Irish Grow Calendar

Month-by-Month

January — Plan

Too cold to plant outside. Order seeds (Seed Savers, Mr Middleton, Quickcrop). Design your bed layout. Chit seed potatoes by end of month.

February — Seed Indoors

Start broad beans, onions, early lettuce indoors. Prune fruit bushes. Turn compost.

March — First Outdoor Sowings

Potatoes can go in from mid-March. Direct-sow carrots, parsnips, spring onions, lettuce. Start tomatoes and peppers indoors.

April — Main Sowing Month

Direct-sow beetroot, radish, spinach, chard, peas, turnips. Transplant lettuce. Plant out broad beans and onions. Start courgettes, squash and french beans indoors.

May — Tender Crops Out

After last frost (mid-May in most of Ireland), plant out tomatoes, courgettes, squash, french beans, sweetcorn. Direct-sow brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli).

June — Maintain & Succession

Succession-sow lettuce, carrots, beetroot every 2–3 weeks for continuous harvest. Stake tomatoes. Water deeply. Mulch. See the June planting guide for the detailed month-by-month version.

July — First Big Harvests

Early potatoes, peas, broad beans, first courgettes. Keep sowing lettuce, beetroot, turnips and autumn carrots. See what to plant in July in Ireland for vegetables, herbs, flowers and July jobs.

August — Peak Harvest

Tomatoes, courgettes, french beans, potatoes all hitting. Sow autumn/winter spinach, chard, winter onions. Start planning winter coverage.

September — Winter Crops Going In

Harvest maincrop potatoes. Sow garlic, autumn onion sets. Plant out overwintering brassicas. Last sowings of hardy salad.

October — Winding Down

Lift remaining squash and tomatoes before first frost. Plant garlic (if not done in September). Sow green manures. Clear and mulch empty beds.

November — Protect & Plan

Harvest leeks, parsnips, sprouts, winter cabbage. Protect overwintering crops. Dig manure into empty beds.

December — Rest

Not much to do. Harvest leeks, sprouts, stored potatoes. Review what worked. Order next year's seeds.

What to Plant for a First-Year Plot (Beginner-Friendly)

• Potatoes — easy, forgiving, visually satisfying
• Courgettes — prolific once it gets going; 2 plants feed a family
• Runner beans or french beans — climbers use vertical space efficiently
• Lettuce + salad mix — succession-sow every 3 weeks for continuous harvest
• Carrots — slow but hugely rewarding when they come up
• Herbs — mint, parsley, chives, thyme — useful, pretty, hard to kill

What to Avoid in Year 1

• Tomatoes outdoors — Irish summers rarely give them enough heat. Use a polytunnel or greenhouse
• Peppers / aubergines / sweetcorn — marginal outdoors in Ireland; polytunnel crops really
• Complex succession plans — one planting of each crop is enough in Year 1. Succession comes in Year 2