Growing Calendar: Monthly Sowing Guide

It’s true that growing your own vegetables and fruits will help you to save more money — and will eventually promote health as the veggies and fruits grown in your garden are packed with nutrients, proteins, and vitamins.

But by doing so — whether you’re planting them directly outside in the ground or indoors — it is vital to know the following down below:   

• The right time to plant fruits and vegetables,
• and the perfect time to harvest the crops when they’re at the peak of their tenderness and taste.

So, if you’re planning to grow your own but don’t know when to start sowing and harvesting your crops, our growing calendar guide will help you to remember all those little things, making your year in the garden a very productive one!

January

Prepare your fruits and vegetable seedlings, purchase fertiliser, sprays, and pots. Garden centres often have sales in January, so make sure to take advantage of it so you can save money!

Tip: It’s best to take your gardening activities indoor if the weather is wet. 

If you have a greenhouse, get clean labels and get the pots ready for sowing. Also, ensure to check if your propagator and heater are working, considering the cold weather for this month.

As for the type of crops you can plant, Brussels sprouts cabbages and leeks are ideal as soon as the soil is clear. You can opt for potatoes too!

February

This month might be the tail end of winter but keep in mind that spring is only around the corner. Here are the fruits and vegetables to sow and grow this month:

In trays or pots somewhere warm:

• Peas
• Winter salads and Oriental greens
• Onions in modules
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Aubergines

Note: Tomatoes, peppers and aubergines need to be planted somewhere warm and light to grow on.

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

Winter salads and Oriental greens such as:

• Mizuna
• Mibuna
• Mustard greens
• Pak choi
• Mispooona
• Komatsuna
• Winter varieties of lettuce
• Land cress

February is a perfect time to plant these following fruits:

• Raspberry cranes and blackberries (if the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged.)
• Redcurrants, whitecurrants, blackcurrants, and gooseberries (only if the soil conditions are right.)
• Bare-root strawberry plants
• Stone fruit trees like peaches, apricots, and nectarines
• Rhubarb crowns (plant them in a sunny position and well-drained soil.)

March/April

By mid-March, depending on where you live, the soil may begin to warm up. However, in other places, it may still be frozen solid. 

On the other hand, vegetable growing takes off by April. So ensure to chit and plant out second early potatoes in the first half of the month. April is the perfect time to sow seed outdoors in well-prepared soil.

Here’s what you can plant outdoors depending on the weather and your soil conditions:

• Root crops, including the first sowing of turnips, carrots, beetroot, and parsnips.
• Leeks
• Swiss chard & leaf beet
• Radishes and spring onions
• The first sowing of summer salads (lettuces, cress, radishes, endive, rocket, etc.)
• Brassica crops (for the summer)
• Kale (Winter)
• Cabbages (Summer)
• Brussels sprout
• Purple sprouting broccoli
• Calabrese
• Cauliflowers

In trays or pots somewhere warm:

• Tomatoes, peppers, and aubergines (ideally by the end of the month.)
• Celery
• Squashes, cucumbers, melons, and courgettes

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

• Summer salads
• Herbs such as basil, coriander, and parsley
• French beans

May

The days are getting longer, and the weather is warmer and sunnier. This can only mean one thing: summer is on its way! More chances of sowing and weeding this month as the soil starts to warm up!

To keep you busy in the garden, here are the plants you sow and grow this month.

What to plant outdoors:

• French, runner and broad beans, mangetout & podding peas
• Root crops such as carrots, leeks, beetroot, radishes, turnips, etc.
• Herbs like parsley and coriander
• Swiss chard and leaf beet
• Summer and winter cabbages, brussels sprouts, kale, purple sprouting broccoli, calabrese and cauliflowers
• If the weather and soil are warm, you may also plant sweetcorn

In trays or pots somewhere warm:

• Squashes
• Courgettes
• Cucumbers
• Melons (ideally best sown by the end of the month.)

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

• Summer salads
• Basil & coriander

June

You can start planting in earnest as the threat of frost is now long past. There’s plenty to keep you busy in the garden this month and with that here are the seasonal things to sow and grow in the garden this June.

What to plant outdoor:

• Herbs (Parsley, coriander, etc.)
• Root crops (carrots, beetroot, turnips, etc.)
• French and runner beans
• Swiss chard and leaf beet
• Fennel
• Sweetcorn
• Continue sowing salads, including oriental salads (mibuna, mizuna, mustard greens, etc.) after the middle of the month

At the beginning of the month, you may start sowing these plants in trays or pots somewhere warm:

• Squashes
• Courgettes
• Cucumbers
• Melons

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

• Herbs (Parsley, coriander, etc.)

July/August

While July is the ideal growing month, August is a perfect time to begin planning ahead if you wish a colourful autumn and winter blooms for your plate over the colder months.

Here’s what you should be sowing and growing in July/August.

What to plant outdoor:

• Basil
• Herbs, such as coriander, dill, and parsley directly into the ground or into containers.
• Dwarf french beans (up to early July and in warmer areas only.)
• Winter radishes and swedes
• Swiss chard and leaf beet
• Oriental greens (mibuna, komatsuna, mizuna, mustard greens, etc.)
• Turnip greens
• Fennel
• Bunching and spring onions
• Spring cabbage (from late July)

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

• Coriander
• Salads

Tip: Keep on sowing over the summer! There will be lots of crops to plant this month that will keep your garden productive over the winter and into next year!

September/October

September might be the peak of harvest time, but there’s still lots to sow and plant this month all the way to October. The time has come to get some last sowings of winter salads and greens in the ground!

What to plant outdoors:

• Spring cabbage (early September and in warmer areas only.)
• Winter salads and greens, winter lettuce, and oriental vegetables
• Bunching onions (early September)
• Broad and round seeded peas (from mid-September)
• Green manures

In a polytunnel or greenhouse border:

• Hardy oriental greens
• Winter salad leaves
• Herbs such as basil, dill, chives and parsley

November/December

November is the month when things are slowing down in the garden, but hey, there are so many fruits and vegetable options that need sowing and planting in time for spring!

And as for the month of December, here’s how you can get a head start, including cleaning up your garden, sorting out your compost heaps and get everything in place for the new year!

In the greenhouse/indoors:

• Herbs, such as basil, chives, dill, and parsley.
• Winter hardy salad leaves under cover like lettuce ‘Winter Gem’ and ‘Arctic King’

What to plant outdoor:

• Overwintering onion sets and garlic
• Pea ‘Meteor’
• Hardy broad bean ‘Aquadulce Claudia’
• Asparagus crowns