I have a 10 foot x 29 foot area at the south end of my garden that is located just under the northern edge of a large tree's canopy. Is there anything to grow in a vegetable garden that likes light shade? ...I'm crossing my fingers that you know of something besides flowers. ;)
What grows in a vegetable garden that likes light shade?
The only vegetables I know that will tolerate less than 5 hours of direct sun a day are lettuce, greens, etc. maybe beans.
just had a similar thread..
try this..
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/980427/
-joe-
Glenda, I have a shade tree, too and although my vegetable garden is in full sun, the trees roots reach all over the place and the veggies have to compete with them. It's surprising how quickly the tree's roots grow. Hubby and I had a heck of a time earlier this year digging and cutting the roots that had grown into our raised beds!
So many variables go into deciding whether plants will flourish in a given spot - not just light, but type of soil, moisture content, microclimate. Do a trial Glenda. Plant small quantities of your favourites, see how they do, and let the rest of us know how you get on. Half the fun of gardening is trying things out.
Pat
According to Mel Batholemew's book "Square Foot Gardening" (1st ed.): In Light Shade, 4-6 hours sun, you can grow beets, carrots, cauliflower, swiss chard, cucumber, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, radishes, spinach, winter squash. I have an area next to the house that gets a lot of shade, and I just plant stuff I like and see how it grows. Some areas of the bed are sunnier than others and you can see the differences in the same variety planted in different areas. This is a prime opportunity for garden experimentation. Good luck!
The sun/shade ratio will also change as the suns' path changes throughout the seasons. In my early DG days, someone posted charts tracking the sun thru the growing seasons and it was amazing to see how it changed in a few short weeks. It may actually offer enough sun at the right time for your crops to deliver produce.
I agree, do give it a try with a small variety and then, you will have a better idea what will work there next year.
Or maybe, whether you may need some FIREWOOD! LOL
Thanks everyone for your help!! I will give it a try and see what happens. In a worse case scenario, I can start my own production beds of shade perennials to make use of the shade. .....My original intention for putting a small part of the garden under the tree's canopy was to give me some shade to sit in while I watch my grandchildren work in the garden. Their mothers are wanting my grandchildren to developed/learn a good work ethic and, lucky me!, they picked the maintenance of MY garden as the learning project this summer!! :-D ....I have more shade than I need to sit in (my 'seat' is not 29 feet wide lol) so I'll experiment with some of your suggestions to see how they do.
Podster, you're right, the sun's path WILL change as summer gets here so I'll see..... Wish me luck!
Thanks again everyone! You're awesome!
Glenda
My yard is beside a large oak tree in my own yard, and surrounded by large pines in other yards. In the winter the part of the yard my garden is in now is pretty much total shade. But that changes when the sun angle changes. Even now my stuff gets a lot of shade and filtered light. It's all growing good so far, my tomatoes are taller than I am and loaded with green fruit.
I'm not sure what I will do in the winter. I'm not sure exactly when the sun changes as this is my first year with a real garden. It gets pretty hot here so I think the summer shade will be a good thing. I wouldn't write an area totally off if it didn't get constant sun. At least not if you live in a hot area.
Here in NW Connecticut I've had success with cabbages in a garden section that only gets four hours of sun daily.
I have a bed with the partial sun, too. Bush green beans do really well in it.
If it has morning sun, you might try summer squash.
I got plenty from the one I planted there. Maybe not nearly as much as full sun, but you don't have any to get rid of. LOL