Vegetable planting calendar for UK gardens
What to sow and plant in a vegetable plot, month by month, taken from the RHS jobs lists. It starts under cover in January and ends with garlic in December.
Every date below comes from the RHS grow-your-own jobs pages. The RHS qualifies many of them with "mild areas", "light soil" or "south of England", and those qualifiers matter. Use the frost dates for your region to see when the last frost usually passes, and be guided by the weather, as the RHS advises.
Month by month at a glance
| Month | What the RHS lists |
|---|---|
| January | A month for planning and ordering seed potatoes. Under cover: Broad beans in pots in a cold frame (mild areas); lettuce, spinach, salad onions, turnips, summer cabbages and cauliflowers. |
| February | Outside: Garlic and shallots on light soil; on light, sandy soil in a mild area, broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, lettuce, radish. Under cover: From mid-month, tomato, chilli, cucumber and aubergine. |
| March | Outside: Peas, broad beans, maincrop onions, parsnips, turnips, kale, cabbages; onion, shallot and garlic sets; early potatoes. Under cover: Peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, celery, globe artichokes. |
| April | Outside: Beetroot, carrots, chard, lettuce, leeks, radish, peas, spring onions; second early potatoes first half, maincrop second half. Under cover: Courgettes, marrows, pumpkins and squash, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers. |
| May | Outside: Plant out hardened-off tomatoes and courgettes after the last frost; sow French and runner beans, squash, cucumbers, sweetcorn. Under cover: Cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli for next winter. |
| June | Outside: Beetroot, lettuce, pak choi, radish; French and runner beans, peas and sweetcorn before mid-June; calabrese, turnips, kohl rabi. Under cover: Peppers under cloches once frost has passed. |
| July | Outside: Spring cabbage, turnips, pak choi, chicory, fennel, winter salads; carrots under fleece; plant out leeks and brassicas. |
| August | Outside: In the south: summer lettuce, radish, rocket, spring cabbage, overwintering onions; plant out strawberry runners. |
| September | Outside: Spinach, winter lettuce, rocket; overwintering onion sets. |
| October | Outside: Garlic cloves; in mild areas overwintering broad beans and peas; a green manure such as winter field beans. |
| November | Outside: Garlic cloves in modules in a cold frame; overwintering broad beans in mild areas. |
| December | Outside: Shallots and garlic in mild areas with well-drained soil. Nothing to sow: December is for planning. |
January and February: under cover
January is for planning and early sowings. In mild areas sow broad beans in pots and keep them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse. Indoors, sow lettuce, spinach, salad onions, turnips and summer brassicas such as cabbages and cauliflowers. Onion seed needs a heated propagator. Get your seed potatoes now, and plan the rotation so the same crops don't return to the same bed.
In February, chit early seed potatoes as soon as you have them. From mid-month, sow tomato, chilli, cucumber and aubergine seed for the greenhouse. Garlic and shallots can go out in light soils only, because heavy soils take longer to warm. With light, sandy soil in a mild area, sow outside: broad beans, carrots, parsnips, early beetroot, salad onions, lettuce, radish, spinach and summer cabbages. Otherwise, wait until March or April. For a grower who lives in theirs until autumn, see our greenhouse gifts.
March: the first sowings outside
March is when the first outdoor sowings start. Cabbages, broccoli, cauliflowers, kale, corn salad, land cress, peas, broad beans, maincrop onions, parsnips and turnips can all go in. Plant onion, shallot and garlic sets, Jerusalem artichoke tubers and asparagus crowns. Chit early and maincrop potatoes.
Indoors, sow sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, celery, salads and globe artichokes. The warning is the useful part: be guided by the weather, and sow only if conditions suit.
April: it takes off
The RHS opens its April page by saying vegetable growing takes off. Plant second early potatoes in the first half of the month and maincrop potatoes in the second half. Sow outdoors in well-prepared soil: beetroot, carrots, Swiss chard, summer cauliflower, kohl rabi, lettuce, leeks, radish, turnips, spring and pickling onions, peas and perpetual spinach.
