Vegetables that will grow in light shade

Vegetables that will grow in light shade

Staying in the city, we have to deal with boundary walls, neighbours houses, large trees and other structures that cast shade into our garden.

The general rule is that vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight.  A  garden that receives four to five or even as little as three hours of direct sun a day is not necessarily a lost cause when it comes to growing vegetables. Very few if any vegetables will grow in an area that has full day shade.

For herbs growing in shade Click here

Vegetables

Most vegetables that make a fruit will require at least 6 – 8 hours of direct sunlight.

Root vegetables like carrots, beetroot, and radish will grow in an area that gets 4 hours of sunlight in a day.  They do not require as much sunlight as fruiting vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and they can benefit from the cooler temperatures in a shady spot. Be sure to keep the soil well-drained and consistently moist to ensure good root development.

Leafy Greens like lettuce, spinach, rhubarb, kale, and mustard greens are excellent choices for a shady area. These plants do suffer in the heat of summer, so will benefit from the added shade.

Alliums like onions and leeks will grow well in areas that get 4 hours of sun. These plants may take a little longer to reach maturity.

Experiment in your garden.  Use the shade to manipulate growing conditions.  Brassica’s like cauliflower and broccoli do not grow well in summer. We always experiment with planting them under trees and scrubs where it is cooler and more shady, and we had great success manipulating the temperature for these plants.

Strategies to grow Veggies in shade.

• Watering

Areas in shade tend to stay moist for longer periods.  Before you water in these areas,  push a finger into the soil to test for moisture.  Only water if the first few cm are dry.  Be sure to mulch around your plants to help retain moisture and suppress weeds.

• Wait for the Warmth

Shaded areas warm up slower in spring, so bide your time. Sow too early and seeds could rot or seedlings perish in cold, wet conditions. Instead, delay sowing or planting in shady areas by a week or two until the risk of frost has passed and your soil is no longer chilly.

• Sow Tactically

Although crops like carrots, beetroot, and lettuce are shade-tolerant, they usually need good light levels to get them off to a strong start. Areas shaded for much of the growing season by deciduous trees and shrubs can be sunny and open earlier in the year, making them a promising place to grow cool-season crops.  Many trees won’t reach full leaf cover until quite late in spring, leaving plenty of time earlier on in the season to make sowings for those precious first pickings

If your area has deep shade, with no sun, here is a list of ornamentals that you can plant

• Foxglove
• Arum Lily / Vark oor
• Begonia
• Clivia
• Plectranthus “Magic Mona”
• Forest Bells

Happy Gardening Friends

Tash & Family