Planting guide

What to plant in Zone 8 in April

USDA Zone 8 · US Northern Hemisphere April

April is warm-season planting month in the zone 8 South. The average last freeze is already behind you (March 2 in Dallas, March 16 in Columbia, South Carolina, at NOAA's stations), and even the late freeze that comes one year in ten has passed by March 19 and April 3. The cool-season crops are finishing, so the job now is to get the summer garden in. In the Pacific Northwest, April is when the main sowings begin; see the notes.

Plant now

Tomato transplants

Clemson's chart for coastal South Carolina plants tomatoes March 1 to April 30, so this is the last month there. In the Piedmont the window opens May 1.

Pepper and eggplant transplants

Coastal South Carolina: peppers April 1 to May 15, eggplant April 1 to April 30. Piedmont: both from May 1.

Snap and pole beans, southern peas

Sow April 1 to June 1 on the coast and April 15 to July 1 in the Piedmont. Southern peas go in from April 1 (coast) or April 15 (Piedmont).

Cucumbers, summer squash, cantaloupe

Coast: March 15 to May 15 for cucumbers and cantaloupe, and summer squash until the end of July. Piedmont: all three from April 15.

Sweet corn and watermelon

Coastal sweet corn closes April 15 and watermelon is an April crop (April 1 to 30). In the Piedmont, sweet corn runs March 30 to May 31 and watermelon April 15 to June 15.

Sweet potatoes and lima beans (from mid-month)

Sweet potato slips and lima beans go in from April 15 on the coast, and from May 1 in the Piedmont. Okra waits for May.

Timing notes

  • Cool-season crops are closing in the South: Clemson's coastal windows end April 10 for broccoli and cauliflower and April 15 for lettuce. Kale, collards and radish can still be sown.
  • In the Pacific Northwest (Oregon State's western valleys, Portland to Roseburg), April opens the season for cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, potatoes and sweet corn, with beets, carrots, broccoli and peas already under way. Tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, cucumbers and squash wait for May.
  • Look up the average last frost for your own town with the frost date calculator; 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