April Gardening Tips and Tasks for Every Planting Zone and Region

April 1, 2019/chris

You’re jumping with excitement!

You can hardly stand it any longer. You’ve survived the long and dreary winter months. The sunshine has come back out to play. Your soil is thawing, and you’re about to embrace gardening once again.

Yes, my friends, April has finally arrived. I know you’re itching to get started in your garden, and therefore I’m going to share with you what you should be doing around your garden this month.

I’ve divided your tasks out by planting zone and region. This will give you an opportunity to cross-reference the lists and make sure you have everything covered to keep your gardening on track.

Let’s no waste any more time and jump right in. Here’s what you should be doing around your garden during April:

April Gardening Tips and Chores What You Should be Doing by Planting Zone and Region PIN

April Gardening Tips by Zone

Planting Zone Three

The ground is beginning to thaw, life is coming back to this area, and you’re dancing with excitement. Even in the coldest of planting zones, you get to put your hands in the dirt this month.

Here’s what you should do in planting zone three:

Add compost to beds when the soil has thawed and is workable
Plant onions, peas, spinach, carrots, lettuce, and parsnips
Dig up and eat any leftover root veggies you stored in the garden under mulch over the winter

Planting Zone Four

Planting zone four has quite a bit of activity going on during April. You’ll be busy planting new crops which can handle the cool temperatures, but also starting seeds for warm weather crops.

Here’s what gardening in zone four looks like this month:

Plant spinach, peas, onions, lettuce, and radishes
Plant raspberries and strawberries when the soil is warm enough
Start tomato and broccoli seeds indoors

Planting Zone Five

If you’re anxious to get plants in the ground, this is the month for you in planting zone five. You’ll be busy transplanting crops you’ve previously started indoors while also sowing cool weather crops.

Here’s your list of to-do’s in planting zone five:

Sow lettuce and spinach seeds directly into your garden
Transplant tomato plants outdoors if they’re protected with an insulator

Planting Zone Six

The list is short for planting zone six, but it still contains a ton of planting activity. There are many crops in this zone which are ready to go in the ground.

Start planting these crops:

Peas
Potatoes
Spinach
Carrots
Turnips
Beets

Planting Zone Seven

As the zones are warming up, the time for planting cool weather crops is closing. April is the month to pay attention to what you’ve already planted and the weather coming ahead.

Here are your April gardening tips for zone seven:

Warm weather is right around the corner which means the window for planting cabbage and broccoli has closed
Thin out the carrots and lettuce you recently planted in your garden
Mulch all cool weather crops to protect them from becoming too hot and dry as the temperatures heat up

Planting Zone Eight

There’s lots of planting going on in this planting zone. It’s also time for some maintenance to your garden.

Here’s what your garden needs this month:

Plant peas, peanuts, sweet potatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons, corn, and basil
Keep adding to your compost pile
Anywhere the mulch is wearing thin, reapply it

Planting Zone Nine

Life is starting to heat up in planting zone nine, which leads to a broader variety of crops ready to make their way into the ground. It’s also time to pay attention to your orchard.

Here’s what will be keeping you busy if you garden in zone nine:

Remove excess fruit from your fruit trees. This will leave room for your fruit to grow larger and give you a better harvest
It’s time to put succession planting to work in the bean department. From now until the end of summer, plant bush beans every two weeks to give a constant harvest
Plant corn every two weeks as well to get a larger harvest which will come in over time
It’s time to plant squash, pumpkins, and melons in your garden

Planting Zone Ten

The April gardening tips have become shorter because it’s time to get busy planting crops or prepare to plant crops. In planting zone ten, you have only a few items to do in your garden as well. It’s all about catching this brief window of coolness before the temperatures begin to rise.

Plant ginger root now to enjoy a fall harvest
It’s time to plant perennials. Be sure to water adequately once planted, but the perennials should go in the ground now before the temperatures become too warm

Here’s what you should be focusing on:

April Garden Chores by Region

If the above chores don’t seem to be enough to keep you busy this month, cross-reference those chores with the chores listed below.

It’s now time to cover what you should be doing in your garden by region:

Southwest Region

Any branches damaged from winter weather should be removed from the tree
All plants which aren’t growing but should be, must be pulled out of the ground and discarded
If you’d like to incorporate citrus trees in your orchard, now is the time to plant them
Thin fruit from your established fruit trees making sure to leave a six-inch gap
Plant beans, carrots, peppers, melons, squash, and cucumbers
As the soil warms, it’ll be time to plant okra
Thin out any overcrowded vegetables in your garden
Use the succession planting technique to enjoy a continuous harvest

Northwest Region

Spray fruit trees to avoid sickness which could damage the tree and harvest
Fertilize berry plants
Plant broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, beets, lettuce, cauliflower, potatoes, and peas
When the soil is over 60° Fahrenheit, it’s time to plant beans and corn
Use row covers to protect plants from pests as they’re beginning to grow
Remove all weeds from your garden beds
Make sure the plants in your beds have room to breathe to prevent disease from taking over

Midwest Region

It’s time to plant spinach, radishes, kale, kohlrabi, onions, turnips, carrots, peas, beets, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, and potatoes in this region
Start tomato seeds indoors
Prune fruit trees and grape vines
Thin overcrowded crops
Plant all hardened off tomatoes, eggplants, or pepper seedlings

Northeast Region

Pull back the mulch from perennial beds
When the frost is over, uncover perennial strawberry beds. It’s time to begin watering them
Plant berry bushes and fruit trees
Start seeds indoors for tomatoes and squash
If you planted peas, it’s time to give them support by providing a fence for the plants to grow upwards onto
Plant spinach, radishes, onions, kale, swiss chard, carrots, lettuce, peas, and beets
Split up large crowns of rhubarb to make more plants. Uproot the entire crown, cut off the side shoot, and replant both the original crown and new shoot to make more rhubarb plants
Plant new asparagus crowns in full sun to make an asparagus bed or add to an existing bed

Southeast Region

It’s time to plant corn, squash, beans, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and okra
Mulch the garden to deter weeds and to retain moisture
It’s time to plant an herb garden. Incorporate basil, chives, parsley, sage, oregano, thyme, and rosemary
Plant new shrubs and trees this month

You now have an idea of what you should be working towards in your garden with these April gardening tips. As mentioned above, be sure to cross-reference both the list based on region and planting zone.

Hopefully, this will put you on the right path to have a beautiful and productive garden this year. We hope your hard work produces an abundant harvest, and you will feel immensely satisfied at the end of the growing season.