A vegetable sowing calendar for England starts with indoor sowings in late winter, opens the bed for outdoor sowing in March, peaks from April to July, and ends with garlic planted from October to December. Tender crops such as tomatoes, beans, courgettes and cucumbers go outside only once frost risk has passed, which the RHS puts between the first half of May on the south coast and early June in north-east England.

Illustration of one raised bed shown across the seasons, from spring seedlings through summer crops to winter leeks
IllustrationA raised bed changes through the year: seedlings in spring, tender crops in summer, hardy crops standing through winter.

This page gives you the whole year in one place: a month-by-month summary with links to each month's guide, then a crop-by-crop table showing when to sow indoors, when each crop goes into the bed and when to expect a harvest. The bed months are the England-wide windows Sowstory plans with; the indoor and harvest timings come from the same knowledge base and from the RHS.

What to sow each month: the year at a glance

Use this as your vegetable planting guide by month. Each month links to a fuller page with jobs and what not to sow yet.

  • January: indoor sowings only for most gardens. The RHS lists onion seed in a heated propagator and early lettuce, spinach, salad onions, turnips, summer cabbage and cauliflower in seed compost. Buy seed potatoes.
  • February: greenhouse tomatoes, chillies, cucumbers and aubergines from mid-month, and peas in guttering under cover. Chit early seed potatoes. Outdoor sowing only on light soil in mild areas.
  • March: the bed opens. Sowstory plans 15 crop profiles to start this month, including early carrots, radish, lettuce, spinach, chard, peas, broad beans, parsnips, onion sets and first early potatoes.
  • April: beetroot, turnips, short-rooted carrots, second early and maincrop potatoes, and herbs such as parsley, coriander and dill join the list.
  • May: leeks, kale, cabbage, calabrese, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and celery go in as transplants; runner and climbing French beans follow once frost risk has passed.
  • June: the tender crops: outdoor tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, dwarf French beans, basil, peppers and chillies.
  • July: keep sowing salads and roots; sprouting broccoli goes in for next spring.
  • August: last sowings of radish, lettuce, spinach, rocket, spring onions, turnips and pak choi.
  • September: annual spinach is the only crop Sowstory starts in the bed; the RHS adds winter lettuce, rocket and green manures.
  • October: plant garlic. The RHS also lists overwintering broad beans in mild areas and spring cabbages.
  • November: garlic, and overwintering broad beans in mild areas on well-drained soil (RHS).
  • December: garlic and shallots in mild areas with well-drained soil. The RHS lists no vegetable sowing.

What vegetables to plant now

If you are reading this in the middle of a month, open that month's page above. If the month is nearly over, read the next one as well: sowing windows overlap, and in the north, inland or on high ground, sowings often run later than the month suggests.

Vegetable sowing calendar by crop

How to read the tables below:

  • Sow indoors means sowing in pots, modules or a separate nursery bed, under cover where the window says so. A dash means Sowstory plans the crop as a direct sowing (or as planted sets, tubers or cloves).
  • In the bed is the month or months Sowstory lets the crop start in your raised bed in England, by sowing direct or planting out.
  • Harvest is the knowledge base's harvest window or, where it has none, the RHS timing.

Roots

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Carrot (early)–March–JulyAbout 12–16 weeks after sowing (RHS)
Short-rooted carrot–April–JulyJune–October
Beetroot–April–JulySummer–autumn; usually 50–60 days (RHS)
Parsnip–March–MayOctober–February
Radish–March–AugustAbout 4–6 weeks after sowing; longer for early sowings (RHS)
Baby turnip–April–AugustSmall roots in about 6–10 weeks
KohlrabiModules, for May–June plantingMarch–JulyJune–November

Salads and leaves

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Loose-leaf lettuce–March–AugustAbout 4–6 weeks (RHS)
Head lettuce–March–AugustAbout 10–14 weeks (RHS)
Salad rocket–March–May, AugustFrom about 4–6 weeks
Annual spinach–March–May, August–SeptemberBaby leaves in about a month, mature in about two (RHS)
Chard–March–JulyPickings for several months (RHS)
Pak choi–May–AugustJune–October

Onion family

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Spring onion–March–AugustAbout two months after sowing (RHS)
Onion sets–March–AprilWhen the foliage yellows and topples (RHS)
Garlic–October–DecemberLate spring to early summer (RHS)
LeekMarch–May in a nurseryMay–JuneNovember–February

Potatoes

CropBefore plantingIn the bedHarvest
First early potatoChit from late January in milder areas, by early March in colder ones (RHS)March–AprilJune–July (RHS)
Second early potatoChit from late winterAprilJuly–August
Maincrop potatoNo chitting neededMid April–early MayAugust–October

