I have a shady yard, and very limited space that gets part-sun to full sun. Right now, I have a rose garden in the best full-sun spot in my yard. There are 2 other places in my yard I could grow veggies. One is full sun (I think) but is pretty small, the other one is probably more like part sun, but is bigger. I have a light gauge out there as we speak, so hopefully I'll get a more "scientific" answer as to just how much sun I'm getting, but... Is it really impossible to grow veggies in part sun?? The spot that I'm plannning on using gets maybe 3 to 4 hours of full sun a day, and a few more hours of dappled sun.
I plan on growing, tomatoes, zucchini, cuccumber, eggplant, butternut squash, honeydew melon, leek.
Is Part-Sun Really Out of the Question???
Go ahead and try it Karen. I reckon you'll be fine. Four hours sun a day might be a little short for your melons; but I've grown zucchini, leeks and cucumbers in worse conditions than those.
Of course where I live now the problem in June and July can be too much sun!
Pat George
My garden gets 5-6 hours on 1 half and full sun on the other. everything but corn, eggplant , peppers, and tomatoes are planted in the shade regularly .. however i did get okra to produce lightly in part sun! and i do plant 1 or 2 of those warm weather plants tin part sun . they produce, but the fruit is later .. good for stretching the season - we pull bell peppers and better boy tomatoes from the shady area in sept - oct. in southern ct. about four weeks late but just as good. . go ahead and plant it, the growing season will be longer, you can beat the season by using some plants from a local greenhouse i get some that way and put them in around memorial day.. seeds down in the shady spot this week - they need the head start.
-joe-
Well, it's worse than I suspected. The light meter says "Part Shade." So it's shadier than I thought. I have the meter set up in a different spot today. Hopefully I'll get a better reading there. (keeping fingers crossed). I think "Part Shade" is pushing the limit a little too much.
Length of daylight needs to be taken into account also, leaving a longer bright light.
I am interested in this topic as the spot I am doing vegies does not get enough sun by the recommended standard but we also have intense summer heat so the shade may help.
edited to add ~ early by y'alls standards but I do have blooms on the squash, tomatillos and some tomatoes.
This message was edited Apr 27, 2009 10:46 AM
i will have to put a meter to figure what exactly I have, but I can tell you that i am eating salad from a garden in ct.. we had out first salad on easter. it was under 2 layers of plastic plastic until then never saw a day of direct sunlight.... Indirect sunlight works.. as long as it is warm enough.. .. there i a fence in one side and a house on the otherr... what are you looking to plant in there..
Tomatoes, zuchinni, eggplant, peppers, cuccumbers, butternut squash, leek, honeydew melons.
i have the leeks in the shady back part .. they are cool season,... zuchinni, summer squash and cucumber will tolerate the lower light as long as it stays warm.. I had some bloom under a tree.. tomatoes like celebrity and better boy did well in shady spot.. cherry and grapes didn't really grow too well. peppers and eggplant like some sun mie produced with 6 hours of sun, i expect they could handle less and this is my first year trying some in a shady spot, i never tried melon or butternut in the shady side, but acorn squash liked it along the shady fence line - takes 6 months to get the acorn squash in a spot with 4 hours of sun... but they come.. give it a go.. I really thought i'd have problems before i put plants in the s-6 hour of daylight area... but everything but okra and melons make at least some fruit... to be fair, my sun comes through between 11 and 3 . the brightest part of the day... i don't know that morning and evening sun like a spot under under a tree would work. but my dad does grow bell peppers basil and chives at the base of a large maple... .. hope this helps a little..... you never know.
-joe-
Remember that the days will be longer in the summer, a couple more hours of sun might tip your garden to part sun.
I am not sure about the things you are growing, as they aren't the same as what I do, but I can tell you I had broccoli and lettuce do incredibly well in the shady part of our garden...it didn't bolt in the heat of summer, and was quite productive.
I tucked my peppers in along the side of the house in with my flowers in order to maximize the use of one of the few "full sun" parts of the yard..you might look into doing something like that for some of the things you are growing.
My yard sounds similar to yours, KarenB61, but I'm trying to maximize what I have. I am enjoying the challenge, frankly, and have been pleased with results by trying to be a bit creative.
