What to plant each month: a UK gardening calendar
Knowing when to plant is half the battle in a UK garden. This month-by-month guide gives you the headline jobs (what to sow, what to plant out, and what you'll be harvesting), so you're always working with the seasons, not against them.
Short answer: March to May is for sowing and planting out, June to August for quick successional crops and harvesting, September to November for overwintering veg and spring bulbs, and December to February for planning, bare-root planting and forcing. The month-by-month detail is below.
🌱 Spring (March to May)
March
The season wakes up. Sow hardy veg like broad beans, peas, carrots, beetroot and salad leaves outdoors under cover. Start tomatoes, chillies and aubergines on a warm windowsill indoors. Plant onion sets, shallots and early potatoes (chit them first).
April
A busy month. Sow beetroot, leeks, lettuce, radish, spinach and herbs. Plant maincrop potatoes. Sow hardy annual flowers directly where they'll grow. Keep an eye out for late frosts and protect tender seedlings.
May
After the last frost, harden off and plant out tender crops: tomatoes, courgettes, beans, pumpkins and sweetcorn. Sow French and runner beans direct. Everything's growing fast now, so keep on top of weeds and watering. Start harvesting asparagus, rhubarb and early salads.
☀️ Summer (June to August)
Season guide: What to plant in summer (UK).
June
Plant out any remaining tender veg. Sow quick crops like salad, beetroot and carrots for a steady supply. Pinch out tomato side-shoots and keep beds well watered. Strawberries, early potatoes and broad beans are ready to pick.
July
Peak harvest begins: courgettes, beans, cucumbers, early tomatoes, currants and raspberries. Keep sowing salad and sow spring cabbage for next year. Water containers daily in hot spells and feed fruiting crops weekly.
August
Gluts everywhere. Pick courgettes and beans regularly to keep them producing. Harvest tomatoes, sweetcorn, onions and the first apples and plums. Sow over-wintering salads and Oriental greens. A perfect time to sell or swap your surplus.
Full guide: What to plant in August (UK).
🍂 Autumn (September to November)
Season guide: What to plant in autumn (UK).
September
The harvest rolls on: maincrop potatoes, squash, beans, apples and pears. Sow over-wintering broad beans, garlic and hardy salad leaves. Plant spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils and crocus.
Full guide: What to plant in September (UK).
October
Lift and store maincrop potatoes and squashes before the frosts. Plant garlic and onion sets for next year. Hold your tulips back until November, though, colder soil reduces the risk of tulip fire. Clear spent crops and start adding compost or mulch to empty beds.
Full guide: What to plant in October (UK).
November
The garden winds down. Plant bare-root fruit trees and bushes while they're dormant. Harvest leeks, parsnips, kale, Brussels sprouts and winter cabbage. Tidy up, but leave some seed heads for the birds, and this is the month for tulips.
Full guide: What to plant in November (UK).
❄️ Winter (December to February)
December
A quiet month: harvest hardy winter veg like sprouts, parsnips, leeks and kale. Plan next year's beds, order seeds, and clean and sharpen your tools. Protect tender plants from hard frosts.
January
The gardener's planning month. Browse seed catalogues, chit nothing yet but get organised, and sow a few early crops like onions and chillies indoors with warmth. Force rhubarb for an early treat.
February
The first stirrings of spring. Chit seed potatoes on a bright windowsill. Sow broad beans, early salads and tomatoes under cover. Prune apple and pear trees while dormant. Cut back to make room for the new season.
Planting calendar questions
What is the best month to start planting in the UK?
March, for most crops. The soil is warming, day length is increasing, and almost everything can be sown either indoors or under cover. September is the underrated second option: warm soil and a whole set of overwintering crops that crop weeks earlier than anything sown the following spring.
What can I plant right now?
It depends on the month, which is what the calendar above is for. As a rule of thumb: if it is spring, sow almost anything; if it is summer, sow fast crops and salads; if it is autumn, plant onion sets, garlic, spring bulbs and bare-root stock; if it is winter, plant bare-root trees and plan. Each season links through to a fuller guide.
Does the planting calendar change depending on where I live in the UK?
Yes, and it matters more than most calendars admit. Southern and city gardens run roughly two weeks ahead, and northern or exposed sites two weeks behind. Your own last-frost date is the number that actually governs when tender crops go out, so treat every month here as a guide rather than a deadline.
What months can you not plant anything in the UK?
There is no such month. December and January are the quietest, but they are prime time for bare-root trees, roses and hedging, for garlic in mild areas, and for forcing rhubarb. If the ground is frozen solid or waterlogged, wait for it to change rather than planting into it.
When is the last frost in the UK?
Broadly mid-May in the south and late May to early June in the north, but it varies a lot by year and by site. This is the date that decides when tomatoes, courgettes, beans, pumpkins and sweetcorn can go outside, so it is worth knowing your local one rather than a national average.
Never miss the right moment 📅
GROW builds a planting calendar around your garden and location, then nudges you when it's time to sow, plant and harvest each crop. Join the waitlist to grow in sync with the seasons.
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