Sow These 10 Vegetable Seeds Outdoors in April for a Hassle-Free Harvest That Lasts Through Summer and Beyond

Forget worrying about whether it's too early to start sowing veggies in your garden yet – all these delicious vegetables are safe to sow outdoors in April, even if that’s before your last frost date. These vegetable seeds germinate at lower temperatures so you can go ahead and get growing for an early harvest that starts in late spring and lasts for months to come.

Sowing seed directly in the soil where the plants are to grow is the easiest way to raise veggies, skipping all the faff of starting them off indoors and having to harden off seedlings then transplant outdoors. Simply pop the seeds into the soil, keep watered and thin out the seedlings in a few weeks – and don’t let your thinnings go to waste because they taste great in a salad.

The trick to successful direct-sow vegetables in spring is to start seeds at a point when the soil is warm enough for them to germinate, so they don’t sit in cold, wet soil and rot. Equip yourself with a soil thermometer and there’s no guesswork involved. A basic analog design such as this from Amazon does the job just fine and gives you change from $10. Spend a little more and you can get a digital thermometer that also measures soil moisture and pH levels and sunlight intensity, such as this meter from Amazon. Whatever type you buy, just make sure the probe is at least 4 inches long so you can measure the temperature of the underlying soil rather than the surface.

I always chance my luck and make a first sowing as early as possible, because most seeds can germinate at a much lower temperature than the optimum range usually stated. They may take a few days longer to sprout and, if there’s no sign of life, I simply push a few more seeds into the soil once it’s warmed up another few degrees.

All these vegetable crops are frost-tolerant or frost-hardy, which means they’ll cope with a light frost. The younger the seedlings, the more tender and vulnerable they are, however. So, if a late frost is forecast, play it safe by throwing inexpensive horticultural fleece, such as this frost cloth from Amazon, over any still-young plants.

If you live in a colder zone, a floating row cover such as this from Burpee can be left in place during the daytime, too, as it allows sunlight and rainwater through. Another leave-in-place option for the first few weeks that lets you sow earlier in a colder zone is a TunLcover, which is a protective cover with wire hoops that acts like a temporary coldframe, also available from Burpee. These are all useful to warm soil for faster germination, too.

Take your pick of these super-tasty vegetable seeds to sow in April.

1. Carrots

Get carrots sown in April as seeds will start germinating at 40°F, though they’ll sprout more quickly once soil temperatures reach 55°F. Start them where they are to grow up to 2–4 weeks before your last frost date.

‘Danvers 126’ is a reliable variety that grows long, tasty roots in most soil types and is available from Eden Brothers. ‘Tendersweet’ is similarly straightforward to grow and, being a little sweeter, is particularly delicious raw, and seeds are also available from Eden Brothers.

If you’re short on space then ‘Tonda di Parigi’ is a round carrot variety, which means you can grow it in a container; it’s available from Botanical Interests.

2. Kale

Kale is such a versatile vegetable and only takes two months to grow from seed to harvest. Very frost-hardy, you can sow kale as soon as you can work your soil up to 3 weeks before your last frost date. Optimum soil temperature for germination is 60–85°F but you’ll still see some seed sprouting at 40°F.

Lacinato or dinosaur kale is considered the sweetest and most tender, so best for salads and to sauté or stir-fry, or add to soups and stews for the last few minutes of cooking. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers and Burpee. ‘Dazzling Blue’ is a particularly cold-tolerant lacinato cultivar that has an attractive purple midrib, available from Botanical Interests.

Curly kale is better for making chips (simply toss leaves with oil and salt and roast for 10 minutes) and is also good for adding to soups and stews. ‘Kaleidoscope’ and ‘Dwarf Blue’ are compact curly varieties growing to 18 inches high and well-suited to growing in a container, and both are available from Burpee. If you’re growing in the ground, ‘Redbor’ is particularly hardy and ornamental, growing fabulously ruffled purple leaves to 20 inches tall; seeds are available from Botanical Interests. ‘Prizm’ is another excellent variety with almost stemless stalks, with seeds from Burpee.

3. Beetroot

If you haven’t eaten a beet since the woody veggies of your childhood, it’s high time you tried growing a newer beetroot variety. Plenty have been bred for better flavor, smoother texture and a higher sugar content, with a range of flavors on offer.

‘Merlin’ is the modern variety to try for a much-improved flavor in a traditionally-toned beet, and is available from Burpee. Or why not try a yellow beetroot variety such ‘Touchstone Gold’ from Botanical Interests, or striking stripy roots like ‘Choggia’ from Eden Brothers?

