What to plant in April in United Kingdom
16 vegetables, fruits and herbs to sow or plant in April in United Kingdom, for the climate around Cambridge area, eastern England (52°N, 0°).
Climate: Cool temperate climate with frosts from roughly October to April, a mild wet winter, a dry spring and early summer, and warm but rarely hot summers, so crops need sowing after the last frost and benefit from protection in early spring.
Vegetables
Lettuce Lactuca sativa
Quick cool-season leaves that sow in succession from spring to early autumn and tolerate the mild British summers.
Harvest: 45–60 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Carrot Daucus carota
Light, free-draining soil and cool summers produce sweet roots, and short varieties suit containers.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Potato Solanum tuberosum
Chitted tubers planted after the last frost yield well in English soils and grow happily in bags.
Harvest: 90–120 daysEasyIn pots
Beetroot Beta vulgaris
Tolerates cool weather and light frosts, so it can be sown over a long season.
Harvest: 55–70 daysEasyIn pots
Spinach Spinacia oleracea
Thrives in the cool spring and autumn and resists the local frosts without protection.
Harvest: 40–50 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Broad bean Vicia faba
Hardy seedlings sown in late winter crop in early summer and are very reliable in the UK.
Harvest: 90–120 daysEasy
Onion Allium cepa
Sets planted in spring mature in the long days of summer and store well.
Harvest: 120–150 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Pea Pisum sativum
Cool spring weather suits it, and dwarf varieties fit a sunny balcony.
Harvest: 60–80 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Radish Raphanus sativus
The fastest crop in the garden, sown repeatedly through the growing season.
Harvest: 25–35 daysEasyIn pots
Leek Allium ampeloprasum
Hardy enough to stand the winter frosts and harvested from autumn into spring.
Harvest: 120–160 daysModerate
Fruits
Strawberry Fragaria × ananassa
Hardy perennial plants set out in spring fruit well in the cool summers and suit hanging baskets.
Harvest: 1 yearEasyIn potsCare guide →
Herbs
Chives Allium schoenoprasum
Fully hardy perennial that comes back every spring and grows happily in pots on a balcony.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Parsley Petroselinum crispum
Tolerates cool weather and light frost and keeps producing leaves through the season.
Harvest: 70–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Mint Mentha spicata
Very hardy perennial that spreads vigorously in the damp, cool English climate.
Harvest: 60–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →
Thyme Thymus vulgaris
Hardy enough for winter cold, and the dry spring and early summer suit its Mediterranean needs in a sunny, well-drained spot.
Harvest: 90–120 daysModerateIn potsCare guide →
Sage Salvia officinalis
A hardy, drought-tolerant perennial that handles the dry late spring and summers well.
Harvest: 75–90 daysEasyIn potsCare guide →