Grow your own: seven veggies to sow in April

Get the most out of your garden by growing your own vegetables. Growing your own veggies is a joy in itself and significantly less expensive than buying them at the grocery store. 

We have curated a select range of heirloom vegetable seeds just for you. These seeds are the best in class, so we suggest getting your vegetable garden growing with these seven non-GMO vegetable seeds and bulbs. Good news, you can also grow them in pots!

The steps are simple: sow, care and harvest! The magnificent part is that as you care for your vegetable garden, it really does care for you! 

Pak choi 

Does a stir fry sound just right to you? No problem if it doesn’t, as this vegetable can also be eaten raw in salads. It has a mild mustard flavour and when steamed can be enjoyed as a warm side with your meal or in a flu-curing soup.  

Pak Choi is suited for growing right now in almost all 9 provinces. 

Regions to sow: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumlanga, Northwest, Northern Cape, Western Cape. 

Lettuce 

Homegrown lettuce can taste so good that some people eat it on plain bread with butter, believe it or not! Lettuce could just be the MVP of the vegetable garden, with so many mouth-watering uses all year round. They are the foundation of most salads, garnish on drool-worthy burgers and can be used to make the most delicious of wraps. 

With so many uses to make you salivate and a variety of lettuce seeds to choose from, there is no need to grow the same lettuce twice. Have fun with a new variety of lettuce or grow more than one! 

Get sowing now for a wonderful harvest within 5 - 7 weeks, with our wide selection of summer-loving lettuce seeds. 

Regions to sow: Northern Cape and Western Cape.

Shop the varieties: Lettuce, Little Gem, Mixed Variety, Romaine. 

Radish 

Radishes grow pretty quickly and should be ready to harvest within 3 - 5 weeks, depending on the variety sown. They make the perfect compliment to a fresh salad with their spicy, peppery taste. 

Regions to sow: All regions except KZN

Swiss chard

Get leafy with it! This leafy green can be harvested in 8-10 weeks and enjoyed in soups and stir fries. Alternatively, when harvested young and tender, they make a fresh and exciting addition to salads. 

(hands harvesting swiss chard)

Linda from Sought After Seedlings says, ‘Swiss Chard has the ability to regulate the blood sugar levels in our body’. A suitable vegetable for the sugar conscious and diabetic community, if not everyone?

Regions to sow: Free State, Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape. 

Beetroot

Fancy yourself some beetroot juice? Imagine the joy of garden to juicer pleasure! Start with sowing the seeds and reap the rewards in 8-9 weeks. 

(beetroot image)

Not a juicer? No worries! You can boil, roast and pickle the delicious red roots and put them in tasty culinary delights. 

Beetroot has medicinal value too. Above being a delicious and versatile veggie it aids in cleansing the liver! While waiting for the beets underground to plump up, you can harvest young leaves for salad greens as you thin the young plants out. Your beetroots themselves should be ready for pulling in 55 – 70 days.

Regions to sow: Free State, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, Western Cape.  

Carrots 

Sow carrot seeds this April and enjoy the roots and fronds in homemade dishes. Harvest time is 12 - 14 weeks. 

They are also well-suited to container culture and can be grown on a sun soaked balcony in a pot with a 40cm depth and diameter or larger. 

Not only are they brilliant for your eyes, they aid in digestion and are good for your heart! Interestingly, carrots are 88% water! 

Regions to sow: Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Western Cape. 

Onions 

Onions can be harvested 180 to 230 days from sowing or between 100 and 120 days after plants are transplanted. 

Regions to sow: All regions.

As always, good soil, 6 – 8 hours of sunshine, a generous amount of organic food (vegetables are heavy feeders) and water (sometimes in the form of perspiration) is all you need. And do remember that whatever you’re planting out, if you have seedlings already or your sprouts are starting to grow and the weather is still warm, protect your newly planted seedlings from the sun - and rather transplant them in the late afternoon. If you’re sowing directly into the bed where they’re going to be growing, thin the plants out to give them enough space to grow, especially the root vegetables such as carrots, radishes and beets.