Sow these seeds up to 3–4 weeks before your frost date. They’ll start germinating at 40°F, though you’ll get much better germination above 50°F.

4. Peas

Peas are a little less cold-hardy than the other veggies recommended, but they’re still worth sowing as soon as your soil is workable, up to 4–6 weeks before your last frost date, as they germinate at 50°F. Older plants will tolerate light frosts, but you’ll need to fleece seedlings if you get a late frost. For this reason, I like to grow self-supporting peas as an early crop, simply because their low, bushy shape makes it easy to throw a cozy fleece over.

All types of peas are pretty cold-tolerant, so there are plenty of varieties to choose from. If this is your first time growing peas, you can’t go wrong with ‘Easy Peasy’, from Burpee. This self-supporting variety grows to 2½ feet high with abundant, delicious peas. The super-curly tendrils are cute, too! ‘Sugar Daddy’ is a self-supporting snap pea, available from Eden Brothers. For sugar peas, ‘Snowbird’ is a good choice, with stems only reaching 18 inches high yet producing plenty of 3-inch pods in as little as two months, available from Burpee.

5. Spinach

Another leafy green that loves an April start, spinach is classed as a superfood as it’s so nutrient-dense. Direct sow up to 5 weeks before your last frost date, as soon as soil temperatures reach 40–45°F. Spinach germinates well at lower temperatures – too much heat actually slows germination! – and crops in around 40 days.

‘Prosper’ has been bred to have strong resistance to downy mildew, which can be a problem if we have a wet spring, so is an excellent choice for an April sowing. ‘Space’ is also extremely mildew-resistant and a vigorous, super-tasty choice. Burpee stocks both varieties.

6. Swiss Chard

Tasting similar to spinach but with beautifully bright stems and veining, swiss chard is an ornamental as well as tasty addition to any veggie patch. Indeed, it’s so pretty, many people squeeze this crop into a flower border. It can sprout at temperatures of 40–45°F though germination speeds once soil hits 55°F. Growing quickly, baby greens can be ready for picking in as little as 20 days, with mature leaves in 60 days. Sow up to 4 weeks before your last frost date.

For a mix of stem colors, try swiss chard ‘Five Color’, available from Botanical Interests, or ‘Rainbow of Lights’ from Eden Brothers. If you want the brightest color-pop though, ‘Pink Lipstick’ has deep green leaves that really show off the magenta stems and veining; seed is available from Eden Brothers.

7. Leek ‘Dawn Giant’

Most leeks take forever to grow and you need to start seed indoors then transplant outside, so it’s a faff. But this new variety can be sown directly outside in April, as soon as the soil can be worked and has reached 45°F, though seed will germinate best at temperatures of 65°F so wait till the end of the month. It grows incredibly quickly so you’ll be enjoying giant 15-inch-high leeks by midsummer. To get longer white shanks, mound soil around the bases of maturing leeks.

Seeds are available from Burpee.

8. Radishes

Early spring is an ideal time to sow salad radishes as they tend to bolt in hotter weather. You can start them up to 4 weeks before your last frost date as they’ll start germinating at 40°F even though their optimum range is 55–75°F. As they’re so quick-growing, radishes are a great crop for a container, so you can always grow a pot in the shelter of a warming house wall if you live in a colder zone.

‘Fabuloso’ is a super-speedy grower, taking as little as four weeks to grow into crunchy red 1-inch globes; seed is available from Burpee. ‘Fire and Ice’ is another good spring radish, also available from Burpee with a sweeter, milder flavor. For something a little different, ‘Purple Plum’, available from Eden Brothers, is a fun purple color as its name suggests.

9. Kohlrabi

Easy to grow and spectacular in a veggie bed or pot, kohlrabi has a mild, sweet flavor and can be eaten raw in salads and slaws or roasted, steamed or mashed. Though seeds germinate best at 65–70°F, they start sprouting at 40°F. They’re a little less frost tolerant than our other veggies though, so sow up to 2 weeks before your last frost date.

‘Vienna’ is super-easy to raise and produces delicious veggies 4 inches in diameter, and is available in both white and purple varieties from Eden Brothers.

10. Bunching Onions

Scallions or salad onions start germinating at 45°F, though they’re far quicker above 68°F, but they grow so quickly it’s worth starting them a couple of weeks before your last frost date. ‘White Lisbon’ is a speedy heirloom variety that performs particularly well in early spring, and is available from Botanical Interests and Eden Brothers. For more color, try ‘Red Baron’ from Eden Brothers which boasts spring onions with vibrant purple bases.