What to plant in April

April is the month that sorts out the growers from the wishful thinkers. The soil is warming up, the days are getting longer, and after months of planning there is finally something to do every single day. But April in Britain is not predictable. A week of warm sunshine can be followed by a hard frost that kills anything tender. The trick is knowing what can go out now, what needs a bit of protection, and what should stay on the windowsill for a few more weeks.

This guide covers everything you can realistically sow or plant in April, broken down by method. No point sowing French beans outdoors when the soil is 8 degrees - they will sit there and rot. Equally, no point waiting until May for carrots and peas when they could have been in the ground three weeks earlier.

When is the last frost in my area?

Your last frost date determines when tender crops can safely go outside. In the UK, this varies by several weeks depending on where you live. Southern England is usually frost-free by mid-April, while parts of Scotland may not be safe until late May (Met Office regional frost data).

These are averages. Coastal areas are usually earlier. Inland valleys and higher ground are later. If in doubt, wait a week. There is no prize for being first, but there is a real cost to losing a tray of seedlings to a late frost.

What can I sow directly outdoors in April?

Carrots, peas, parsnips, radishes, turnips, spinach, and spring onions can all be sown straight into the ground in April. The soil needs to be at least 7 to 8 degrees Celsius at seed depth - around 5cm below the surface (RHS vegetable sowing guide). If it feels cold to the back of your hand, it is too cold for seed. Lay a cloche or clear polythene over the bed for a week before sowing to warm it up.

Carrots are the classic April sowing. Sow thinly in shallow drills about 1cm deep, with 20cm between rows. They take up to three weeks to germinate so do not panic if nothing appears for a while. Cover with insect mesh immediately after sowing - carrot root fly is active from April and will ruin an unprotected crop (RHS carrot fly advice). Thin to 5 to 7cm apart once the seedlings are big enough to handle. Expect to harvest from July onwards.

Peas go in 3 to 5cm deep, about 8cm apart, in double rows 20cm apart. They need support from the start - push in some twiggy sticks or hazel pea sticks at sowing time rather than trying to retrofit them later when the plants are flopping. Soil temperature needs to be at least 7 degrees. Ready from June, and the more you pick, the more they produce.

Parsnips need fresh seed every year - old parsnip seed has very low germination (RHS parsnip growing guide). Sow 2 to 3cm deep, thin to 10cm apart, with 30cm between rows. They take 15 to 21 days to germinate and will not be ready until autumn. Sow a few radish seeds along the same row as markers so you can see where the parsnips went in.

Radishes are the fastest vegetable you can grow. Ready in 25 to 30 days. Sow a short row every three to four weeks for a continuous supply rather than one big batch that all matures at once. Half a centimetre deep, thin to 4cm apart. They are a useful catch crop between slower-growing vegetables - in and out before the main crop needs the space.

Turnips go in 1 to 2cm deep, thinned to 10 to 15cm apart. Quick growing - ready in six to eight weeks from an April sowing. Good for filling gaps and they store reasonably well into autumn.

Spinach sown in April will give you three to four weeks of cutting before it bolts and runs to seed in the warmer weather. Sow 1 to 2cm deep, 20 to 30cm between rows. If you want spinach that lasts longer, grow perpetual spinach instead (see below) - it is technically a chard but does the same job without bolting.

Spring onions can be sown thickly in clumps - six to eight seeds together, 25cm between clumps. Ready in eight to twelve weeks. Keep sowing every fortnight through to July for a continuous supply.

What should I start in modules or pots?

Beetroot, leeks, perpetual spinach, lettuce, chard, kale, calabrese, and Brussels sprouts all benefit from a controlled start indoors or in an unheated greenhouse. Sow into module trays or small pots, grow on for a few weeks, then plant out once they are established. This gives them a head start and avoids losses to slugs, weather, and poor germination in cold soil.

Beetroot is best sown in modules rather than direct - three to four seeds per cell, planted out as a clump at 30cm spacing. Each beetroot "seed" is actually a cluster of seeds so you will get multiple seedlings per spot. Use bolt-resistant varieties like Bolthardy or Pablo for early sowings (RHS beetroot guide). Ready about ten to twelve weeks from sowing.

Leeks are a long game but one of the most valuable crops for winter eating. Sow four to five seeds per module cell in early April. They will not be transplanted until June or July, and you will not be eating them until autumn and winter. But when January comes and there is nothing else fresh in the garden, you will be glad you started them now.

Perpetual spinach (actually a type of chard) is the crop that keeps on giving. Sow three seeds per module, thin to two, and plant out at 30cm spacing. Unlike true spinach, it will not bolt. You can cut from it for nine months - March through November from a single sowing. If you grow one leafy green, make it this one.

Lettuce needs only the lightest covering of compost - barely dusted over the surface. One seed per cell, plant out at 20cm spacing after about four weeks. Sow a small batch every fortnight rather than a full tray at once. Cut outer leaves and the plant keeps producing for weeks.

Chard is similar to perpetual spinach but with thicker, colourful stems. Three seeds per cell, thin to two, plant out at 30cm spacing for full-sized plants or 15cm for salad leaves. Produces for months from a single sowing. Rainbow chard looks good enough to grow in a flower border.

Kale started in April will be your winter workhorse. One seed per cell, plant out at 45cm spacing for full-sized plants. Protect with insect mesh once planted out - cabbage white butterflies will find it within days. Kale shrugs off frost and snow, regrows after cutting, and keeps producing right through to the following spring.

Calabrese broccoli goes one seed per cell, planted out at 40cm spacing. Ready about 110 days from sowing. Protect with mesh against cabbage white and pigeons. Cut the central head first and smaller side shoots will follow for several weeks.

Brussels sprouts need the most space of any vegetable - 60cm each way. Sow late April. They will not be ready until autumn, but like kale, frost improves their flavour by converting starches to sugars. A single stalk produces 50 or 60 sprouts. Worth the wait and the space if you have it.

Which tender crops should I start indoors in April?

Courgettes, beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash all need warmth to germinate and will be killed by frost. Start them indoors in April on a warm windowsill, in a heated propagator, or in a greenhouse. Do not plant them outside until your last frost date has safely passed - in most of the UK that means late May at the earliest (RHS tender vegetable advice).

Courgettes are one of the highest-return crops per seed. Sow one seed per 5cm pot, 2cm deep, at 20 degrees or above. They germinate fast and grow quickly. Do not sow too early - a courgette plant started in late April will overtake one started in early April that has been sitting on a cold windowsill getting leggy. Plant out at 90cm spacing. One plant produces 20 to 30 courgettes across a season if you keep picking them small.

Runner beans and French beans go one seed per pot at 15 to 20 degrees. Runner beans need a frame - bamboo canes, hazel poles, or a wigwam structure. Plant out at 15 to 20cm spacing in double rows, late May. Pick every other day or the pods toughen up and the plant stops producing.

Sweetcorn needs 15 to 20 degrees to germinate. One seed per pot, sow a few extras because germination can be patchy. Plant out in blocks (not rows) at 45cm spacing for wind pollination. Each plant gives you one or two cobs. Fresh sweetcorn from the garden, cooked within an hour of picking, is a completely different vegetable to anything you have eaten from a shop.

Tomatoes need 18 to 21 degrees. Early April is the last realistic time to start from seed in most of the UK. If you have missed the window, buy young plants from a garden centre in May instead. Greenhouse-grown tomatoes are the safer bet in Britain - outdoor varieties work in a sheltered south-facing spot in the south but are unreliable further north.

Cucumbers go one seed per pot at 20 degrees. All-female hybrid varieties avoid the problem of bitter fruit. Like courgettes, do not start them too early - they grow fast once conditions are right and do not cope well with sitting in a cold house waiting to go out.

Squash and pumpkins follow the same approach as courgettes - one seed per pot, 20 degrees, plant out after last frost. Give them plenty of space - 90 to 120cm between plants. They sprawl. A single butternut squash plant can produce four to six fruits that store right through winter.

What can I plant straight into the ground in April?

Potatoes, onion sets, shallots, garlic, and asparagus crowns do not start from seed in April - they go in as sets, tubers, or transplants. These are some of the most productive crops you can grow and April is the key planting window for all of them.

Potatoes are the big April job. Second earlies go in during the first half of the month, maincrops in the second half. Plant tubers 12 to 15cm deep, 30cm apart for earlies, 40cm apart for maincrops, with 60 to 75cm between rows (RHS potato growing guide). Earth up as the foliage grows to stop tubers going green. A well-managed potato patch produces more food per square metre than almost anything else you can grow.

Onion sets pushed into the soil with the pointy end up, 10cm apart, 25cm between rows. Easier and more reliable than growing from seed. They will be ready to harvest and dry in August.

Shallot sets go in the same way as onions. Each set multiplies into a cluster of six to eight shallots by summer.

Garlic should ideally have gone in during autumn, but spring planting still works - the bulbs will be smaller. Push cloves in 5cm deep, 15cm apart.

Asparagus crowns planted in April will not give you a harvest this year, or next year. You need to leave them to establish for two full seasons before you start cutting. But from year three onwards, a well-maintained asparagus bed produces for 20 years (RHS asparagus guide). This is the longest game in the vegetable garden.

April sowing reference table

A quick-glance sowing chart for everything covered above. Depths and spacings based on RHS vegetable sowing recommendations.

Where should I start if this is my first year?

If this list looks overwhelming, it should not. You do not need to grow all of it. Pick four or five things that you actually eat, and do those well. Most experienced growers started with a handful of crops and built up over the years.

For a first April, the highest-return choices are:

• Potatoes - the most food for the least effort, stores for months

• Peas - nothing in a shop compares, and they are simple to grow

• Courgettes - one plant, dozens of harvests, very little to go wrong

• Perpetual spinach - sow it once, cut it for nine months

Everything else can wait until you have those down.

Keeping track of what you sow and when it actually produces is what turns a first season into something you can repeat and build on. myPatch gives you a straightforward way to log your beds, plan your sowings by month, and see what needs doing each day based on what you have planted and the weather where you are.

The best time to plant was yesterday. The second best time is today. If you are reading this in May or June, there is still plenty you can grow - check the relevant guide for what is still in season.