North of England Gardening Guide UK
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North UK Gardening Guide
Northern England, Scotland, and upland areas have a shorter season and later frosts. Here's how to grow a productive vegetable garden in the UK's north.
Growing advice verified against RHS guidance by the SoilCommander Growing Team.
Timing Adjustments for the North
| Crop | South England | North/Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes (plant out) | Late May | June (under cover preferred) |
| Courgettes (plant out) | Late May | Early June |
| Runner beans (plant out) | Late May | Early–mid June |
| Garlic (plant) | October–November | October (earlier preferred) |
| First early potatoes | Mid-March | Late March–April |
Best Strategies for Northern Gardeners
- Start more indoors: extend your effective season by starting tender crops under heat 6–8 weeks before the last frost
- Use a polytunnel or cloches: the single biggest upgrade for northern gardeners; extends the season by 4–6 weeks at both ends
- Choose fast-maturing varieties: look for short-season varieties of tomatoes (e.g. Sungold, Gardener’s Delight), squash, and sweetcorn
- Focus on hardy crops: kale, leeks, chard, and Brussels sprouts thrive in northern conditions; don’t fight the climate
- Fleece is essential: keep horticultural fleece on hand for unexpected late frosts into June
Frost nights and planting-out time
How many nights a month have an air frost (the air falls below 0 °C), on Met Office 1991–2020 averages. The RHS’s typical first safe time to plant out tender crops here is the end of May in north-west England and Yorkshire, and early June in north-east England; the last spring air frost usually comes two to four weeks before that, and exposed or high sites run one to three weeks later, sheltered town and coastal gardens one to two weeks earlier.
| Area (Met Office 1991–2020) | Air-frost nights, April | May | October | November | Per year | Yearly rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England N (region) | 3.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 5.2 | 51 | 986 mm |
| North-East & eastern England | 3.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 52 | 793 mm |
| Durham | 3.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 47 | 676 mm |
England N averages about 51 air-frost nights a year against 42 for England S, and nearly one frost night in an average May.
Month by month
The main sowings and plantings each month, from our UK month guides:
- January: Plant outdoors: Bare-root fruit
- February: Sow indoors: Tomatoes; Sow indoors: Chillies, cucumbers, aubergines; Sow in guttering in the greenhouse: Peas
- March: Sow outdoors: Broad beans, peas, parsnips, turnips, maincrop onions, brassicas, kale, corn salad, land cress; Sow outdoors: Carrots, beetroot, lettuce, radish, spinach, leeks, chard, kohl rabi; Plant: Onion , shallot and garlic sets
- April: Plant: Second early potatoes; Plant: Maincrop potatoes; Sow outdoors: Carrots, beetroot, lettuce, peas, leeks, radish, chard, turnips, kohl rabi, spring onions, perpetual spinach
- May: Sow outdoors: French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins; Sow outdoors in blocks: Sweetcorn; Plant out: Tomatoes, courgettes, pumpkins
- June: Plant out: Tomatoes, courgettes, sweet peppers, ridge cucumbers, winter brassicas; Sow outdoors: French and runner beans, peas, squash, outdoor cucumbers; Sow outdoors in a block: Sweetcorn
- July: Sow outdoors: Spring cabbage, turnips, pak choi, Chinese cabbage, tatsoi, mizuna, chicory, fennel , winter salads; Sow outdoors: Carrots; Sow outdoors: French beans , runner beans
- August: Sow: Spring cabbage, turnips, mizuna, mibuna, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, overwintering onions; Sow: Radish, rocket , lettuce, chicory, sorrel, fennel; Sow: Spinach , corn salad, chard , kohl rabi
- September: Plant: Overwintering onion sets; Plant: Garlic; Sow: Spinach, winter lettuce, rocket , salad leaves
- October: Plant cloves outdoors: Garlic; Plant sets outdoors: Onion sets (overwintering); Sow where they will grow: Broad beans
- November: Plant cloves outdoors, or in modules in a cold frame: Garlic; Sow outside or under cloches; in cold areas, sow in pots under unheated glass: Broad beans; Sow to overwinter, in covered containers: First early peas
- December: Plant cloves: Garlic; Plant sets with the tip just showing: Shallots; Plant: Bare-root fruit trees and bushes
Crop guides to start with
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Broad beans
- Peas
- Carrots
- Beetroot
- Lettuce
- Runner beans
- Courgettes
- Tomatoes
- Leeks
- Kale
- Brussels sprouts
- Parsnips
See also the UK sowing calendar by region (269 crops) and regional gardening in the UK.
References
- Met Office: location-specific long-term averages, 1991–2020
- RHS: When to plant out tender plants – avoiding late frosts
Frost and rainfall figures are the Met Office’s published averages; planting-out timings are the RHS’s. The month notes summarise our UK month guides, which follow the RHS monthly jobs. Checked 24 October 2026.
See also: South of England Gardening Guide · Scotland Gardening Guide · UK Regional Gardening
Last updated 22 July 2026
Match The Season To The Work
Seasonal jobs come down to timing, soil care, and keeping a simple record of what needs doing next.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.