What to Plant in April USA

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What to plant in April in the USA depends entirely on your zone — this page answers it for every band. April is the main transplanting month in the mild band and the main direct sowing month in the cold band. Sow peas, carrots, beets and greens outdoors, harden off transplants, and plant tomatoes out only where the last frost has genuinely passed.

SoilCommander Editorial Team

USA vegetable growing guides · Checked against USDA and Cooperative Extension guidance

Every USA growing guide is written and maintained by our editorial team for real US growing conditions, and checked against USDA hardiness and frost-date data and Cooperative Extension growing advice before publication.

Apr-Jun

Last frost across the cold band

60F

Soil minimum for tomatoes and beans

7-10 days

Hardening off before transplanting

April planting by region

Band	Sow outdoors	Start indoors	Plant out	Harvest now
Cold band USDA zones 3-5	Peas, spinach, radish, carrots, lettuce, onions, potatoes.	Cucurbits, a second round of brassicas.	Brassica transplants, onion sets late month.	Overwintered greens; first radish and spring onions.
Mild band USDA zones 6-7	Beans late month, carrots, beets, chard, succession lettuce.	Melons and winter squash for later planting.	Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant after the last frost.	Asparagus, radish, lettuce, spinach, early peas.
Hot band USDA zones 8-10	Heat-tolerant beans, southern peas, okra, melons, sweet corn.	Little — the indoor window has closed.	Sweet potato slips.	Harvest spring crops fast before heat ruins them; mulch heavily.

April garden jobs

Harden off every transplant over 7-10 days before it goes in the ground.
Mulch beds once soil has warmed to hold moisture and slow weeds.
Set up irrigation before you need it, especially west of the 100th meridian.
Weed while weeds are small — April weeding saves June work.
Record actual planting dates; they are the basis of next year's plan.

Common April mistakes

Transplanting tender crops before nights hold above 50F, which stunts them permanently even if they survive.
Mulching cold soil, which insulates it and delays warming.
Sowing an entire packet of lettuce at once instead of succession sowing.
In the hot band, starting anything cool-season — it will bolt.

Turn April's jobs into a written plan. The USA Vegetable Garden Planner (printable PDF) has frost-date planning pages, bed layouts, crop rotation, a sowing log and a harvest tracker — 74 printable pages.

More USA planting guides

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I plant tomatoes outside?

One to two weeks after your average last frost, once night temperatures are reliably above 50F and soil has reached 60F. In most of the mild band that is April; in the cold band, May or early June.

What can I direct sow in April?

Peas, carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, spinach, chard and onions in the cold and mild bands. In the hot band, switch to beans, okra, southern peas and corn.

Should I mulch in April?

Only after the soil has warmed. Mulching too early keeps soil cold and delays root growth on warm-season crops.

Last updated 25 August 2026

Relevant next steps

Turn This Month's Jobs Into A Plan

Month-by-month advice works best when it becomes a written sowing list, bed plan, and follow-up task list.

Printable garden plannerRecord this month's sowing dates, crop rotation, and bed tasks. Seed starting setupChoose trays, labels, compost, and indoor sowing tools before you start. Full planting calendarCompare this month with the rest of the UK growing year.

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.

Get Planner

What to Plant in April USA