What to do in the garden in April
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Zone 1
❄️ Zone 1 · Min −51 °C · Northern Alaska, Yakutsk, Siberian far north. Almost no outdoor growing season.
- 🌱 Start squash and cucumbers indoors (last chance)
- 🔧 Repair cold frames; lay black plastic to warm soil
- ❄️ Frost still certain — no outdoor planting yet
- 🌿 Pot up seedlings into larger containers
Zone 2
🥶 Zone 2 · Min −45 °C · Interior Alaska, Northern Canada, Norilsk.
- 🌱 Start squash, cucumbers indoors
- 🔧 Lay black plastic mulch to warm outdoor beds
- ❄️ Soil still frozen — no outdoor planting yet
- 🌿 Pot up tomatoes and peppers into larger pots
Zone 3
🌨 Zone 3 · Min −40 °C · Winnipeg, Northern Minnesota, Surgut. Very short season (90–120 days).
- 🌱 Start brassicas, lettuce, basil indoors
- 🥬 Transplant lettuce and spinach to cold frame
- 🫛 Direct sow spinach, peas outdoors late month
- 🌾 Sow phacelia under cover as early pollinator crop
Zone 4
🌧 Zone 4 · Min −34 °C · Minneapolis, Calgary, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg. Season ≈ 140 days.
- 🌱 Start brassicas, basil, squash indoors
- 🫛 Direct sow spinach, peas outdoors (soil ≥ 2 °C)
- 🥬 Transplant lettuce to cold frame
- 🌾 Sow field peas as early cover crop
Zone 5
🌥 Zone 5 · Min −29 °C · Chicago, Montreal, Moscow, Helsinki. Season ≈ 160 days.
- 🌱 Start brassicas and basil indoors
- 🫛 Direct sow spinach, peas, radishes outdoors
- 🥬 Transplant lettuce to cold frame
- 🌾 Sow phacelia as early pollinator cover crop
Zone 6
⛅ Zone 6 · Min −23 °C · Denver, Toronto, Warsaw, Oslo, Kyiv. Season ≈ 180 days.
- 🌱 Start squash and cucumbers indoors
- 🫛 Direct sow beets, carrots, radishes outdoors
- 🥬 Transplant onion seedlings outdoors
- 🥔 Plant potatoes late month if soil ≥ 7 °C
Zone 7
🌤 Zone 7 · Min −18 °C · New York, Berlin, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Seoul. Long season ≈ 200 days.
- 🍅 Transplant tomatoes, peppers, brassicas
- 🌽 Direct sow beans, corn, squash outdoors
- 🌿 Interplant companions; mulch all beds
- 💧 Set up irrigation before summer heat
Zone 8
☀️ Zone 8 · Min −12 °C · Seattle, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Amsterdam. Near year-round growing.
- 🍅 Transplant tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers
- 🌽 Direct sow beans, corn, squash
- 🌿 Mulch all beds; interplant flowers
- 💧 Begin irrigation schedule
Zone 9
🌞 Zone 9 · Min −7 °C · London, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nantes, Rome, Madrid. Year-round outdoor growing.
- 🌽 Summer garden in full swing
- 💧 Mulch deeply; begin regular irrigation
- 🥬 Final harvest of cool crops before heat
- 🌾 Sow cowpeas as summer cover crop/nitrogen fixer
Zone 10
🌴 Zone 10 · Min −1 °C · Nice, Lisbon, Athens, Southern California, Southern Florida. Subtropical.
- 🌽 Summer crops established; succession sow
- 💧 Mulch deeply; begin irrigation schedule
- 🥬 Last harvest of cool-season crops
- 🌾 Sow cowpeas as summer nitrogen fixer
Zone 11
🌺 Zone 11 · Min +4 °C · Hawaii, Hong Kong, tropical coasts. True tropics, frost-free year-round.
- ☔ Rainy season prep — mulch heavily
- 🌴 Plant drought-tolerant perennials before wet season
- 🌿 Sow fast crops between guilds
- 🏆 Harvest tropical roots and fruits
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