Shady Veggies
I have a stone wall that gets some strong sun for a few hours a day. So far I've tried beans, corn, tomatoes, and various flowers, none of which were really successful. The best so far has been aloe and roses. I'd really like to grow some veggies in that spot. Any ideas? There's a bed about 2 feet wide in front of it.
Comments
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How many hours of sun and when is it the strongest on the area? How tall is the wall and what direction is the sun hitting the area?
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Grow nettles!
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Yes, nettles would be a great shade veggie. Never tried growing my kale in a shady area.
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Veggies are tough to grow in shade. You can try it, but don't expect the yield you would get in partial sun.
Herbs would be a better choice in a shady area. Consider mints, parsley, and other leafy herbs.
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The wall is about 6 feet high. Behind the wall is a driveway and hill so not much morning sun there. Afternoon it gets sun for a few hours. My mini bamboo is now about 20 feet high so is shading my whole yard. I can trim that though. Just haven't had time.
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I've got lots of herbs in an even shadier area but maybe I should just fill it all up. Basil grows there and I had some kind of oregano-like plant there before and also aloe vera. Flowers seem to do better but I'd really like a few food plants in that spot too.
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The ground has too many rocks for root veggies. I grow sweet potatoes just for ground cover. The potatoes are not nice! Slowly the mulch and compost is working it's way in but it's taking too long. I just got some new flower seeds so hopefully something will sprout up and love the location!
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@Sharie "I grow sweet potatoes just for ground cover."
Sweet potato leafy greens are edible! You don't have to limit their role to ground cover.
There are many flowers that are fine in shade (malcomia, for example). Unfortunately food production there is just hard.
That knowledge is not new. To quote George Perkins Marsh, author of the classic book Man and Nature (published 1864):
"The forest does not furnish food for Man. In a region absolutely covered with trees, human life could not long be sustained, for want of animal and vegetable food. The depths of the forest seldom furnish either bulb or fuirt suited to the nourishment of man; and the fowls and beasts on which he feeds are scarcely seen except upon the margin of the wood...
"As soon as multiplying Man had filled the open ground along the margin of the rivers, the lakes, and the sea, and sufficiently peopled the natural meadows and savannas of the interior, when such existed, he could find room for expansion and further growth, only by the removal of a portion of the forest that hemmed him in."
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I don't want to eat my ground cover lol! It keeps the soil in place during our dry and windy season. I some good soil spots for root veggies. I wish I had some raspberry bushes. They don't seem to grow here, but they do farther north. Maybe one day I can get some starters.
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@Sharie "I wish I had some raspberry bushes. They don't seem to grow here, but they do farther north."
Last fall you mentioned that your soil was acid. Have you tried blueberries? They love acid soil. They'll need to go in a sunny spot, but so would the raspberries.
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Here are a few sites with ideas
If your area has a white wall or you can put up something white or silver to reflect available light that will help too
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Sharie, perhaps you should consider a raised bed; it might give your growing area more sunlight, and improve the soil as well. You can do one that is built on the ground, or elevated on legs, which would keep you from squatting or kneeling so much, as well. Use bricks, rocks, or wood, or buy a premade one and then fill with good soil and compost! If you still have space, you could try the berries still and see what happens. Good luck!
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Welcome to the forum, @tozierpatriot!
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Additional welcome @tozierpatriot. Good comment on the raised beds.
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I have a south facing stone wall at the back of my garage. I grew lots of okra there for several years, but now rosemary has taken over. I hope to be able to take that out. I miss my okra. ';D
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Achocha (Bolivian cucumber) seems to like a little more shade than most vegetables. Mine was doing poorly in full sun, so I put it on the front porch that is shaded most of the day, and it took off. It's now blooming. It also likes to climb, so it might go up the wall.
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Thanks for the tip. I've had other varieties of cukes there that didn't do well but Bolivia is a lot closer to me than North America as far as plants and seeds go. I'll see if I can find that one.
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Okra was never part of my world. Tried it for the first time recently. A friend made okra pickles which were very delicious. I'll have him take a look at the spot and see what he says. Right now they are not growing so they have some sort of season here. So much to learn!
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Soil is hard to come by here. Every time I order soil it ends up looking like compost, sometimes with full sized goat poop, not soil. I keep adding compost frequently to the existing "soil". I just ordered a soil pH meter to see what's happening in there. I'd love to do raised beds but filling them would be a real challenge and this is a rental. I have some land that I recently bought and I will be doing that there. I've got a maracuya plant that is finally making itself at home after 4 years lol. It just didn't want to live but suddenly it's gotten a new lease on life. I wish I could get morning glories to grow there. I've got a bit of a wood frame going on for stuff to climb.
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