peas and legumes), they can be sown.

The air temperature during sowing must be at least +16 degrees.

Which vegetable seeds can be sown in April for seedlings to get an early harvest?

Galina Deineko, Yekaterinburg

Cucumbers First of all, we recommend that you sow cucumber seeds for seedlings after April 20th. The fact is that in recent years, cucumbers sown directly on the garden bed began to produce very low and late yields. nine0003

Seeds soaked in some kind of growth stimulant (for example, Zircon) hatch already on the 4th day. They are planted in separate containers (best of all - in peat pots with a diameter of 8 - 10 cm). After 3 weeks, the seedlings have 3 true leaves, and it can be transplanted into open ground or into a greenhouse.

Pepper. Depending on the variety, sweet pepper seeds are sown for seedlings from March to the end of April. Seedlings can be transplanted into the ground when the earth in the garden at a depth of 10 cm warms up to + 16 degrees, so the later you plant the seedlings, the better the quality of the fruit will be. nine0003

Watermelons and melons . Sow for seedlings after April 20. Soak them in the same way as cucumbers. Transplant seedlings either in film or polycarbonate greenhouses after May 20.

Pumpkins. Seedlings are also sown after 20 May. Soak them for 5 days, and then sow them in peat pots with a diameter of 10 cm. Transplant seedlings into a film greenhouse or on beds after May 25, when the threat of spring return frosts has passed.

What annual and perennial flower seeds can be sown in April?

Zarina Abdullaeva, Kazan

In April, fast-growing flowers are sown, because they will bloom not earlier than in two months, but they will bloom until the first frost.

After April 25, you can safely sow the following flowers in your flower beds: cornflowers, sweet peas, adonis, nasturtium, calendula, cosmea, scabiosa, lupins, matthiola, flax, bindweed, dimorphette, marigolds, mignonette, lobelia. nine0011

Before sowing, soak the seeds for 4-5 days in a solution of "Zircon" with "Cytovit" in the above dosage.

Several years ago we bought a piece of land. Immediately began the construction of houses and outbuildings. In the spring of last year, a garden was laid out and a greenhouse was put up. From April we want to start planting fruit trees and shrubs. Planting material will be purchased from you.

What can we plant in April? nine0011

Larisa and Andrey Sokolov, Penza region

April is generally considered the best month for planting any deciduous fruit trees and berry bushes.

If your soils are heavy and acidic, feel free to remove all the soil from the holes and fill them with a soil mixture composed of compost, topsoil and river sand in equal proportions. Be sure to add potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, dolomite flour and wood ash. nine0003

At the end of April you can plant: apple, pear, plum, cherry, yoshta . Such heat-loving crops as apricot, cherry, duke are best planted after May 9th.

For more information on how to plant and care for these crops, as well as our best varieties, read the articles already published:

"How to Grow an Apple Tree";

"How to care for a pear"; nine0011

"How to grow a plum";

Cherry Care;

“Care for frost-resistant cherries in spring”;

"The best varieties of apricot";

How to prune fruit trees.

Planting of any berry bushes starts after April 20th.

If you are planting a new garden, remember not to plant plants randomly and unsystematically. Cultural compatibility must also be taken into account. After all, if they negatively influence each other, then they will grow badly. nine0003

In addition, take into account the need of certain plants for sunlight, watering, fertilizers (for example, stone fruits, among others, need calcium and a lot of potassium, otherwise do not expect fruits!).

Do not plant nearby plants that share common pests and diseases. This can lead to the invasion of harmful insects and the development of fungal diseases.

When planting any shrubs, give them "space" so that they do not take food from each other, do not thicken the general plantings and do not block each other's access to oxygen and sunlight. nine0003

The minimum distance between shrubs should be 2 m and between trees 5-6 m.

We wish you a good sowing season and high yields!

All of the above crops and their best varieties you can buy from us!

What can be sown and planted in the garden in April

As soon as the soil thaws and dries, you can break the beds in the garden and start planting vegetables or herbs. We will tell you what to sow in April in open ground in order to enjoy a rich harvest in the new season. nine0003

Cold-resistant crops are sown when there are no more severe frosts at night and the soil at a depth of 5 cm warms up to 3-5°C. Plants that are afraid of the cold are sown in the ground after the soil warms up to 15 ° C.