Peas and beans

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Dwarf pea–March–JuneAbout 12 weeks to first picking
Mangetout–March–June, once soil reaches about 10°CJune–October
Dwarf broad bean–March–AprilJune–August
Dwarf French bean–JuneFirst pods in about 7–10 weeks
Runner beanApril–MayMay–June (or sow direct mid-May–July)July–October
Climbing French beanLate AprilMay–June (or sow direct late May–July)July–October

Tender fruiting crops

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Outdoor cordon tomatoMarch–AprilJune, once nights stay warmJuly–October
Outdoor bush tomatoAprilJune, after frostSummer–October
Outdoor cucumberLate AprilEarly June, nights above about 12°CJuly–October
Courgette–June, direct sownSummer–October
Outdoor sweet pepperLate March–AprilJune, nights above 12°CAugust–early autumn
Outdoor chilliFebruary–April at about 21°CEarly JuneAugust–October

Brassicas

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
Compact summer cabbageMarch–May in modules or a seedbedMay–JuneJune–September
CalabreseMarch–MayMay–JuneJuly–November
Summer/autumn cauliflowerJanuary–JuneMay–JuneJuly–October
Curly kaleMarch–May in a nurseryMay–JuneSeptember through winter
Standard kaleMarch–MayMay–JuneSeptember–March
Brussels sproutsFebruary–MayMaySeptember–February
Sprouting broccoliMarch–MayJuly–AugustFebruary–May the following year

Herbs and celery

CropSow indoorsIn the bedHarvest
ParsleyOptional, April–JuneApril–JuneMay–November
ChivesMarch–MayApril–MayMay–November
Coriander (leaf)Optional, April–JuneApril–JuneMay–October
Dill (leaf)–April–JuneMay–October
BasilMarch–MayJune, nights above 10°CJune–October
Self-blanching celeryMarch–April at about 15°CMay–JuneMidsummer to autumn, before frost
Diagram of the year as a ring of twelve segments, with coloured bands for indoor sowing, sowing in the bed and harvesting
DiagramThe vegetable year in England: indoor sowing from late winter, the main bed season from March to August, harvests running from early summer into winter.

When to plant vegetables in England: what moves the dates

The months above are planning windows for the whole of England, not dates for your street. Four things shift them:

  • Where you are. The Met Office says the average last air frost often comes before the end of April in the south and on coasts, but well into May in the north and on higher ground. Southern and coastal gardens can usually start a little earlier.
  • Frost and tender crops. The RHS puts the first safe planting-out time for tender crops at the first to second half of May on the south-west tip and south coast, the second half of May in southern England, the end of May in the Midlands, north-west England and Yorkshire, and early June in north-east England. Our guide to the last frost in your area explains how to judge your own site.
  • Soil temperature. Some seeds wait for warm soil, whatever the month says. The RHS says to sow beetroot once the soil is at least 7°C, and peas once it is about 10°C.
  • Your microclimate. The RHS says sheltered, urban or coastal sites can plant out tender crops 1–2 weeks earlier, and exposed, rural or high sites should wait 1–3 weeks longer. Frost pockets, where cold air pools at the bottom of a slope, are colder still.

Raised bed vegetable planting calendar: making one bed last the year

A raised bed calendar is about space as well as months. Some crops are quick: Sowstory reserves about eight weeks of bed space for a batch of radishes and ten weeks for loose-leaf lettuce. Others stay for most of a year: autumn-planted garlic holds its rows for about 36 weeks, and winter leeks and kale for about 40.

That difference is what lets one bed crop for longer. A few patterns that fit the windows above:

  • Quick crops in gaps. Radish, loose-leaf lettuce and spring onions can be sown from March to August, so a short row can fill space that a later crop will need.
  • Early crop, then a winter crop. First early potatoes planted in March or April are lifted in June or July (RHS), and sprouting broccoli goes into the bed in July or August for a harvest the following spring.
  • Autumn garlic. Garlic planted from October to December uses the bed over winter. Leave room for it when you plan the summer: see when to plant garlic.

Spacing matters as much as timing. The vegetable spacing chart gives the row and plant gaps, and the raised bed layout guide shows how to fit tall crops on the north edge so they do not shade the rest.

Working out which crops fit together, and when each part of the bed is free, is fiddly on paper. Sowstory lays out your bed to scale, tells you how many plants or rows fit, and gives you a month-by-month timing plan with succession where it is supported. It is coming soon to the App Store, and your first bed plan is free.

What this calendar does not cover

  • Crops Sowstory does not plan yet. Sweetcorn, squash and pumpkins, strawberries and trailing cucumbers are left out of the tables, even where the RHS month lists mention them.
  • Greenhouse growing. The windows are for outdoor raised beds. Greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers are sown earlier; the RHS lists them from mid-February.
  • Your exact dates. Sowstory's timing is England-wide. It is not adjusted for your postcode's local climate and it does not give a frost date for your address, so you still judge the soil and the weather.

Sources