What to plant in April in the Northeast and Midwest

Worked out for 67 cities from their own weather and frost dates, by zone.

What to sow and plant in April in the Northeast and Midwest, by zone: frost-free, highs of 61–72 °F (Joplin and Atlantic City): broad bean, peas, onion, lettuce, radish and 38 more; frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F (New York, Philadelphia and 22 more): peas, lettuce, radish, Swiss chard, beet and 30 more; frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F (Chicago, Boston and 38 more): broad bean, peas, onion, spinach, lettuce and 33 more; frost possible, highs below 50 °F (Duluth): broad bean, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, Swiss chard and 21 more.

In the Northeast and Midwest, April is spring.

Frost-free, highs of 61–72 °F: Joplin and Atlantic City

In April, on average, these cities have highs of 61 to 69 °F and lows of 46 to 49 °F, 3.7 to 6.1 in of rain on 10 to 12 days; the day lasts 13 h 08 min to 13 h 13 min (on the 15th).

No frost in April in 10 years of data: frost-tender crops can go in too, if it is warm enough for them.

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, lettuce, cabbage, Swiss chard, chickpea, daikon, kohlrabi	Atlantic City
sow direct	Peas, radish, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, dill, mustard greens	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	Atlantic City
start indoors, plant out in June	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, moringa	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, basil, achocha, kiwano, luffa, okra, peanut	all
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in May	Sweet Corn, bok choy, Napa cabbage	all
start indoors, plant out in July	Celeriac, celery	all
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in July	Chayote	all
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in June	Florence fennel	all
sow direct	Borage, corn	Joplin

Compared with March: new — zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, basil, okra, borage and 1 more; no longer sown — spinach, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, parsnip and turnip.

Not starting in April: green beans (May, sown direct) and spinach (February, started indoors) — dates for Atlantic City.

Ready to harvest in April in Atlantic City, if sown in the right month: radish (March), arugula (March), dill (March) and mustard greens (March).

Frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F: New York, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis and 20 more

In April, on average, these cities have highs of 61 to 70 °F and lows of 41 to 48 °F, 1.9 to 5.8 in of rain on 6 to 15 days; the day lasts 13 h 09 min to 13 h 19 min (on the 15th).

April falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average last frost: New York (April 3), Philadelphia (April 3), Kansas City (April 7), St. Louis (April 6), Columbus (April 22), Indianapolis (April 14), Omaha (April 16), Wichita (April 3), Cincinnati (April 11), Pittsburgh (April 19), Des Moines (April 19), Springfield (April 17), Topeka (April 9), Jefferson City (April 5), Lincoln (April 16), Trenton (April 6), Harrisburg (April 10), Peoria (April 19), Evansville (April 2), Davenport (April 20), Dodge City (April 10), Grand Island (April 19), Dayton (April 17) and Allentown (April 15).

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, cabbage, chickpea	Pittsburgh
sow direct	Peas, radish, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, dill, mustard greens	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	Pittsburgh
sow direct	Lettuce, Swiss chard, kohlrabi	New York, Philadelphia, Columbus and 14 more
start indoors, plant out in June	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, basil, achocha, bok choy, kiwano, luffa, Napa cabbage, okra, peanut	all
start indoors, plant out in July	Celeriac, celery, chayote	all

Compared with March: new — zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, basil, achocha and 6 more; no longer sown — spinach, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, daikon, kale, parsnip and turnip.

Not starting in April: green beans (May, sown direct) and spinach (no month outdoors by these rules) — dates for Indianapolis.

Frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F: Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Detroit and 36 more

In April, on average, these cities have highs of 51 to 60 °F and lows of 31 to 41 °F, 2.0 to 5.0 in of rain on 8 to 15 days; the day lasts 13 h 17 min to 13 h 37 min (on the 15th).

April falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average last frost: Chicago (April 18), Boston (April 9), Minneapolis (April 28), Detroit (April 24), Milwaukee (April 27), Cleveland (April 9), Madison (April 27), Buffalo (April 24), Rochester (April 20), Grand Rapids (April 28), Providence (April 11), Sioux Falls (April 24), Hartford (April 13), Fargo (April 30), Green Bay (April 29), Albany (April 17), Portland, Maine (April 15), Burlington (April 22), Augusta (April 23), Lansing (April 28), Concord (April 22), Pierre (April 26), New Haven (April 6), Rockford (April 26), Fort Wayne (April 24), Cedar Rapids (April 22), Bangor (April 24), Worcester (United States) (April 11), Ann Arbor (April 28), Manchester (United States) (April 22), Syracuse (United States) (April 28), Ithaca (April 28), Toledo (United States) (April 22), Erie (April 10) and Eau Claire (April 28).

