boggybranch
Deeply Rooted
From Mother Earth News newsletter
http://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...m_source=iPost&utm_medium=email#ixzz1EofOdg9q
http://www.motherearthnews.com/orga...m_source=iPost&utm_medium=email#ixzz1EofOdg9q
BEST VEGETABLES TO GROW IN THE SHADE
- Thread starter boggybranch
- Start date
digitS'
Garden Master
The author mentions slopes but doesn't talk about afternoon versus morning shade, Boggy B.
There are advantages to afternoon shade. A couple hours of relief from a blazing hot, afternoon sun can be of benefit. Of course, there can be too much of a good thing.
Morning shade -- I don't like it. My smaller veggie garden has some very tall bushes on the east side. Other than that shade, that garden is pretty much in the full sun for the rest of the day. The rows run east-west so you can really see a difference as you get close to those tall bushes. Very close, and the plants just darn near peter out.
And yes, there are issues of roots but that's true in my Shady Corner; a triangle that begins to get shade about 10am. By noon, that patch of ground is pretty much in the shade for the rest of the day -- tall trees make sure of it. The trees allow some patchy sunlight thru and I know the plants appreciate that but there's not a great deal of it.
Reflected light? Yeah, I suppose. But, feel the energy in direct sunlight!! Blue sky north of a tall building can't match that. However, painting a northwall white is of some real benefit at this latitude where the sun swings so far into north sky, morning and evening.
Are greens worth growing? You bet! Lots of protein in green leaves! Leafy greens, leafy greens! How often do the nutritionists have to tell us??
I am curious about others' experience with potatoes in the shade . . . does that work? Seems like an early variety that would be ready to harvest in late July might take until September and be just fine . . . but, I'm only guessing.
Steve
There are advantages to afternoon shade. A couple hours of relief from a blazing hot, afternoon sun can be of benefit. Of course, there can be too much of a good thing.
Morning shade -- I don't like it. My smaller veggie garden has some very tall bushes on the east side. Other than that shade, that garden is pretty much in the full sun for the rest of the day. The rows run east-west so you can really see a difference as you get close to those tall bushes. Very close, and the plants just darn near peter out.
And yes, there are issues of roots but that's true in my Shady Corner; a triangle that begins to get shade about 10am. By noon, that patch of ground is pretty much in the shade for the rest of the day -- tall trees make sure of it. The trees allow some patchy sunlight thru and I know the plants appreciate that but there's not a great deal of it.
Reflected light? Yeah, I suppose. But, feel the energy in direct sunlight!! Blue sky north of a tall building can't match that. However, painting a northwall white is of some real benefit at this latitude where the sun swings so far into north sky, morning and evening.
Are greens worth growing? You bet! Lots of protein in green leaves! Leafy greens, leafy greens! How often do the nutritionists have to tell us??
I am curious about others' experience with potatoes in the shade . . . does that work? Seems like an early variety that would be ready to harvest in late July might take until September and be just fine . . . but, I'm only guessing.
Steve
Shade... ah yes shade... the bane of my balcony growing. It faces due north on a map...and is completely covered by the upstairs balcony! So there is about 1 hour of "direct" sunlight during sunrise and sunset ... if you can call sun up and sun down with reflections from the clouds "direct" LOL. Yet, I have managed tomatoes, pole beans, leafy stuff like basil, and some flowers. The jpn squash only produced a single 4 inch fruit that was soft. LOL
Everything in the shade ends up a bit "softer" than things grown in the real garden back home and the bounty per plant is significnatly less... but you do what you got to do when you sign away your soul to a lab as a grad student.
1st year school:
2nd year school:
Example harvest:
As for potatoes, that's about the only thing I grow in the shade of a 4.5 foot wood fence, and they do just about as good as the ones that grow along the chicken wire fence that sunlight gets through. Granted, by mid summer, that 2.5 foot long shadow behind the fence becomes a 1.5 foot shadow and the plants are a foot tall, so half the plant does get what little sun we get in the PNW.
I'm so glad our landlords put up with us and the HOA hasn't called me on the mass of green on our balcony.
Guess which one is ours...and look at that evening "direct" sulight!
Everything in the shade ends up a bit "softer" than things grown in the real garden back home and the bounty per plant is significnatly less... but you do what you got to do when you sign away your soul to a lab as a grad student.
1st year school:
2nd year school:
Example harvest:
As for potatoes, that's about the only thing I grow in the shade of a 4.5 foot wood fence, and they do just about as good as the ones that grow along the chicken wire fence that sunlight gets through. Granted, by mid summer, that 2.5 foot long shadow behind the fence becomes a 1.5 foot shadow and the plants are a foot tall, so half the plant does get what little sun we get in the PNW.
I'm so glad our landlords put up with us and the HOA hasn't called me on the mass of green on our balcony.
Guess which one is ours...and look at that evening "direct" sulight!
thistlebloom
Garden Master
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2010
- Messages
- 16,473
- Reaction score
- 17,395
- Points
- 457
- Location
- North Idaho 48th parallel
I think your shade garden is beautiful, and looks like productive too!
lesa
Garden Master
Silkechicken, that is a great example of gardening where ever you are!! That would be an impressive balcony in full sun... in the shade, it is utterly amazing! Nice work!
i_am2bz
Chillin' In The Garden
Looks like a nice, cool place on a hot summer day. 
Thanks!
It is pretty nice to have a green screen from the sterile development living. The first year I found I didn't have ANY bugs or bees around... so I planted flowers last year and I'm sure my neighbors love (read hate) the fact that I have attracted bees and bugs. LOL I hope that the spraying they do for pests on the grounds don't kill my visitors, but think they are ok, as last year two stray tree frogs found the tank where I keep the pitcher plants in the fall and I started to have a slug problem this spring in my buckets. LOL Slugs on the 2nd floor...
I'm not a civilized person, so have done all that I can to bring the outside inside, and home to concrete box so I don't go insane while at school... including processing meat behind my green screen...
It doesn't get too hot in oregon, but the plants on the right hand side grew really fast when it hit 80F and I turned on the AC... the hot air blew right onto the plants. LOL
It is pretty nice to have a green screen from the sterile development living. The first year I found I didn't have ANY bugs or bees around... so I planted flowers last year and I'm sure my neighbors love (read hate) the fact that I have attracted bees and bugs. LOL I hope that the spraying they do for pests on the grounds don't kill my visitors, but think they are ok, as last year two stray tree frogs found the tank where I keep the pitcher plants in the fall and I started to have a slug problem this spring in my buckets. LOL Slugs on the 2nd floor...
I'm not a civilized person, so have done all that I can to bring the outside inside, and home to concrete box so I don't go insane while at school... including processing meat behind my green screen...
It doesn't get too hot in oregon, but the plants on the right hand side grew really fast when it hit 80F and I turned on the AC... the hot air blew right onto the plants. LOL
digitS'
Garden Master
Obviously, you didn't grow up in Medfordsilkiechicken said:
.. . . but, you are doing great with that balcony!
Steve
LOL
I'd probably die in medford... almost died the first summer in corvallis.... and that is where the AC came in. LOL
I'd probably die in medford... almost died the first summer in corvallis.... and that is where the AC came in. LOL
hoodat
Garden Addicted
I've found that the onion family, especially shallots, do quite well in shade. It keeps scallions from having too many tough layers that need to be peeled away.