Indoors, sow marrows, courgettes, pumpkins and squash, as well as peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, celery, celeriac, salads and globe artichokes. In very mild areas, dwarf French beans and sweetcorn can go outside under cloches at the end of April. In cooler areas, wait until May. Sow a seedbed of brassicas now and the transplants will be ready for June or July.
May: after the last frost
The big job in May is planting out. Once all risk of frost has passed, tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins sown under cover can go outside. Other young plants follow once they've been hardened off for 10 to 14 days. Sow French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers and pumpkins directly into prepared beds, and cover tender seedlings if a late frost threatens.
Sweetcorn does best in blocks, at least 45cm apart, with two seeds per hole and the strongest seedling kept. This is also the month to sow cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli for next winter.
June: the last tender crops
June brings the last of the tender crops, including tomatoes and courgettes. Wait until all risk of frost has passed before planting peppers, and put them under cloches. Keep sowing beetroot, lettuce, pak choi and radish. Part shade suits leafy crops, because hot dry weather can make leaves bitter.
There's still time for French and runner beans, peas, squash, outdoor cucumbers and sweetcorn, which should go in before mid-June. Courgettes, marrows and pumpkins can still be sown in early June in southern England and south Wales. For an autumn crop, sow calabrese, turnips and kohl rabi.
If you're buying for a plot holder, our allotment gifts start with a print of their own plot.
July and August: salads and spring greens
In July, sow spring cabbage, turnips, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, tatsoi, mizuna, chicory, fennel and autumn and winter salads straight into the ground. Carrots can still go in, though you may need fleece against carrot fly. This is the last chance for French and runner beans, in the south of England only. Plant out leeks and brassicas for winter.
By August, the advice is mostly for the south. There you can sow fast salads such as summer lettuce, radish, rocket, sorrel, chicory and fennel. You can also carry on with spring cabbage, turnips, mizuna, mibuna, Chinese cabbage, pak choi and overwintering onions. Plant out rooted strawberry runners. If rain is forecast, sow a green manure such as crimson clover.
September and October: overwintering crops
In September, keep sowing for overwintering: spinach, winter lettuce, rocket and salad leaves. Plant overwintering onion sets, and protect them with fleece or netting, because birds peck newly planted sets out of the ground. Spring cabbages sown in July or August should be ready to plant out. Cover them against pigeons.
In October, plant garlic cloves, finish planting overwintering onion sets and plant out spring cabbages, with taut netting. In mild areas only, sow overwintering broad beans in place, and overwintering peas such as 'Douce Provence' or 'Meteor'. To protect and improve the soil, sow a green manure such as winter field beans or grazing rye.
November and December: garlic, broad beans and planning
In November, overwintering broad beans can be sown in mild areas, and garlic can be started in modules in a cold frame. Fruit trees and bushes go in this month too. The detail, with the rest of November's planting, is in what to plant in November.
December is quiet by design. Sowing stops. The RHS's seed-sowing guide says most months have vegetables to sow, but not December and January, which it leaves for planning ahead. Shallots and garlic still go in, in mild areas with well-drained soil. See what to plant in December for the garden beyond the plot. Our guide to pruning apple trees covers the rest of the winter's jobs.
Print the plot at its best
Plots change fast. Take the photograph when the rows are full and the beans are tall, then upload it and pick a size and finish.
If you're buying for someone with a plot, our allotment gifts and gardening gifts for men are good places to start. The Last Hour on the Plot is an allotment scene in evening light, and the beans, leeks and radishes have their own vegetable prints.
Sources
Garden art prints to go with it
Questions people ask
When to start planting fruit and veg in the UK?
Under cover from January. The RHS says to sow broad beans in pots in mild areas, and lettuce, spinach, salad onions and turnips indoors. Greenhouse tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers and aubergines start from mid-February, and the first outdoor sowings come in March.
What vegetables can I start growing in October?
The RHS lists garlic cloves, overwintering onion sets and spring cabbages to plant out. In mild areas you can also sow overwintering broad beans, and peas such as 'Douce Provence' or 'Meteor'.
When's the best time to plant a vegetable garden?
Outdoors, the RHS puts the first sowings in March, and says vegetable growing takes off in April. Tender crops such as tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins wait until all risk of frost has passed, which means May.