Timing is everything with fruit. Most fruit grown from seed is tender, so starting it at the right moment — warm enough to germinate, early enough to ripen before autumn — makes all the difference between a generous harvest and a disappointment. This calendar gives you the simple answer for every fruit you can grow from seed: when to start it indoors, when to plant it out, and when to pick.
It works for a temperate climate (UK and Northern Europe). Gardening somewhere milder or colder? Shift everything by a week or two around your local last-frost date. Every timing here comes from the sowing data on our own seed packets, so it matches what you will actually grow.
How to read the calendar
The fruit sowing calendar
| Fruit | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry | ||||||||||||
| Alpine strawberry | ||||||||||||
| Melon | ||||||||||||
| Watermelon | ||||||||||||
| Cape gooseberry | ||||||||||||
| Tomatillo | ||||||||||||
| Horned melon | ||||||||||||
| Rhubarb |
Timing is drawn from our packet data (planting period, indoor or direct method and peak season), shown for a temperate climate — adjust a week or two for your local last frost. Rhubarb is best harvested from its second year.
Sowing through the year
The main sowing window
The busiest months for fruit. Start tender crops — melons, watermelons, cape gooseberries and tomatillos — indoors in warmth, and sow strawberries early so they have a long season to fruit the same year.
Plant out, then pick
Once the frosts have passed, plant tender fruits into the sunniest, most sheltered spot or a greenhouse. Water and feed them as they flower and set, and start picking your earliest strawberries and cape gooseberries.
The main harvest
Melons, watermelons, horned melons and tomatillos ripen now — pick melons when they smell fragrant, and gather cape gooseberries as their papery lanterns turn straw-coloured. Clear spent plants after the first frosts.
Plan and start early
Use the quiet months to plan your sunniest spots, and from late winter start slow fruits like strawberries and cape gooseberries indoors on a bright windowsill or in a heated propagator.
Popular fruit at a glance
Our best-selling fruit with their sowing window — tap through to the seeds.
Cape gooseberry
Physalis peruviana
Sow: Feb–Apr (indoor)
Harvest: Aug–Oct
Frequently asked questions
When should I start sowing fruit seeds?
Most begin in February and March. Start tender fruits such as melons, watermelons and cape gooseberries indoors in warmth, and sow strawberries early so they have a long season to fruit.
Which fruits are easiest for beginners?
Alpine strawberries, cape gooseberries and tomatillos are quick, forgiving and reliable, which makes them ideal first fruits to grow from seed.
Will fruit from seed crop in the first year?
Many will — alpine strawberries, melons, cape gooseberries and tomatillos fruit in their first summer from an early sowing, while rhubarb is best harvested from its second year.
Do I need a greenhouse to grow fruit from seed?
Not always — strawberries and cape gooseberries crop outdoors in a sunny spot, but melons and watermelons ripen far better with the extra warmth of a greenhouse or sunny windowsill.
