UK Planting Guide: What to Sow Each Month
Knowing when to sow is half the battle in a British garden. This month-by-month guide covers the best times to start common vegetables, herbs and salads — either indoors on a windowsill or direct into the ground outside.
The month-by-month sowing calendar
Times below suit most of southern and central England. If you garden in the north of England, Scotland or an exposed spot, sow roughly two to three weeks later in spring and harvest a little earlier in autumn. Always check the back of your seed packet for the variety you're growing.
| Month | Start indoors / under cover | Sow or plant outside |
|---|---|---|
| January | Chillies & aubergines (with heat), early onions and leeks, microgreens | Plant garlic and rhubarb crowns; broad beans in mild areas under cloches |
| February | Chillies, peppers, aubergines, early tomatoes, onions & leeks from seed, sweet peas | Broad beans, early peas, spinach and shallots — under cloches or fleece |
| March | Tomatoes, peppers, celery, celeriac, brassicas, leeks, basil | Plant early potatoes; sow carrots, parsnips, beetroot, peas, radish, salad and spinach |
| April | Courgettes, squash, sweetcorn, cucumbers, French & runner beans (late) | Plant maincrop potatoes; sow carrots, beetroot, lettuce, spring onions, peas, chard and leeks |
| May | Last sowings of tender crops; harden off plants ready to go out | After the last frost: French & runner beans, sweetcorn, courgettes, squash, pumpkins, beetroot, carrots and salad; plant out tomatoes and cucumbers late in the month |
| June | — | French & runner beans, beetroot, carrots, salad leaves, chard, kale, swede and peas; plant out leeks, brassicas, squash, sweetcorn and tomatoes |
| July | — | Salad leaves, carrots, beetroot, kohlrabi, turnips, oriental greens, parsley and spring cabbage (late) — the last chance for many crops |
| August | — | Salad leaves, spinach, rocket, oriental greens, winter lettuce, spring cabbage, turnips and green manures |
| September | Winter salad on a windowsill | Spinach, winter salad, oriental greens, spring cabbage (transplant); plant garlic and autumn onion sets late in the month |
| October | — | Plant garlic and overwintering onion sets; broad beans and hardy peas in mild areas; plant bare-root fruit |
| November | — | Plant garlic (until month end), bare-root fruit trees & bushes and rhubarb crowns; broad beans in mild areas |
| December | Microgreens; very early chillies (with heat) for a long season | Plant bare-root fruit trees & bushes; force rhubarb; order next year's seeds |
A few crops worth getting right
Tomatoes
Sow indoors February to April; plant out (or into a greenhouse) from late May once frost has passed. Too early and leggy seedlings sulk on a cold windowsill.
Carrots
Sow direct, little and often, from March to July for a long season. They don't like being transplanted, so sow where they'll grow.
Salad leaves
The easiest win: sow a short row every two to three weeks from March to September for non-stop cut-and-come-again leaves.
Garlic
Plant cloves in autumn (October–November) — it needs a cold spell to split into a full bulb. A spring planting gives smaller results.
🌱 Get the full UK sowing calendar
This is the quick version. For exact sow, plant-out and harvest windows for every vegetable, herb and fruit — tailored to the United Kingdom — head to our sister site, the complete UK planting calendar.
Open SowTimes — UK Planting Calendar →Grow some, buy the rest
Even keen growers can't grow everything. When your plot can't keep up — or for the things that are better bought than grown — local markets and farm shops are the freshest, most seasonal option. FreshToday helps you find both near you: