WHAT TO PLANT IN
April

Central/Midwest Region

"Baby leaves of beets make a scrumptious addition to your salad mix soon after they sprout in spring. Amazingly, mature beets have twice as much natural sugar as corn, carrots or tomatoes."

                        John Navazio, Sweet Beets, April 2004

If you're not sure how to start seeds or when to set out transplants, see the Resources section below. Please share timely tips for coping with regional gardening issues in the comments section.

'Forono' beets

To read more about what to plant in other months and regions, visit our What to Plant Now home page.

For planting times specific to your zip code, check out the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Vegetable Garden Planner. 

Top Crops for Central and Midwest Gardening:

   

Here are the Top Ten crops for the Midwest region, followed by other recommended crops, as rated in our National Survey of Most Productive Garden Crops. (The criteria for selection include ease of culture, efficient use of garden space and time, ease of storage and desirability at the table.) The recommended crops are sorted by plant family to help you plan rotations so that the same plant families are not grown consecutively in the same area, as much as possible.

Top 10 Crops: Central and Midwest Region

1. Slicing tomato
2. Sweet pepper
3. Cherry tomato
4. Onion
5. Bush snap bean
6. Carrot
7. Garlic
8. Paste tomato
9. Snow/snap pea
10. Lettuce

Other Highly Recommended Crops:

Cabbage family:  Broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi 

Cucumber family:  Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash 

Leafy greens:  Arugula, chard, mustard (all types), pac choi, sorrel, spinach, turnip 

Legumes:  Dry soup beans, pole snap beans, shell peas, Southern peas

Root crops:  Beet, parsnip, potato, rutabaga, shallot, turnip 

Tomato family:  Hot peppers, tomatillo

Miscellaneous:  Asparagus, leek, okra, rhubarb, scallion, sweet corn 

VEGETABLES 

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Arugula 

XXX 

Asparagus 

XXX 

Beet 

XXX 

Broccoli  

XXX  

XXX  

Brussels sprouts 

Cabbage  

XXX 

Carrot 

XXX 

Celery  

 XXX 

Chard 

XXX 

XXX 

XXX 

XXX 

Kale 

XXX 

Kohlrabi 

XXX 

XXX 

Leek  

XXX  

XXX 

Lettuce 

XXX 

XXX 

Onions, bulb  

XXX  

XXX 

XXX 

Peas (snow, shell, snap) 

XXX 

Peppers 

XXX 

Potatoes 

XXX 

Radishes 

XXX 

Rhubarb 

XXX 

Radicchio 

XXX 

Salsify 

Scallion (green onion)  

XXX  

XXX 

Shallot 

Sorrel 

XXX 

Spinach 

XXX 

XXX 

Turnip 

XXX 

CULINARY HERBS  

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Basil 

Chives 

Cilantro 

Fennel, leaf  

XXX  

XXX 

Horseradish 

Marjoram  

XXX 

Parsley  

XXX 

XXX 

 XXX 

Rosemary 

Sage 

Savory, summer  

XXX 

Thyme 

RESOURCES

* To learn more about when to sow seeds (indoors and outdoors) or when to transplant your seedlings to the garden, see: Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average Last Spring Frost Date.

* To learn more about how to start seeds, check out Seed-starting Basics. For a primer on how to transplant seedlings, see Garden Transplanting: Expert Advice.

* Find garden seeds from great mail-order companies with our Plant and Seed Finder.

* Learn more about high-quality seeds and great seed companies in Best Seeds for a Bigger, Better Garden and Best Garden Seed Companies, or through our seed company directory. 

* You might also try swapping seeds locally.

* For tips on growing everything from apples to zucchini, see our Organic Gardening homepage.