I find it interesting how many people say in April “I wanted a garden, but I missed the time to plant” and I am….no you haven’t. In growing zones 7 to 8, we won’t cross the last frost date till in April (for us it is April 15th). We have so much time left, if you use it wisely. But more so, planting a garden isn’t a one time thing – you can plant all season long, over and over. Or…you buy starts and pop them in the ground when it is time. If you missed planting tomatoes? There is no shame in buying up a number of fun starts (and honestly, if you want to grow 20 different types, but only one plant each? Just buy them. It is cheaper than buying seeds).
So don’t stress. The days are far longer, the daytime is warmer, and it’s time to get working. For us, we will cross 13 hours of daylight soon, far removed from the dark days of December when we had 8.5 hours of daylight.
Garden Tasks:
- Walk your beds/garden and look for dead plants or damaged ones to pull out or fix.
- Check fencing and fix as needed
- Plant onion sets if you have purchased them soon.
- Plant rhubarb roots and bare root asparagus and strawberries as soon as possible.
- Start potatoes.
- Weed beds.
- Lay down more wood chips in pathways if you do this.
- Clean out birdhouses, bird baths and bird feeders. Scrub them good.
- Feed existing fruit trees, blueberries and berry canes if you haven’t yet.
- Turn compost piles. Or start one!
- If you have small starts, pot them up as needed to the next size.
- Start putting starts for lettuce, kale, bok choy, and so on in the ground.
Seeds To Plant:
To see more on when to seed, and transplant, see here.
Below are seeds you can start in April and or are ready to transplant. The dates are not set in stone, it is a guide of what week may be most preferable to get them started. If you have a cold/wet spring, waiting a week or two more before seeding is smart.
Needless to say, the start of April is go time. And if you miss out and start seeding later? It’s OK for many crops. And for temperamental ones that bolt in heat you always can grow those as a fall crop, where they often fare better than in spring, if you miss the window, or late winter is too warm/cold.
What we are doing is using the last frost date as our guide, and backing up to figure out when to seed, be it inside, outdoors direct, or when to transplant your seedling you started inside.
So for Zone 8b, if the last frost date is April 15th, the dates going back:
- 1 week: April 8th
- 2 weeks: April 1st
Seed Chart
Beans
- Bush: 52-59 days, seed direct after last frost, start inside 2 weeks before last frost. Plant every 2 weeks in ground for continuous crops.
- Pole: 63-69 days, seed direct after last frost, start inside 2 weeks before last frost.
Beets
- 48-60 days, seed direct from March and on, every 2 weeks for continuous crops.
Cabbage
- 80 to 150 days, start in greenhouse 6 weeks before last frost, transplant 3 weeks before last frost date.
Cauliflower
- 75-85 days. Start in greenhouse 6-8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.
Carrots
- 65-70 days, seed direct in ground, starting a few weeks before last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks for continuous crops.
Celery
- 120 days, start in greenhouse 8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.
Corn
- Sweet Corn: 65-85 days, seed direct after last frost date.
- Popcorn: Same as above.
Cucumbers
- Pickling: 50-60 days, seed direct after last frost.
- Eating: 50-70 days, seed direct after last frost.
Greens
- Bok Choy: 44 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
- Kale: 50-70 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
- Spinach: 44 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost. (If too hot, grow for fall)
- Swiss Chard: 55 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
- Swiss Chard and Kale can be reseeded, directly, or in greenhouse, through the growing season.
Herbs
- Start in greenhouse, transplant or set outside after last frost.
Kohlrabi
- 60 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
Lettuce
- Romaine: 60-80 days, start in greenhouse 4 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.
- Other leaf lettuce: 30-45 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.
Onions
- Eating: 110 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after last frost. (We grow Walla Walla). If starting this late, I would suggest buying onion starts instead of seeds.
- Bunching: 75 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after last frost. Seed every 2 weeks for continuous crops. Bunching onions are green onions, and grow quickly so can be started from seed even in spring.
Parsnips
- 130 days, seed direct when seeding carrots.
Peas
- Dwarf: Seed directly before last frost. Direct seed after last frost for continuous crop till heat hits.
- Bush: 55-70 days, seed directly before last frost.
- Pole: 65-70 days, seed directly before last frost.
Peppers
- Hot: 70 days, Start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after. This late in the season you may want to consider using starts you buy, however seeds will grow quickly this time of year and often catch up.
- Sweet: 75 days, same as above.
- Ancho: 80 days, same as above.
Pumpkin
- Jack Be Little: 95 days, start seeds 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
- Regular Pumpkins: 90-120 days, start 2 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
Radishes
- 24-30 days, seed direct after last frost.
Rhubarb
- Start 8 to 12 weeks before last frost, in greenhouse. Transplant after last frost. Let establish before you harvest plants. A full year is the best.
Squash
- Summer Squash: 40-70 days, seed direct after last frost. If starting in greenhouse, 2 weeks before last frost.
- Butternut: 95 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.
- Winter Squash: 105-110 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.
Strawberry
- Alpine: Alpine plants produce ever bearing, for a fall crop from first year plants, start seeds in greenhouse before last frost. Slow germination is normal. Once last frost is passed, transplant to gallon pots, set outside to finish growing.
Tomatoes
- Dwarf: 60 days, start in greenhouse before last frost, or for bigger plants, up to 8 weeks. Transplant in first week of May. Seeds will grow quickly though in this time, so you can still plant in early April and they will catch up.
- Shorter Season: 48-68 days, same as above.
- Heirloom: 60-80 days, same as above.
Watermelon
- 80+ days, seed direct after last frost.
~Sarah