Planting guide

What to plant in Zone 5 in April

USDA Zone 5 · US Northern Hemisphere April

April in zone 5, from Minneapolis and Madison to Omaha, Des Moines and upstate New York, starts indoors and moves outside as the ground thaws and dries. Average last frosts fall from early to late May, so most crops are still weeks away. The hardiest ones go in this month.

Plant now

Tomatoes (seed, indoors)Solanum lycopersicum

Sow in the first half of April for transplants 6-8 weeks old at your last frost.

Peppers and eggplant (seed, indoors, early in the month)

They need 8-10 weeks indoors, so sow them as early in April as you can, on a heat mat if you have one.

Peas and spinach (once soil is workable)

Both germinate in soil as cool as 40°F (4°C). Mid to late April is typical for zone 5.

Onion sets and radishes

Plant as soon as the soil can be worked; both shrug off light frosts.

Seed potatoes (late in the month)Solanum tuberosum

Plant 2-4 weeks before your last frost, once the soil has dried out.

Bare-root fruit trees, berry bushes, asparagus and rhubarb

April is the ideal window: plant while dormant, as soon as the ground can be dug.

Timing notes

  • Soil is workable when a squeezed handful crumbles instead of staying in a wet lump. Digging wet soil damages its structure for the whole season.
  • Start broccoli and cabbage indoors early in the month if you have not yet; they go out in early May.
  • Look up the average last frost for your own town; the zone number is a winter-minimum band, not a planting date.
Frost dates and a seed-starting schedule for your ZIP code Free calculator from NOAA station records: last spring frost, first fall frost, and what to start each week. ← All planting guides