Vegetable growing generally takes off during April and you can expect to see a lot of changes in your vegetable garden. April is a great month for getting started, but also for starting a pattern of growing, if you’re growing salad leaves or tomatoes, for instance, you’ll definitely want to get ready. Depending on the growth time of your chosen vegetables if you sow in April you could be harvesting in just 3-4 weeks! Come on over and find out what vegetables to plant in April – whether you’re sowing indoors or outdoors!
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What Vegetables to Plant in April
The vegetables that you’ll want to sow or plant in April will depend on what your growing plan for your vegetable production is as well as whether you’re growing vegetables indoors or outdoors. April vegetable growing tends to be a prolific month for getting vegetables started, both indoors and outdoors in the UK, so you can expect a lot of changes! Here in Suffolk in the last 2 weeks, we’ve seen Spring Barley planted as seed and shooting up just a couple of weeks later! Spring is a glorious time in the UK and it’s easy to see quick changes in your vegetable garden.
The vegetables you’ll want to plant in April are numerous, but it depends on what you want to grow. Check our guide to the easiest vegetables to grow in the UK to see which might work best for you. Now let’s head onto some specific vegetables to grow during April and what specifically you should be doing for these veggies.
Which 7 Vegetables should you sow in April?
If a vegetable was ok to sow or plant in March, then it’s ok to continue this into April. Call it your succession sowing, so you’ll get a steady supply of veggies into the autumn.
Some vegetables you’ll sow directly outdoors during April and others you’ll want to start indoors. Here’s a general guide on what to sow outdoors in April:
- Beetroot – Boltardy is a firm favourite for planting now
- Early carrot – these carrots are fab for growing in pots
- Parsnips – these are great parsnsip to homegrow
- Peas – we love these peas for growing at home
- Radish – these French Breakfast Radish seeds are seriously easy to grow
- Spring onions – these spring onion seeds are really easy to grow.
- Spinach – perpetual Spinach is a firm favourite to grow – try these seeds for a great harvest
- Swiss chard – this mixed lights seed pack is a colourful addition to the garden
- Courgettes – these are excellent courgettes to grow in the UK
If you have a sheltered spot include sweet corn, but try this later in the month, sweetcorn is a tough vegetable to transplant, so you’ll want to plant it where you’re going to harvest it!
If you’re growing from sets or seed potatoes, then you’ll also want to plant onion sets, seed potatoes and summer cabbage. Read our guide to potato grow bags and growing potatoes here.
If you’re starting things off indoors, on window sills or if you have a greenhouse or mini greenhouse (here are the best mini-greenhouses for the UK) in a sheltered area, then you’ll want to start the following in trays and pots. You can transplant these to either soil or larger pots when they progress. Also, set off tomatoes and some early varieties of courgettes. You could also start onions from seed and transplant them later.
1. Plant Lettuce and Salad Leaves in April
It’s no secret on LetsGrowCook that we are big fans of growing our own salad leaves. It’s one of the best ways to save money by growing your own vegetables. And when you get it right in terms of staggering sowing of seeds you can keep a steady supply of yummy mixed salad leaves all the way through to Autumn. Plant salad leaves in tubs, containers, or pick up a grow bag or two and make your life a lot easier. For us, salad leaves and lettuce are the best vegetable crops to sow in April, because you will see a really quick harvest and that’s great to incentivise you to keep going!
Top Pick of Rocket, Lettuce and Salad Leaf Seeds to Grow
We haven’t talked about leeks much yet, but they are FABULOUS to grow. They’re easy to grow, but I didn’t include them in my easy-growing veg article, as they’re not to everyone’s taste.
The best way to get leeks started is to sow them in seed trays, keep them undercover and transplant them later. Leeks are great vegetable plants to plant in April for a harvest in the autumn. Try these leek seeds for a great harvest.
3. Plant Courgettes and Squashes in April
You can start courgettes off undercover, or some of the more hardy varieties directly into the ground. We like to have a few plants in either grow bags or containers, it just keeps them a little more under control as they do tend to take over a veg patch. And – be sure not to plant too many. Courgettes are PROLIFIC and seem to double in size overnight. Make sure you have a plan for what to do with too many courgettes and that you like them enough to justify the amount that you plant. Here are our favourite courgettes to plant in April. We also recommend courgettes as a vegetable to plant in May – just be cautious about how many you plant in total!
4. Plant Beetroot in April
Beetroot is a key favourite here at LetsGrowCook – not just because we love to cook and preserve it, but because the leaves are also a favourite addition to our salad leaves! Beets are one of the vegetable crops to sow in April that are ALWAYS on our list. You can sow early variety beet seeds directly into the ground, but if the ground is hard we’d wait a little longer. You may be able to get a head start by sowing beetroot indoors too. My guide to growing beetroot is here.
