Edible shade garden

Saturday, October 17, 2015

If you don’t get the 6-12 hours of full sun that many vegetables and herbs thrive in, that doesn’t mean you can’t grow any vegetables or herbs.  They may not get as big or full as those grown in full sun, but they will grow!

Here is a list of herbs and vegetables that can grow in different levels of sunlight.  

2-4 hours of sun herbs

*Anise hyssop

*Chives

*Cilantro

*Lemon balm

*Marjoram

*Mint

*Oregano

*Parsley

*Shiso

*Spicebush

*Sweet woodruff

*Wild ginger

2-4 hours of sun vegetables

*Arugula

*Asian greens such as bok choy and tatsoi

*Kale

*Lettuce

*Mesclun greens

*Mustard greens

*Spinach

*Swiss chard

4-5 hours of sun vegetables

*Beans-bush and dwarf types

*Beets

*Carrots

*Celery

*Green onions

*Micro greens

*Peas-bush and dwarf types

*Potatoes

*Radishes

*Turnips

You can get more sun than you think by trimming tree limbs up to allow morning or evening sun in.  You can also use light colored mulch or even the high dollar metallic mulch to have more sunlight reflect up onto the plants.  Another approach would be to spray paint what the plants back up to with metallic paint or place a piece of metallic painted plywood behind your plants.

Another thing to keep in mind is when the leaves are off the trees.  There are many cool season crops that will do great in the chilly seasons like winter, spring and fall.  Overwintering crops are another winner for planting in the shade of late summer that will then have the benefit of late fall, winter and early spring sun.  For more on cool season crops for fall and winter, Fall garden planning and planting and Time to set out transplants for fall, winter, & spring harvests.  For spring any that are planted before your first frost date are the cold hardy ones Indoor sowing/outdoor planting dates.