What to plant in April in Zone 5

Start indoors this month

Seed trays indoors, under a light or in the brightest window you have. These are slow crops that need a head start on the season.

• Cherry Tomato — window Mar 19 – Apr 2 (5 gal, 12" deep)
• Loose-leaf Lettuce — window Apr 2 – Apr 16 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Basil — window Mar 19 – Apr 2 (2 gal, 8" deep)
• Kale — window Mar 26 – Apr 9 (3 gal, 10" deep)
• Bush Cucumber — window Apr 9 – Apr 23 (5 gal, 12" deep)
• Zucchini — window Apr 9 – Apr 23 (7 gal, 14" deep)
• Spinach — window Apr 2 – Apr 16 (2 gal, 6" deep)

Set out into the final container

Transplants go into the pot they will finish in. Hardening them off for four to five days first prevents most transplant shock.

• Loose-leaf Lettuce — window Apr 30 – May 10 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Kale — window Apr 16 – Apr 26 (3 gal, 10" deep)
• Strawberry — window Apr 2 – Apr 12 (2 gal, 8" deep)
• Spinach — window Apr 9 – Apr 19 (2 gal, 6" deep)

Direct sow

Sow straight into the final pot. These crops resent root disturbance, and transplanting them usually costs more time than it saves.

• Loose-leaf Lettuce — window Apr 9 – Apr 30 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Radish — window Apr 9 – Apr 30 (1 gal, 6" deep)
• Kale — window Apr 16 – May 7 (3 gal, 10" deep)
• Spinach — window Apr 2 – Apr 23 (2 gal, 6" deep)
• Carrot — window Apr 16 – May 7 (3 gal, 12" deep)

Sow for autumn

A second sowing timed backwards from first frost. Fewer pests, less watering, and better flavour in most cool crops.

No autumn sowing window opens this month in this zone.

Harvesting this month

Nothing from our dataset is in its harvest window this month here.

Not this month

Everything in the dataset is either in an active window or already finished for the year. Nothing is badly timed this month.