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, cabbage	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 29 more
sow direct	Peas, radish	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 29 more
sow direct	Spinach	Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee and 18 more
sow direct	Lettuce, Swiss chard	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 36 more
sow direct	Carrot, broccoli	Rochester and Erie
start indoors, plant out in May	Cauliflower	Cleveland, Portland, Maine, Montpelier and 3 more
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in May	Beet	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 36 more
start indoors, plant out in June	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, basil	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 23 more
start indoors, plant out in May	Sweet Corn, achocha, bok choy, kiwano, Napa cabbage, peanut	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 32 more
start indoors, plant out in June or sow direct	Parsley	Cleveland, Portland, Maine, Montpelier and 4 more
sow direct	Cilantro	Fort Wayne
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in May	Arugula, chamomile	all
start indoors, plant out in July	Celeriac, celery, chayote	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 36 more
sow direct	Daikon	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 30 more
start indoors, plant out in May	Luffa	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 30 more
sow direct	Dill, mustard greens	Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and 28 more
start indoors, plant out in May	Okra	Chicago, Boston, Detroit and 19 more
start indoors, plant out in May or sow direct	Kohlrabi	Rochester, Portland, Maine, Augusta and 5 more
sow direct	Kale, parsnip	Rochester, Portland, Maine, Augusta and 4 more
start indoors, plant out in June	Brussels Sprouts	Cleveland, Portland, Maine, Montpelier and 3 more
sow direct	Turnip	Portland, Maine, Bangor and Traverse City

Compared with March: new — onion, carrot, broccoli, zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin and 16 more.

Not starting in April: green beans (June, sown direct) — dates for Syracuse (United States).

Frost possible, highs below 50 °F: Duluth

In April, on average, Duluth has highs of 46 °F and lows of 32 °F, 3.1 in of rain on 11 days; the day lasts 13 h 34 min (on the 15th).

April falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average last frost: Duluth (April 28).

How	What	Where
start indoors, plant out in May	Broad bean, lettuce, cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet, sweet corn, achocha, arugula, bok choy, chamomile, kiwano, kohlrabi, Napa cabbage, peanut	Duluth
start indoors, plant out in June	Cabbage, tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, parsley, Brussels sprouts, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	Duluth
start indoors, plant out in July	Celeriac, celery, chayote	Duluth

Compared with March: new — cauliflower, Swiss chard, beet, sweet corn, achocha, arugula, bok choy, chamomile and 3 more; no longer sown — spinach.

Not starting in April: zucchini (May, started indoors), green beans (June, sown direct), peas (May, sown direct) and spinach (March, started indoors) — dates for Duluth.

Frost dates in Duluth

How we work it out

For each city we use its average weather in April and the months after (highs, lows and rain for 2016–2025, ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo) and its average frost dates. A crop starts in April if the month's mean temperature reaches the minimum soil temperature for germination on its card (we use the mean air temperature as a stand-in for the soil's) and if, over its first months (up to three), the average highs stay within its group's range, with no frost for crops that cannot take it. Crops started indoors count from the month they are planted out.

Temperature groups from Colorado State University Extension: cool-season crops prefer 60–80 °F and lose quality in heat; hardy ones grow in days as cool as 40 °F, semi-hardy ones from 40–50 °F (we use 50 °F); warm-season crops need days above 55 °F, and the most tender (tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, watermelon, squash) above 60 °F, up to 95 °F. Crops the guide does not name go into the stricter group by their frost hardiness. Fava (broad) beans, which the guide does not name, count as hardy: hardy varieties are sown in fall and overwinter (RHS). Garlic and bulbs: a month before the first frost, and later only while the ground is not frozen (as on each city's page).

Cornell Cooperative Extension sets the season here: hardy crops from about four weeks before the last frost, warm ones after it, heat lovers about 18 days after; the last plantings from 3 weeks (radish) to 16 weeks (melons) before the first frost — counted from each city’s own frost dates.

This is a general rule from averages: your garden can be a week or two earlier or later, and a greenhouse or a cold frame brings the season forward. Greenly works out the dates for your location.