If it is still cold in your region in April, then sow vegetables and herbs in the greenhouse, then in May you will be able to harvest the first crop of early ripening crops. If winter receded in March, then you can sow beds and open ground, but first of all, focus not on the calendar, but on weather conditions and soil conditions. nine0003

Try digging a shovel into the soil. If the ground is still so wet that it sticks to the blade, then it is worth postponing the sowing.

Radish

Choose a wind-sheltered and well-lit area with fertile, neutral soil for radishes. It’s good if legumes, potatoes, tomatoes or cucumbers grew there before. But all types of cabbage, turnips and rutabagas are bad predecessors for radishes.

Depending on weather conditions, radishes are sown in open ground from the second half of April to the end of May (summer varieties). And in late July - early August, the seeds are sown again to harvest in the fall. nine0003

For better germination, radish seeds are soaked in water or a solution of any growth stimulant (according to instructions). Then they are lowered into the ground to a depth of 1.5-2.5 cm. The distance between the rows should be 20-30 cm, and between the seeds in a row - 3-5 cm. The seeds are sprinkled with peat, the ridges are slightly compacted and watered. At an air temperature of about 18 ° C, seedlings appear on the 6-7th day.

Turnip

This crop prefers light loamy soils with a pH of 6-7. The most suitable predecessors are the same as those of the radish. When sowing turnips in April, the crop is harvested in the summer, and in June it is sown again to obtain root crops that can be stored. nine0003

Seeds are sown in furrows to a depth of 1-2 cm, a distance of 20 cm is maintained between rows. The soil is lightly compacted, watered and mulched with humus. Seedlings appear 5-6 days after sowing. 2 weeks after germination, the plants are thinned so that there is a distance of 10-12 cm between them.

Radish

For radishes, choose a site with fertile, loamy, moist and humus-rich soil. It is important that cabbage, radish, rutabaga and turnips do not grow there last season. To get a harvest in summer, radish is sown in open ground in the second half of April, and for winter storage it is sown from the second half of June to mid-July. nine0003

Radish seeds are sown in furrows (made in moist soil) to a depth of 1.5-2 cm in groups of 3. The distance between the grooves should be about 30 cm, and between groups of seeds - 15-20 cm. Seedlings appear after a couple of days. On day 6-7, in each group of seedlings, one of the strongest sprouts should be left.

Radish successfully withstands short-term frosts down to -5°C, therefore, in regions with a mild climate, it can be sown in early April.

Carrot

Carrot grows well on sandy and light loamy soils with a pH of 5.5-6.5. Good predecessors for this crop are cucumber, tomato, onion, potato, legumes and greens. You should not grow carrots after parsnips and celery, and you can return it to its original place only after 4-5 years.

To get an early harvest of carrots, the seeds are sown in the last ten days of April, and when growing root crops for long-term storage - in the first half of May.

Before sowing, the soil is carefully dug up, and then compacted and grooved, maintaining a distance of 15-20 cm. Seeds are sown at intervals of 3-7 cm to a depth of 2-3 cm. After sowing, the soil is compacted and watered.

Shoots of carrots appear only on the 15-20th day. To speed up this process, it is recommended to cover the beds with spanbond. In addition, it is better to sow seeds pre-soaked in water.

Peas

Peas are sown at the end of April. The best predecessors for this crop are cucumbers, pumpkins, potatoes and cabbage. Before sowing, the seeds are germinated in a damp cloth, and in the garden, compost, 15 g of urea and 1/2 tsp are added to the grooves made. boric acid (based on 1 sq.m). nine0003

Seeds are sown at a depth of 3 cm (on light sandy soils) or 5 cm (on clay soil) in previously made grooves, between which there should be a distance of 50-60 cm. Peas are sown at 5 cm intervals, sprinkled with earth, compacted well and watered. Shoots usually appear 1-2 weeks after sowing.

Bob

Bean seeds germinate at a temperature of 3-4°C, seedlings successfully tolerate a short-term temperature drop to -4°C. The algorithm for sowing beans is almost the same as sowing peas. The distance between the rows should also be 50-60 cm, however, it is recommended to keep 10-12 cm between plants, and plant the seeds to a depth of 6-8 cm.

Learn more