January
Order seed, chit early potatoes if you are in a mild area, and sow only the crops that truly need a long season.
For UK gardens
What to sow, plant and harvest
A month-by-month calendar for British gardens: what to sow under cover, what can go outside, and what you can harvest. Dates follow RHS and Gardeners' World guidance, not American frost charts.
This month
What to plant this month
Choose a month below. If JavaScript is available, this box switches to the current month on your device.
Month by month
Each month covers what to sow indoors, sow outdoors, plant out and harvest in UK conditions, plus the jobs that matter that month.
February
Start leeks, peas and broad beans under cover, keep sowing greenhouse tomatoes, and move strawberry pots inside for an early crop.
March
The first proper outdoor sowings: peas, broad beans, beetroot, carrots and salads, plus first early potatoes at the end of the month.
April
The busiest sowing month: roots and salads outside, courgettes and beans under cover, and potatoes in the ground.
May
Frost is the whole story. Sow tender crops outside only at the end of the month where you are mild enough, and keep sowing salads and roots.
June
Plant the last tender crops, sow little and often for late summer, and start the real harvest: potatoes, strawberries, beans and salads.
July
Sow spring cabbage and the last beetroot, keep the summer crops picked, and water anything that is flowering.
August
Sow winter salads, plant strawberries, and keep picking tomatoes, beans and sweetcorn while the summer crops are at their peak.
September
Sow winter leaves, move spring cabbage to its final spot, plant strawberries if you did not in August, and bring in the maincrop potatoes and tomatoes.
October
Plant garlic and overwintering onion sets, sow a hardy row of peas if you want an experiment, and finish lifting maincrop potatoes.
November
Sow broad beans in mild gardens, plant the last garlic and overwintering alliums, and harvest leeks and winter cabbage as you need them.
December
Plant garlic if you still have not, sow microgreens, and plan next year while you harvest leeks and winter cabbage.
Crops
Fifteen crops people in the UK search for most often. Open one for spacing, depth, a month chart and the problems worth watching.
Beetroot
Sow from late March or April through to July, pull roots from golf-ball size, and do not let them grow woody.
Sow March to JulyBroad beans
Sow in autumn in a mild garden, or from February to early May, and pick the pods while the scar is still pale.
Sow November or February to MayCabbage
Sow summer, autumn, winter and spring types at different times and you can cut a cabbage in every season.
Sow February to JulyCarrots
Sow little and often from early spring into July, cover the row against carrot fly, and pull them young.
Sow March to JulyCourgettes
Sow indoors in mid to late spring, plant out in early summer at least 90cm apart, and cut the fruits small.
Sow April to JuneGarlic
Plant cloves from mid-autumn into winter, or use a spring variety, and lift the bulbs when the leaves yellow.
Plant October to MarchLeeks
Sow in late winter or spring, plant into deep holes from mid-spring, and lift from late summer right through winter.
Sow February to AprilLettuce
Sow little and often from late March to late July, with earlier and later sowings under cover for spring and winter leaves.
Sow March to OctoberOnions
Plant sets in spring, or overwintering sets in autumn. Seed needs a mid-winter to mid-spring sowing if you want fat bulbs.
Sets in March, April or autumnPeas
Sow from March to June for a summer crop, with an earlier start under cover in February and a possible autumn sowing.
Sow March to JunePotatoes
Chit earlies from late winter, plant through spring, and lift new potatoes from June or maincrops from August.
Plant March to MayRunner beans
Sow indoors from mid-April, or outdoors once the soil is warm, and pick young pods every few days.
Sow April to JuneStrawberries
Plant in spring or in August and September, and pick summer varieties from early June into early August.
Plant August or SeptemberSweetcorn
Sow indoors in mid to late spring, plant out in a block after the last frost, and pick when the kernel juice is creamy.
Sow April and MayTomatoes
Sow under cover from February for a greenhouse, or March to early April for outdoors, and plant out only when nights are mild.
Sow February to AprilFrost moves the dates
A south-coast garden and a Highland garden are not on the same calendar. Tender crops such as tomatoes, courgettes and sweetcorn should wait until nights are reliably mild.