Garden Jobs in April

April 29, 2025

April is the month where everything starts to happen in the garden. After a long, often soggy winter, UK gardeners can finally roll up their sleeves and get planting, sowing, and tidying. The soil is warming, the daylight hours are stretching, and there’s an unmistakable feeling of energy in the air — not just from the birds and bees, but from the plants themselves.

This is a time of both preparation and action. It’s your window for getting ahead with early sowings, tackling garden maintenance, and setting the stage for a fruitful summer. Whether you're growing vegetables, nurturing a few containers on a balcony, or tending to a larger plot or allotment, April is full of satisfying tasks that lay the foundations for the months ahead.

In this guide, we’ll walk through everything you should be doing in the garden this month — from what to sow and plant, to key maintenance jobs and pest prevention. Let’s get stuck in!

What to Sow in April

With longer days and warming soil, April is the perfect month to start sowing a wide range of seeds, both indoors and out.

Vegetables to sow outdoors:

Carrots – Sow in well-drained, stone-free soil. Thin seedlings to avoid overcrowding.
Parsnips – Be patient; they can take up to three weeks to germinate.
Beetroot – Succession sow every few weeks for an extended harvest.
Spinach – Prefers cooler weather, ideal for early spring.
Lettuce and salad leaves – Choose loose-leaf varieties for cut-and-come-again picking.

Vegetables to sow under cover:

Courgettes, pumpkins, and squash – Start in pots to plant out after the last frost.
Sweetcorn – Sow in modules and transplant in blocks to ensure good pollination.
French beans – Early sowings need protection or a heated greenhouse.

Herbs and flowers:

Basil, parsley, and coriander – Sow indoors or under glass.
Annual flowers – Start cosmos, sunflowers, calendula, and zinnias for summer colour.

Tip: Use a propagator or sunny windowsill to give heat-loving seeds a strong start.

What to Plant in April

April is one of the busiest planting months of the year, especially for vegetables and summer-flowering bulbs. Click the links to see our full individual growing guides.

In the vegetable garden:

Potatoes – Plant second earlies and maincrops 10–15 cm deep; earth up as they grow.
Onion sets, shallots, and garlic – Plant in rows with tips just above the soil.
Broad beans – Transplant seedlings into well-spaced double rows with canes or mesh for support.
Peas – Direct sow in trenches or plant out started modules. Provide pea sticks or netting for support.

In the flower border:

Dahlias – Plant tubers once the risk of frost has passed or start them in pots indoors.
Gladioli – Add drama to summer borders by planting in succession every two weeks.
Divide and replant perennials like hostas and daylilies to rejuvenate clumps.
Plant bare-root roses and shrubs early in the month.

Jobs Around the Garden

There’s a lot to do in April beyond planting. Tidying, feeding, and preparing your garden now will pay off all season.

Soil and bed preparation:

Mulch vegetable and flower beds with well-rotted compost or manure.
Apply a general-purpose organic fertiliser to feed hungry spring plants.
Rake and level seedbeds for direct sowing.

Tidying:

Weed regularly to stay on top of fast-growing spring weeds.
Cut back dead foliage from herbaceous perennials.
Remove leaf litter and old mulch harbouring pests.

General tasks:

Install supports now for climbing plants and tall perennials.
Label seedlings clearly – early-stage brassicas and salads can look very similar.
Clean your tools, pots, and greenhouse windows to prevent disease spread.

In the Greenhouse or Polytunnel

If you’ve got a greenhouse or tunnel, now’s the time to get the most from it.

Sow tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, cucumbers, and melons indoors.
Use fleece or bubble wrap to keep things warm on cold nights.
Ventilate on sunny days to reduce fungal issues.
Prick out and pot on seedlings to encourage strong root systems.
Begin hardening off hardy veg like brassicas and lettuce for planting outdoors in May.

Lawn and Wildlife Care

April is a good time to get lawns growing and help your local wildlife thrive.

Lawn care:

Mow weekly as growth picks up, raising the blades for initial cuts.
Reseed bare patches with a lawn seed mix.
Use a lawn edging tool to tidy up borders for a neat finish.

Wildlife support:

Set up a bird bath and keep it topped up with clean water.
Clean and refill bird feeders to support parent birds feeding chicks.
Avoid using pesticides that could harm bees, beetles, and birds.

Pest and Disease Watch

Warmer weather brings new life — and a few unwanted visitors too.

Slugs and snails – Use copper tape, organic pellets, or wool deterrent around plants.
Aphids – Check the undersides of leaves and squash infestations early.
Flea beetles – Protect seedlings with fleece or mesh netting.
Clubroot – Rotate crops and avoid growing brassicas in the same spot each year.

Tip: Check plants regularly and act early to avoid outbreaks spreading.

Glossary Highlights

Here are a few useful gardening terms mentioned throughout this post:

Direct sow: Sowing seeds straight into outdoor soil where they’ll mature.
Mulching: Adding a protective layer of compost, bark, or manure to the soil surface.
Hardening off: Gradually introducing indoor-raised plants to outdoor conditions.
Maincrop potatoes: Later-harvested potatoes, ideal for long-term storage.
Succession sowing: Repeated sowing of crops over time for a longer harvest.