What to grow in a spring vegetable garden
The sun is climbing back toward its highest point of the year and days are getting longer, but it is still a gentler light than summer — which suits a specific set of crops better than any other season.
When is spring, where you are
In the northern hemisphere, spring runs roughly March to May. In the southern hemisphere — Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, most of South America — it runs roughly September to November. The dates below refer to the season itself, not a specific month, since it depends which half of the world you are gardening in.
What to plant, and how much sun it needs
| Vegetable | Sun needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Peas | 4 – 6 hours | Prefer the cooler nights early spring still has; get them in before real heat arrives. |
| Broad beans (fava beans) | 6 hours + | Tolerates part sun. Sow while it is still cool for the best pods. |
| Lettuce & salad greens | 4 – 6 hours | Can bolt (run to flower and turn bitter) in a warm spring; a little afternoon shade helps. |
| Spinach | 4 – 6 hours | Same bolting risk as lettuce if it gets too hot too soon. |
| Brassica seedlings (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) | 6 hours + | Best value from a bed that keeps its sun through spring and into summer, since they take a while to mature. |
| Carrots & beetroot | 6 hours + | Tolerates part sun, but loose, stone-free soil matters as much as light for these. |
| Onions & leeks | 6 hours + | Long season crops — get them in early so they have time. |
| Potatoes | 6 hours + | Chit (sprout) indoors first, then plant once the frost risk has passed. |
| Parsley & coriander | 4 – 6 hours | Coriander bolts fast once the weather turns warm and bright. |
| Tomato, capsicum & chilli seedlings | 6 hours + | Raise indoors or under cover, then plant out once frost risk has fully passed — they want full sun once they are in the ground. |
Sun needs are a general guide. Your climate, variety and soil all matter too — this is where to start, not the whole answer.
A spring-specific quirk worth knowing
Deciduous trees are bare in early spring and fill back in as it goes on. A bed that looked like full sun on a late-winter check can end up with real midday shade by the time a nearby tree's canopy is back in full leaf — the shadow it casts gets denser, not just shorter, as the leaves fill in. If you traced a neighbouring tree in the planner over winter, it is worth re-checking the same bed once spring is properly underway rather than trusting the earlier read.