5. Sow Tomatoes indoors in April
Tomato plants can also be prolific, so you’ll want to take care in counting out the seeds. Plant in seed trays and start them off on window sills or in a mini greenhouse, transplanting them to pots or grow bags when they’re bigger. We LOVE homegrown tomatoes – once you’ve grown your own you’ll be spoiled for life. Tomatoes are one of our favourite vegetables to grow in April because it feels as though summer is just around the corner once the tomatoes go in!
You’ll need to use canes to help support them and keep them well-watered, especially when they’re fruiting. In our first year we ended up with 480 tomatoes – so check the yield on the variety that you select and be sure you know how to deal with unripe tomatoes if, like us, the weather took a turn and we ended up with a lot of green tomatoes!
Check out the best compost to use for vegetables here.
6. Grow Mushrooms In April – and all year!
Mushrooms are a fabulous vegetable to home grow. You can grow mushrooms all year round if you use mushroom growing kits, which are the easiest way to grow your own mushrooms. Starting is simple, pick up a kit – which includes everything that you need and then expand out. We started with plain white mushrooms (this is a fabulous starter kit here), but you can also grow chestnut mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Give it a go! Here are our favourite kits for mushroom growing if you’re a beginner.
Top PRODUCT PICK
This excellent Mushroom Growing kit from the folks at Merryhill Mushrooms is the perfect starter mushroom growing kit and it’s so easy to get started with full instructions
7. Plant Peas outdoors in April
Peas tend to like cooler climates and so are fine to plan straight outdoors during April, so long as we’re not having any specifically seasonally cold weather! (Check the weather for gardeners here). Read about growing peas in pots here. An alternative solution to sowing peas is to sow them into a length of guttering and then transplant the entire lot into the ground when they’re about 15 centimetres tall! Don’t forget you’ll need a support system for your peas.
What 3 Herbs to Plant in April
When it comes to what to plant in April you shouldn’t forget herbs! It seems like every TV cookery program uses oodles and oodles of fresh herbs. I know I’d be bankrupt if we did the same and didn’t grow our own herbs. Depending on which herbs you’re growing you’ll want to get them started in April.
1. Sow basil seeds in April
Basil is a great herb to get going during April, but you’ll need to keep it in the warmth. We love to have basil on a warm windowsill, it not just protects it from the weather, but it also keeps it in easy reach of the cook which means we include it in so many more recipes! If you’re giving coriander a go then you’ll want to start coriander off inside too during April. Read about the best grow your own herbs kits here
2. Sow perennial herbs in a mini greenhouse
For fans of perennial herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage you’ll want to get them started, either in a greenhouse or indoors during April.
Top PRODUCT PICK
This brilliant herb growing kit is fabulous and so easy to use all year round. It doesn’t even need sunlight!
3. Sow hardy herbs outdoors in April
Herbs that are a little hardier can be sown outside during April – look for chives parsley and fennel. If you’re a fan of dill (amazing with sauteed potatoes), then start this off inside and you can plant it out when the weather gets a bit warmer. Dill is one of the easiest herbs to grow, so give it a shot!
What if I don’t have a greenhouse?
Hey, neither did we! We had window sills that we used to start most of our vegetable plants. When the weather got warmer we transplanted them to pots, containers and soil. Once we’d figured things out a little more (and needed somewhere to transplant some of the zillions of tomato plants we ended up with we bought a mini greenhouse which, with care, lasted us several years and brought bounty after bounty of tomatoes and herbs.
Let’s Grow Cook Recommends..
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- Suttons: – OFFERS on Seeds, Sets, Plants and Gardening Tools
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- Garden Growing Accessories – The latest offers from Suttons
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Best Tools & Gadgets for the Kitchen & Cooking Aids
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All our monthly vegetable planting guides
- What vegetables to plant in January
- What vegetables to plant in February
- What vegetables to plant in March
- What vegetables to plant in April
- What vegetables to plant in May
- What vegetables to plant in June
- What vegetables to plant in July
- What vegetables to plant in August
- What vegetables to plant in September
- What vegetables to plant in October
- What vegetables to plant in November
- What vegetables to plant in December
Final words on what 7 vegetables to plant in April UK wide
Most vegetable seed packest will indicate what to grow during April and this always helps when you’re looking at what veg to plant in April. It shouldn’t be difficult once you’ve decided what it is that you want to grow, as to what needs to either go into the ground or get started. There’s something immensely enjoyable about starting vegetables on a window sill and seeing them throughout the day. You really can see a daily difference at this time of year and I for one find it rather exciting to watch the changes. Don’t forget if a vegetable that you’re wanting to plant indicates that it should be sown in March, then you’ll be fine planting it in April too!
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