I do have one 4x8 sunny bed but that's it. I had Romaine in it this spring and now have started cukes and bush bean in it.
I then put in a bed in the dappled shade of a live oak tree. (SEE PHOTO). I was a bit skeptical (my husband was very skeptical!) but weeds were growing there and they needed to go, so I put in a lasagna bed and planted a few things. Buttercrunch lettuce has done well there. Radish has been mostly tops -- that may be a sun issue or maybe too much fertilizer. Based on some of the responses to your question, I may try a couple of other things, but even if I can just grow buttercrunch in fall, winter and spring (I'm in TX), I'll be happy!
Almost everything else I have put into containers. I take advantage of small spots of sunlight and can move them if necessary. I have pots along a fence near the sunny bed, some pots sitting on the edges of my patio and on a bench, a few hanging ones and half-round pots on a trellis fence -- wherever I can find sunshine! So far, tomatoes, peppers, cukes, yellow squash, spinach are all doing well in pots. Jury's still out on carrots. This year a flowering vine that's been on a trellis for several years is getting some company in the form of a pole green bean growing out of a big pot. So far, so good.
You might want to think about height too. Some places in my yard are shady on the ground, but if I put in a shelf and grow things a few feet up, I will have a more hours of sunlight. Pole planters are another idea.
I'm pretty new to this so not one to normally give advice, but I suggest you plant a lot of things in a lot of different places and just see what works. If one thing doesn't work in your partial shade, don't give up on that spot, just try a few different things.
Lise
Same issue with the radishes and we were just talking about it tonight. I wonder what the problem is?
So the official reading on the light meter in the sunnier spot was..... (drumroll......) Part Sun. YAY! That's better than part shade at least! According to the meter, that means the spot gets less than 6 but more than 4 hours of direct sun a day. I guess that means 5? ; ) I'm going to try growing the things I listed above. If I'm not successful, at least I know better for next year, right? Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions. I love the idea of putting things in pots. I just may try that with strawberries this year. I will keep you posted on how it goes.
Hip hip hooray! Even if you get a bit less produce, it will be so worth it. YUM
excellent let us know how it goes and what makes it .. there a lot of us dealing with shade and always looking for a way to beat mother nature. .. or at least work with her.
"'m going to try growing the things I listed above. If I'm not successful, at least I know better for next year, right? "
Great Karen. Half the fun of gardening is trying things out. Your own experience is worth far more than any textbooks or light meter readings. Go for it, and let us all know the outcome.
Just thought I'd give an update. My veggies are going strong for the most part. I planted 4 tomato plants (2 early, 2 late) and they are all taller than me and covered with tomatoes! They are all green so far, but I've been checking every day to see if they have ripened yet.
My cucumbers are also doing well, but it seems they are ripening only 1 at a time. So I can't seem to harvest enough at any given time to actually do something with them--like make a cucumber salad.
My cubanelle pepper plants are slow going. So far only 1 pepper. The plants are still a bit small, too. Same with my eggplant (which got a late start to begin with). I'm wondering if this June's constant wet, cool, cloudy weather has something to do with it. I know it destroyed my roses this year. : (
The cantaloupe plant is doing well. Lots of flowers, but no melons yet.
Zucchini is thriving. I harvested my first one yesterday!! : )
Basil is also thriving.
So, it seems about 5 hours of sun a day truly *is* enough.
Sounds like you are doing pretty well, I am just across the sound on the shoreline.. just about everybody, everywhere is having quantity problems, although the veggies are as great tasting as always, everything is late. i had problems with my cantelope - glad someone got some to move. I am sure your tomatoes will ripen after this hot and sunny week - i started getting mine last week. peppers can be tough when not in full sun, mine are partly sunny like yours and i don't usually get many until september - they are always a suprise being ready just when I am about to give up on them. keep plugging away!
it is a great year for butternut and the leeks probably won't be great until October and that gives you time to drop turnip, carrot, and parsnips seeds under your plants to be ready for a winter soup... For the first year raised bed - you seem to have done everything right and CONGRATULATIONS!
-joe-